As far as inanimate objects that make a susbstantial difference in our life go, pillows are on the more crucial end of the spectrum.  A properly fitting pillow with the right support can be the make or break factor in the quality of your sleep life. Poor sleep quality is known to increase the risk of heart disease, to play a part in the development and exacerbation of conditions like depression, and inhibit both mental and physical performance. Unfortunately there are a myriad of afflictions which create chronic sleep deprivation and tamper with people’s quality of life. 

If pain is keeping you up at night, we encourage you to give our office a call and set up a spinal examination to determine your problem points and create a plan that includes chiropractic adjustment, corrective exercise and stretching. Using massage, we can open up problem areas to an influx of oxygen and nutrients to speed the healing process. The next step is to address how your lifestyle may be contributing to a lack of sleep. This is where the pillow comes in: sleeping with the perfect pillow for your body may be the next best thing you can do to influence a better sleep life. 

Pillow shopping should be determined by sleeping style: essentially you want a supportive pillow that maintains the alignment of the back through the neck by assuming the space between neck and mattress.

Back-sleepers should seek a thinner pillow to avoid pushing the neck into a forward angle. 
Side-sleepers wants a firmer pillow that fills the space from neck to outer shoulder. 
Stomach-sleepers may not need a pillow for the head, but instead can use when under the stomach to prevent lower back pain from developing. 

Of course, you can’t divide everyone into 3 simple categories; the point is a pillow should be a calculated purchase, made with the health of body and mind as a priority. 

Dr. Albert Stabile, D.C.