Pillows play an essential role in bringing you a good sleep every night. To enjoy a restful and relaxing sleep, it is critical to keep your spine in proper alignment from your neck to pelvis. And the pillow and mattress will work together to help you achieve this.
But do you know how many pillows should you sleep with? It can be a tricky question to answer. So keep reading to find out the answer and some useful tips to use your pillows.
Benefits of using pillows
The core benefits of sleeping with pillows include:
- Stabilising and protecting your head
- Helping you feel soothing against your skin
- Helping with snoring problems
- Fitting natural curves of the body
If you make a wrong choice on the number or type of pillow, it might result in an uncomfortable or even harmful sleeping experience. That’s why it’s essential to understand the benefits and know how to use your pillow(s) properly.
How many pillows should you sleep with?
In most cases, you only need one pillow to have a comfortable and supportive sleep at night. With the right height and firmness, a pillow can support your neck and help to keep the spine aligned. However, different sleep positions require different types of pillow that can vary in their height.
In the bedding are, the height of a pillow is basically called the pillow loft. There are three categories to choose from: high loft (more than 5 inches), medium loft (3 to 5 inches), and low loft (less than 3 inches).
Below is the suggested pillow for each sleeping position:
a. Side sleepers
Side sleepers just need a thick pillow to have a comfortable sleep at night. In general, high-loft and memory foam models are recommended. For proper alignment, the height or thickness of the pillows should fit the length from their neck to their shoulder’s end.
b. Back sleepers
Back sleepers are recommended to sleep with a thin pillow to keep the necks straight with their spines while sleeping. Low to medium-loft models are the best option. It is a good idea to choose those pillows that have a divot for heads because they offer more height under the neck.
c. Stomach sleepers
Those people who sleep on their stomach might need a low-loft and extremely thin pillow, or even no pillow. If the unit is too high, it can force their necks up uncomfortably and backward to the spine. The benefit of sleeping without needing a pillow is that it would help stomach sleepers to keep the spine as aligned as possible. In other words, a pillow that has a divot for their head allows them to have a facing-down position, thus ensuring an adequate space to breathe while still guaranteeing an optimum spinal alignment.
- Read also: How many pillows should you sleep with?
When would you need more than one pillow?
In some cases, one pillow is not enough. There are a few situations when you might feel better supported with multiple pillows. These include:
- Pregnant women are usually recommended to sleep with additional body pillows. During their pregnancy, these people have to experience a lot of uncomfortable pains and aches. A body pillow would keep them on the right side, while other pillows could deliver extra support when being propped below the stomach, beneath knees, or behind the back.
- Those people with back pain would find relief by having a side sleeping position and putting thin pillows under their ribs or knees.
- Side sleepers can enhance their comfort by placing an additional pillow between their knees. The pillow should be thin and wide enough to keep their pelvis straight.
- Back sleepers would also place a thin pillow under their knees to relieve pains in the lower back. This is particularly useful when there is a gap between the mattress surface and the small of their back. With a pillow in between, it would slightly elevate the knees, thus encouraging their lower back to sink deeper and straighten their spine.
Final verdict
Many people often layer multiple thinner units to achieve the same effects as a thicker pillow. However, this might not work as expected. Head pillows aren’t designed to be placed on top of each other because fillers would shift during sleeping and cause the whole pillow to tip-off. To get the best results, just stick to one comfortable pillow and use cooling pillow if you feel too hot.
