Richard Margison, the famous Canadian tenor recently commented on the CBC program “This Is My Music” that from long experience on the road he understands the value of a good pillow. He pointed out that he used to go from hotel to hotel and have to try out up to a dozen different pillows so that he could find one that was comfortable. He finally learned his lesson. He found a good pillow, bought it, and now brings it on the road with him. As he said, “It’s hard to sing with a stiff neck.”
Your livelihood may not rely on your getting restful and pain-free sleep. However, I invite you to consider that your ability to do your job, play with your children, or just enjoy life is negatively impacted when your neck or back is stiff or in pain. Then consider the long-term implications of inflicting that same poor sleeping posture on your neck and back night after night for 20 years.
One of the simplest ways that I know to positively impact neck and back pain is through the use of a good mattress and pillow. We spend more than 20% of our lives horizontal in bed. Our posture while we are sleeping, impacts how we feel when we wake up. A high-quality mattress and pillow are investments in our health and pay dividends for years in the form of restful, healthy, and pain-free sleep and set you up for a great day.
Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Snoring affects the quality of your sleep and that of anyone in bed with you. The causes are many and varied. They include everything from narrow throat due to heredity, age or gender, allergies, posture, smoking and drinking, and general fitness level and conditioning.
The one area that isn’t explored in-depth and which has been clinically found to be effective in both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea is the use of a cervical or orthopedic pillow.
Pillows, and more importantly the posture of neck and head during sleep is by no means the main cause of snoring or sleep apnea but are an overlooked way of potentially alleviating the causes particularly if other non-invasive approaches have not proven successful.