What is the difference between a pillow that costs tens of dollars and one that costs thousands of dollars? Here are some tips for choosing the right pillow →

Did you sleep well last night? Today is March 21st - World Sleep Day.

Studies have shown that good sleep not only helps to replenish energy, protect cognition, and consolidate memory, but also effectively removes various "garbage" produced by the brain.

However, according to statistics, the incidence of insomnia among Chinese people has exceeded 38%. Therefore, for some people, getting a good night's sleep is not an easy thing. There are many factors that affect sleep, such as whether you play with your mobile phone before going to bed, whether you do strenuous exercise, and whether you choose the right mattress, quilt, and pillow.

There are pillows on the market that cost tens of dollars or thousands of dollars. How do you choose? Today, we will start with the "head" and teach you how to choose a suitable pillow.

Why do we need pillows?

Although some people may not like to use a pillow when sleeping, thinking that this is the most "close to nature" way of sleeping, as long as the pillow is suitable, it can indeed help improve sleep quality.

The pillow is an important support tool when sleeping. The most important function of the pillow is to support the weight of the head and neck, maintain the physiological curvature of the head and neck, relax the neck muscles and reduce the pressure on the cervical intervertebral disc.

Among them, maintaining the physiological curvature of the head may be more abstract. Simply put, it is to ensure that the ears and shoulders are in a straight line, and the chin and sternum are in a straight line.

We can understand this through a picture. It is roughly to keep the head and body in the state shown in the picture below.

The data in the figure are from research on Chinese people, and are more valuable for us to study (Source: Cai D. et al., 2016)

If the pillow is not chosen properly, for example, if it is too high, it may cause excessive pressure on the neck and head; if it is too low, it may not provide sufficient support.

These conditions will prevent the muscles from fully relaxing, causing neck pain and headaches, thus affecting sleep quality. From this, it can be seen that the height of the pillow has a great impact on sleep quality.

sit back and relax?

When we choose a pillow, the most important and intuitive parameter is the height of the pillow . Although as the saying goes, the higher the pillow, the better, but the higher the pillow is definitely not better, so how should we choose it?

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

First of all, it should be noted that the most reliable way to judge whether the height of the pillow is appropriate is to measure the contact pressure between the pillow and the neck, head, and shoulders .

But this is not very realistic for ordinary people. We do not have the conditions and it is impossible to do such a test on every pillow. Therefore, we need some more "simple and crude" but practical judgment methods.

The most suitable pillow height is different for different genders. In addition, the most suitable pillow height is also different for different sleeping positions. The most suitable pillow height for side-lying and supine positions may differ by 10 cm, which is a huge difference for pillows.

Therefore, when choosing a pillow, you must choose it according to your gender and usual sleeping position.

How to choose a pillow when sleeping on your back?

There are many studies on pillow height. Here, we choose a study on Chinese people to help you choose a pillow.

A study published in 2012 provided recommendations on appropriate pillow heights for Chinese men and women, as well as for side and back sleeping.
First, let’s take a look at how people who like to sleep on their backs should choose a pillow.

When we sleep on our backs, our backs are against the bed. If the cervical spine wants to maintain the normal physiological curvature mentioned above, the head and neck will be suspended in the air. Therefore, the pillow needs to fill the gap between the neck and the bed, and between the head and the bed to provide support for the body.

For women, when lying on their backs, the gap between the neck and the middle of the bed is about 3 cm, while the gap between the back of the head and the bed is smaller, usually only 1 to 2 cm.

When a man lies on his back, the gap between his neck and the middle of the bed is about 4 to 5 cm, and the gap between the back of the head and the bed is about 3 to 4 cm.

Therefore, according to the research results of this article, for people who like to sleep on their backs, the pillow does not need to be too high.

A pillow for women should be about 3 cm thick, while a pillow for men generally does not need to be more than 4 cm thick.

Of course, the softness of each pillow is different, and the hardness of the mattress is also different, so the gap between the head and the bed may be slightly different. In addition, everyone has their own habits, and some people may be more accustomed to a higher pillow.

