Physiotherapist's 'two pillow' warning to people before they go to bed
A physiotherapist has issued a warning for those who prefer to sleep on two pillows at night. Samantha Spiegel issued the warning to her followers on TikTok where she claimed that sleeping with more pillows than you really need could result in issued relating to the spine as well as muscle discomfort. One of the key issues with using too many pillows is it's contribution to poor posture and other muscle issues.
In one study she cites, it is claimed that pillow height has a direct effect on the alignement of the spine. In this case, pillows that are too high and thus push the head forward can increase tension in the neck and cervical muscles.
However, when fewer pillows are used, thus resulting in a lower overall height, the spine is able to maintain a more neutral alignment, resulting in less pressure. Long-term poor posture can also contribute to neck and back pain as well as muscle stiffness when waking up in the morning.
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Samantha said: "I have so many patients that when they come in for therapy, I lie them down on their back on the mat, and they need at least two pillows. Sometimes I even have to lift the head of the mat up because they cannot lie flat without discomfort or their head kind of going like this.
"I don't want to sleep in this position. I want to sleep in the position that I want to be in and that I want to reflect in my posture. I'm already fighting bad posture enough as it is. I don't want to lie down in bed and have a pillow that puts me in bad posture, right?"
She added: "When you go to bed at night, use gravity to your advantage to stretch you straighter if you can tolerate it. You know those mattresses that conform to your body? Be careful not to give in to those, right? Because all of a sudden, you're conforming to your curves that are happening through the day.
"And then you're like, "Oh, I can't reverse that." Because eight hours of that position and not letting your spine stretch into a little bit straighter is going to build up over time until you're walking around with the dowager's hump and you're kind of slouchy, right?"
She advises those struggling with bad posture to slightly step away from a wall and bend their knees in while the lower back is still pressed against the wall and then place their head back up the wall without letting their back arch too much. Once this is done, she advises pulling the shoulders back and then slightly down while opening up the palms and pressing the spine into the wall.
If this is not too uncomfortable, she adds that the arms could then be placed overhead and then back down without the back coming off the wall. She added: "You should feel this in your thoracic spine. Your thoracic spine is just as important as your cervical spine.
"Wherever the thoracic spine goes, the cervical spine goes." If you are experiencing neck pain, the NHS advises uses a low, firm pillow as well as taking paracetamol, heat or cold packs, and neck flexbility exercises. However, it advises against wearing a neck collar unless advised by a doctor and doing any activities that could pose further dangers for your neck.
