Sleeping Without a Pillow

Pillows are the most essential part of a bed and they are known to provide extraordinary comfort to people. There are different types of pillows including small, large and they are shaped differently as well. Recently, a lot of people have developed queries on sleeping without a pillow in their minds. It can’t be said that sleeping without a pillow is good or bad because it completely depends on the position in which you sleep.

A lot of people enjoy sleeping on a pillow that is fluffy and comfortable whereas, others find it uncomfortable to sleep on a big pillow. If you don’t like the feeling of sleeping on a pillow, you can try sleeping without one. There are some remarkable benefits of sleeping without a pillow but, there are also some drawbacks to be considered. Whether you should sleep on a pillow depends on your sleeping position and how your spine is placed. This post will talk about the benefits and everything related to the same.

Not all people follow the same sleeping position and all of them have their comfort zone. According to the sleeping position you prefer, it can be determined whether you should sleep without a pillow or not. So, for understanding, is sleeping without a pillow bad, you must be considering all important factors including your sleeping position.

Some sleeping positions may allow the use of a pillow whereas, others may not.

If you are planning to get rid of your habit of sleeping on a pillow, you must be aware of the things you should consider. There are several benefits of sleeping with a pillow as well as without one. To know which one suits you better, you must determine your preferred sleeping position as even a little bit of ignorance can lead to a wrong decision and you will have to go through a lot of pain. Hence, it is always advised for you to have detailed information about it before you make the final shift from using a pillow to not using one. Read this post till the end to know more details on whether you should sleep without a pillow and the tips you should follow for making the shift.

What are the benefits of sleeping without a pillow?

The primary purpose of a pillow is to maintain the position of your spine when you sleep. If you are sleeping on your side or your back, it is for you to sleep with a pillow. But, there are many benefits of sleeping without a pillow too. When you are sleeping on your back, if you lie down on a flattened surface, your neck gets forced backwards.

The best kind of pillow for those who sleep on their back is the one that is fluffed amply to give support to your neck without any overextension. For those who sleep on their sides, a similar scenario is faced. A pillow can be useful in maintaining the neutral position of your spine and neck.

For those who are stomach sleepers, it is always better to sleep without a pillow because humans are not created to sleep on their stomachs, but some people love sleeping in this position. When someone sleeps on the stomach, the body position exerts more pressure on the neck. Sleeping on the stomach can put your spine in an abnormal position which obstructs it from maintaining its curve. When a pillow is added on top of it, it can only increase the pressure, though there are a few pillows designed exclusively for stomach sleepers.

As per the study conducted by many medical centres, it has been found that when you sleep on your stomach, most of your weight is exerted in the middle part of the body, which leads to excessive stress to your neck and the back. If you sleep without a pillow, it is assured that your neck and head are placed in a flatter position, which can cause stress reduction and help in promoting a better position and alignment of the spine.

Can sleep without a pillow reduces neck pain?

As a child, you could jump around without injuries. But, once an adult, it starts to feel like you got hurt even if you sleep in the wrong position by mistake. A lot of people who suffer neck pain have these concerns mainly because of their way of sleeping. Whether it can cure neck pain or not is mainly dependent on your sleeping position.

When you sleep on the stomach, you probably turn your head towards the side, which again pits your neck in an improper position. If you sleep in this way, by using a pillow the angle will only become worse. In such a case, sleeping without a pillow is highly recommended as it helps in the alleviation of neck pain.

If you sleep on the back, sleeping without a pillow can put your neck in an awkward position than sleeping on a pillow. Sleeping on the back without using a pillow can result in neck pain and it will not relieve the already existing neck pain.

Why is sleeping without a pillow bad? 

There are a lot of benefits you can derive from it, based on the sleeping position you prefer, there are some notable drawbacks also. Here are the drawbacks:

• Bad posture

In most cases, sleeping without a pillow can be bad for the complete posture of your body. Pillows were developed to help in maintaining the alignment of your spine and if you choose not to use a pillow, you will not get these benefits.

If you prefer sleeping on your stomach, it wouldn’t be a good choice to use a pillow under your head, but you may put the pillow under the stomach and pelvis instead. If you put the pillow here, the lower parts of your body will be raised, so they remain in better alignment with the position of your head. This can put your spine in a better position and help in relieving pressure. If you sleep in any other position, choosing to not use a pillow is not a great deal. If you sleep on your side or back, ensure that you use a pillow.

• Neck Pain

For most people, sleeping without a pillow can be more harmful than good. Unless you are sleeping on your stomach, sleeping without a pillow will cause a problem in the alignment of the spine and result in neck pain.

Sleeping on the back may lead to overextending of your neck and you require the pillow to be placed underneath so that the neutral position of your spine can be restored. Without using a pillow, your neck remains overly extended throughout the night, which means that you will have neck pain when you wake up from sleep.

How to sleep without a pillow?

If you want to know how it feels like to sleep without a pillow, you must know that it will take some time for you to get habituated to sleeping without a pillow. This is particularly true if you have the habit of sleeping with a pillow all through your life and you want to know is it bad to sleep without a pillow. If you want to start it, follow these tips as a beginner to start the transition:

• Give it a slow start

If you are used to sleeping with your head on a fluffy pillow, and you want to start sleeping without a pillow, you should try to sleep on a more flat pillow. You can also try using a folded blanket and adjust the folds as you become more comfortable in sleep.

• Use your pillows to support other body parts

If you are a stomach sleeper and want to gradually shift to sleeping without any pillow, you can just put the pillow underneath your pelvis. This can help in maintaining a neutral position of your body that will be comfortable for you.

• Buy a good mattress

This is the most vital tip you should follow. If you are struggling to get good sleep, the problem might not be with your pillow but your mattress instead. You must hunt for a good mattress and buy it at least after every 5 years, based on the kind of mattress you already have.

So, it can be concluded that sleeping without a pillow can be beneficial for a few people, but not for all. If you are a stomach sleeper, you should try to move the pillow downwards near your pelvis instead of keeping it underneath your head. If you are a side or back sleeper, the best thing you can do is stick with the pillow for a long time. However, you can also try experimenting with various kinds of pillows for your sleeping position to know which one works effectively for you.

According to: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4460

Susan C Bohm

Fan of good quality sleeping and WordPress platform 🙂 Shopping is also my passion, that is why this article was created especially for you. Find out how you can sleep like a king and not overpay.