Therefore, these data only provide a reference, but in general, it is not recommended for people who sleep on their backs to use a pillow that is too high.

How to choose a pillow when sleeping on your side?

If you sleep on your side, the situation is different.

When sleeping on your side, your shoulders are against the bed, so the space that the pillow needs to fill is the distance from the neck to the outermost side of the shoulder, and the distance from the head (ear area) to the outermost side of the shoulder. This distance is relatively wide, so the height of the pillow you need to choose when sleeping on your side is also higher than when sleeping on your back, generally about 10 cm higher.

For example, for women, when sleeping on their side, the distance from the head to the mattress is about 12 cm, and the distance from the neck to the mattress is about 14 cm. For men, the pillow needs to fill the distance from the head to the mattress at about 14 cm, and the distance from the neck to the mattress at about 15-16 cm.

Therefore, people who are used to sleeping on their side can choose taller pillows when buying pillows, with a height of at least 12 cm.

Of course, some pillows are specially designed with a U-shaped structure, which is suitable for sleeping on your back in the middle and suitable for sleeping on your side on both sides.

For example, the picture below is a U-shaped pillow designed by Chen HL et al. in an article published in 2012. There are many similar designs on the market.

Pillow designs for men

Pillow design suitable for women. Images are from the literature: Chen HL. et al., 2012

Therefore, U-shaped pillows are worth considering for people with irregular sleeping positions, but for people with very fixed sleeping positions, there is no need to choose this type of pillow.

By the way, there is little research data specifically for people who like to sleep on their stomachs, because sleeping on your stomach is generally not recommended and may increase the burden on the muscles of the back.

But if you really can't sleep unless you sleep on your stomach, then try to choose a lower pillow, so that the cervical spine can be as close to the normal physiological curvature as possible.

Pillow filling material and shape

Although pillow height is the most important factor in choosing a pillow, there are many types of materials on the market, including down pillows, memory pillows, latex pillows, etc.

When choosing a pillow, you can also choose the appropriate filling material according to your sleeping position.

If you like to sleep on your side, try not to choose soft pillows like down pillows, otherwise they may not provide enough support.

In comparison, memory pillows or harder pillows such as buckwheat pillows and cassia seed pillows may be more suitable (of course, pillow cores such as buckwheat pillows and cassia seed pillows may be very difficult to clean, which also needs to be taken into consideration).

If you like to sleep on your back, you can choose a slightly softer pillow. Softer or lower memory pillows such as down pillows and latex pillows are also worth considering.

In addition, the material will affect an important factor - the temperature of the head when sleeping.

Studies have shown that the temperature of the pillow during sleep has a great impact on sleep quality. Choosing materials that can cool down and are breathable can improve sleep quality.
A 2011 study investigated 30 subjects' subjective feelings about sleep after using different pillows (and their combinations) and found that all had a poor subjective experience with the cradle pillow (pillow B in the picture below).

It may be because this shape of pillow is not conducive to heat dissipation and will affect sleep. So when choosing a pillow, you should try to avoid such a pillow.

Image source: Lee YL, et al., 2011

A study in 2014 found that memory pillows have a better cooling effect on the head than ordinary down pillows. Therefore, under the premise of the same pillow height, memory pillows can also be given priority.

summary:

It is still necessary to explain here that everyone's body and habits are slightly different. We do not need to adhere to a specific value, but for the selection of pillows, we can comprehensively draw the following rules:

If you like to sleep on your back: Try to choose a lower pillow, preferably one that is less than 5 cm.

If you like to sleep on your side: You can choose a higher pillow, more than 10 cm.

Women generally choose a lower pillow, while men can choose a slightly higher pillow.

When the height is the same, try to choose a pillow with good breathability.

Of course, because pillows have a huge impact on sleep, even pillows made of the same material may have differences in softness, hardness, and support effects.

So if conditions permit, it is recommended to go to a physical store to try it out before buying. If you buy a pillow online, don't rush to wash it. It's best to try it out before making a decision.

Finally, I wish you all a good sleep!