Pillows for neck pain are designed to promote proper alignment of the spine.
This, in turn, relieves pressure on neck muscles that causes pain and allows the person to get a much-needed good night’s sleep.
But the benefits don’t stop there, and below our health experts give a detailed accounting of the most important benefits of pillows for neck pain.
11 Benefits Of Pillows For Neck Pain
If you have been wondering whether pillows for neck pain have anything to offer you, read on.
1: Pillows for neck pain can help reduce snoring.
Snoring is the result of tissues in the airway interfering with one another and blocking airflow (1). When this happens that passing air causes the tissues to vibrate, which creates the sound we hear as snoring. Some of the pillows on our list (such as the Marnur Cervical Pillow and the Mediflow Water Pillow) will help reduce snoring by raising your head and allowing for the free flow of air.
2: Pillows for neck pain can reduce stress.
That’s because a lack of proper sleep has been shown to actually increase the level of stress people feel (2). The exact mechanism by which sleep deprivation increases stress levels is not yet fully understood. But there is sufficient evidence to conclude there is a definite link. If you have neck pain, one of the best ways to get a good night’s sleep is to use one of the above-profiled pillows. So pillow-up and chill out.
3: Pillows for neck pain can prevent pain before it starts.
The old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is entirely appropriate when it comes to pillows for neck pain. The best way to fix a problem, after all, is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In this case, the same pillows that will alleviate your neck pain will enable you to sleep in a way that prevents future occurrences of pain. And if you’ve never experienced neck pain and you use one of these pillows, there’s an excellent chance you never will.
4: Pillows for neck pain can also help relieve arthritis pain.
People who suffer from arthritis – particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA) – often have a tough time getting to sleep. As if dealing with RA isn’t tough enough, not being able to sleep properly just makes the situation that much worse (3). Most of the pillows on this list will help alleviate arthritis aches and pains so the sufferer can get a good night’s sleep.
5: Pillows for neck pain help older folks sleep better.
Older people often have trouble getting to sleep (4). Sometimes it’s because of arthritis pain. Sometimes it’s related to a lack of physical activity or medications they’re taking or simple stress. And sometimes the insomnia is the result of an uncomfortable mattress, blankets that aren’t warm enough or poor quality pillows. The pillows on the above list, beyond their ability to help alleviate pain, are some of the best thought out, best-made pillows on the market and can help anyone sleep better, neck pain or not.
6: Pillows for neck pain often hold up longer than standard pillows.
As we just mentioned, pillows for neck pain are typically some of the best-made pillows you’ll find, period. That not only means they’ll help you sleep better, it also means they’re likely going to last longer than any standard feather pillow you can buy. Where a standard pillow will likely become flat and basically worthless in a couple of years, a good pillow for neck pain should last several times that long.
7: Pillows for neck pain can help prevent painkiller addiction.
Rather than trying a pillow for their neck pain, some people reach instead for painkillers. What often follows are months or even years of escalating painkiller use. In some cases, that use morphs into addiction, and then the person has two problems: the neck pain, and the addiction to painkillers. No one sets out to become addicted to painkillers. But it happens. Using the right pillow to address your neck pain can help prevent you from starting down a very slippery slope.
8: Pillows for neck pain provide spinal support.
And spinal support while you sleep is incredibly important to your overall health (5). This is especially true if you suffer from back problems or some type of spine disorder such as spinal stenosis (6). Not getting enough sleep will only serve to aggravate whatever spine-related back problem a person is having. That, in turn, makes sleeping difficulties even worse and sets off a spiral of dysfunction that becomes increasingly difficult to stop.
9: Pillows for neck pain can help improve your memory.
It’s true. During the day, our brain is busy soaking up information and experiences. Some of these it can process immediately. Things that may be more mentally or emotionally taxing, however, are usually processed by the brain as we sleep. Sometimes by way of dreams (7) that help us sort things out and consolidate our memories. A lack of sleep can interfere with this process. Important information and feelings never get properly resolved and linger in our subconscious, interfering with our real-time short term memory. A good pillow for back pain that enables you to get a good night’s sleep will help keep your mind clear and enhance memory.
10: Pillows for neck pain can save you money on medical bills.
Doctor visits aren’t getting any cheaper. And many times the cost of the office visit isn’t covered by insurance. That goes double for Medicare which, at best, typically only covers part of the cost of an office visit (8). By buying and using the right pillow, you can alleviate your neck pain and fend off the need to keep spending money on expensive trips to the doctor.
11: Pillows for neck pain allow you to be more comfortable.
This is, after all, the bottom line when it comes to pillows. If the pillow you use to reduce neck pain is not comfortable and does not make you more comfortable while you’re trying to sleep, then it’s not doing its job. In which case, you should start looking immediately for another. Because, as we’ve seen, proper sleep is essential to physical, mental, and emotional health.
Conclusion
Pillows for neck pain are an easy and affordable way to ensure you get a good night’s sleep. They can also reduce snoring in some people, help ease arthritis discomfort and reduce a person’s dependence on painkillers. By helping a person get enough sleep they can also indirectly help to improve short-term memory and overall cognitive performance.