Best Pillow For Neck Pain

Waking up with pain isn’t normal.

Let’s look at the best pillow for neck pain and how to wake up pain-free.

 

We all know how important it is to get a full night of solid sleep. Waking up feeling rested, refreshed, and pain-free can not only reduce your risk of certain diseases, but it can also help boost your mental health and make you more productive during the day.

But sometimes, sleeping well is easier said than done. Especially if you’re dealing with neck pain.

Whether your neck pain is from an injury or from poor sleep positioning, here are our recommendations for getting a good night’s sleep (as well as the best pillow for neck pain).

 

Good Neck Alignment

Whether you’re healing from whiplash or trying to prevent waking up with a sore neck, keeping your spine in proper alignment is key.

Your neck is made up of seven vertebrae—known as cervical vertebrae. These vertebrae are much lighter and more mobile than the rest of your spine, allowing you to rotate and tilt your head in many directions.

When properly aligned, your neck vertebrae have a natural curve, which helps support the weight of your head and acts as a type of “shock absorber.” However, people who frequently look down at their phones or at a computer screen often lose this curve—a condition many chiropractors refer to as “text neck.”

If you suffer from neck pain, keeping the spine aligned throughout the night is the most important step to avoid neck pain.

What Is the Best Pillow For Neck and Shoulder Pain?

The best pillow for neck pain is one that maintains the proper alignment of your neck and spine. And because the “best pillow” is different for everyone, it seems like everyone has their own recommendation.

A quick Google search for “best pillow for neck pain” returns more than 100 million results for pillows of every shape, size, and firmness level. Memory foam pillows, latex pillows, feather pillows, high loft pillows…are sleepers with neck pain supposed to try them all?

Thankfully, no!

You can take much of the guesswork out of choosing a pillow (or mattress!) by looking at your preferred sleep position.

Best Pillow For Back Sleepers

If you already sleep on your back, congratulations! Most chiropractors and sleep experts agree that sleeping on your back is best for keeping your head and neck in alignment and redistributing your weight more evenly.

However, it can be difficult to find a pillow that supports your neck without pushing it forward.

Look for a pillow that offers plenty of neck support, but allows your head to fall back toward your mattress, such as an orthopedic or cervical pillow.

Best Pillow For Side Sleepers

Without proper support, side sleepers may find that their head tilts downward, straining the neck. Side sleepers with neck pain should look for a firm pillow that is tall enough to keep the head in alignment with the spine.

If you love the softness of a classic feather or polyester pillow, this may require stacking them to get the necessary height. If you’re using a water core pillow, you can simply add more water.

 

Best Pillow For Stomach Sleepers

Most experts warn against sleeping on your stomach, as this position creates a negative curve in the spine, due to the weight of your torso. As a result, you end up pulling your joints out of alignment and contributing to your neck and shoulder pain.

If you can, try to make the switch to sleeping on your back or side to see if this improves your pain levels. But if you just can’t give up sleeping on your stomach, make sure you have a mattress that provides plenty of support.

The best pillow for stomach sleepers is a very thin, flat pillow (or none at all).

What Is the Best Pillow For Neck Pain?

Here at Oviedo Chiropractic, we recommend Chiroflow—a memory foam pillow with a water-filled core that conforms to the shape of your head.

Whatever sleep position you prefer, the Chiroflow pillow cradles your head and neck, preventing pain and allowing you to fall asleep more easily. And if you change positions throughout the night, the water core responds to your movement, making “fluffing” your pillow a thing of the past.

 

Support Healthy Sleep With Chiropractic

Choosing a pillow for neck pain is an important part of getting a good night’s sleep and waking up pain free—but it’s only half of the equation.

In order to maintain good posture throughout the day, you have to start with proper alignment.

At Oviedo Chiropractic, our friendly and knowledgeable staff is trained in gentle, effective, non-invasive techniques that correct spinal misalignments. And through regular adjustments, we help ensure that your neck and back remain in good health.

Schedule an appointment today and see how refreshing chiropractic care can be!