Sometimes thinking about a good night’s sleep is all that keeps you going through the day. Your body needs the sleep to relax, unwind and prepare itself for the next day. It recovers and repairs itself during the night. One of the main factors that affect the quality of your snooze is pillows. They are one of the most important and overlooked sleep accessories. Various types of pillows are available for you to pick and choose from. This guide will help you understand how to use a cervical pillow correctly.
What is a Cervical Pillow?
Before moving on to explaining how to use a cervical pillow it will be better for you to understand what a cervical pillow is? Simply put cervical pillow is a specialized pillow that offers support to the cervical area. It helps in lowering your neck pain by giving support to it while you are resting or even on the go.
Why is Cervical Pillow Needed?
Do you find yourself constantly cricking your neck muscles while driving or sitting? Are the muscles at the base of your neck frequently strained and knotted? Chances are that you have a cervical issue. A cervical pillow ensures that your neck is in the correct position by encircling it thereby avoiding muscle strain and pain or discomfort. It ensures that your body maintains its proper cervical curve while you are sleeping on your back. This, in turn, allows the muscles and ligaments to stretch to their normal length and relaxes the body optimally.
How to Use Cervical Pillow Optimally?
Simply purchasing a cervical pillow will not help you unless you learn to use it effectively. Some pointers to get you started on this are:
- Make sure the pillow is the right size and shape for you.
- The height of the pillow should be optimal to your neck base height when you lie down
- Your sleep position matters as well. Try to sleep on your back or side only. Cervical pillows cannot help stomach sleepers much.
Advantages of Cervical Pillow
The cervical pillow offers more specific benefits than your usual pillow. This is because of the specialized nature that allows it to target a specific concern. Some benefits are:
- Support to neck
- Increased blood supply to the body
- Facilitates proper spinal muscle and ligament stretching
- Relieves muscle tension
- Improves posture
- Enhances the sleep quality
Choosing a Cervical Pillow
A pillow is something you buy to last at least a year before it requires a replacement. When considering cervical pillow first ascertain if you require one. Factors to look at are:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder muscle sourness when you wake
- Nagging discomfort while sleeping at the neck base
- Tension through the spinal muscles when you wake
If you suffer from these problems, consider the cervical pillow. Some pointers that will help you while choosing are
- Comfort: This is the most important factor. The pillow should feel comfortable to you otherwise it would have lost its purpose.
- Size
- Shape
- Material used
In cervical pillows, foam-based memory pillows are the ideal type since they provide adequate support and remember your shape to mold optimally to your neck. The secret to chasing away neck and back pain is the proper alignment of the neck and spinal muscles. And the secret to proper alignment is a good posture. If you find yourself experiencing neck pain or soreness, then consider investing in a cervical pillow. Pretty soon you will banish that pesky neck and shoulder discomfort.
