Pillow – An Enigma

?? In my medical practice, pillow has been a very common topic of discussion among my patients.


?? In a day, we all sleep on an average of 7-8 hours. It constitutes *one third (1/3 )* of our day, so a pillow should provide adequate relaxation and rest to our neck muscles, so as to avoid a stiff neck in the morning.


?? It comes down to two common basic questions


1. Should I use a pillow?
*Yes,* of course we should use a pillow


2. Which is an Ideal pillow?
The basic idea is to keep your *neck straight*
▪If you sleep on your back, then it should be a smaller one ( 1- 1¹/² inch)
▪ If you sleep on your sides, then use a bigger one ( 5 – 6 inches : distance from the side of neck to the tip of the shoulder )


3. what should be the material in my pillow?
We can always use a cotton pillow or a foam pillow, but make sure the pillow is firm ( neither too hard or neither too soft so as to avoid the head to sink in the pillow) .


Sleep is a vital part of our daily biological routine, and *a good night’s sleep can make a very *happy good morning ..* ☺*