A comfortable berth is the key to a sound sleep and well-being. However, many often wonder whether it is possible and useful to sleep without a pillow, and if so, why. Or maybe you shouldn’t refuse her? To give an answer, it is necessary to understand what advantages and disadvantages there are in using this device.
It is worth mentioning right away that there is no consensus among doctors about the use or refusal of a pillow. Nevertheless, modern orthopedic surgeons speak out against rest on a flat surface. And there are good reasons for this, because sleep without a pillow can be fraught with consequences. Which ones? Let's find out.
It causes discomfort and feeling unwell.
Many are interested in whether it is useful to sleep without a pillow for the spine. If we consider it as a permanent accessory for a bed, the absence of such bedding will not do anything good. After all, with its help we can take a comfortable and habitual position of the body, and the head still needs to be on a small and soft elevation. Sleeping out of the blue can cause a person discomfort, cause a feeling of weakness and chronic lack of sleep.
Those who like to sleep on their backs often complain that they are extremely unpleasant when the back of their head comes in contact with the hard surface of the mattress. In addition, such a situation during sleep often causes pain in the muscles of the neck, because the lack of a pillow makes a person strain to maintain the cervical spine. In fact, a pillow is needed not so much for the head as for the neck.
In addition, while resting on a flat bed, saliva can enter the respiratory tract, which is fraught with the appearance of a reflex cough and, as a result, premature awakening.
Due to the lack of a pillow, many people who like to sleep on their stomach or side have the habit of putting fists or palms under their heads. Of course, this makes a night's sleep optimally acceptable, but it can cause numbness in the hands.
Is it good to sleep without a pillow? Maybe. But the fact that this is inconvenient is a fact.
Reflects on appearance
When a person spends the whole night, buried in a hard mattress, in the morning he will certainly have a rumpled look, and even with the imprints of the folds of the sheet on his face. Then it will take at least an hour for this “beauty” to disappear.
In addition, the upside down position causes circulatory disorders, interfering with the normal outflow of blood, and provokes swelling of the eyelids. It seems that the person did not sleep at all.
And further. It is believed that sleep on a flat surface is the cause of the appearance of facial wrinkles. So, if you are not indifferent to your reflection in the mirror, there is reason to think.
Promotes Snoring
If there is no pillow, the person sleeping on his back is in the wrong position. This applies to a greater extent to the head and neck. In this case, there is a risk of tongue retraction. The lumen of the respiratory tract narrows, which, in turn, provokes snoring.
Causes osteochondrosis
As you know, diseases of the spine are often professional in nature. This disease affects those people whose work is associated with prolonged stress on the spinal column. These include office workers, massage therapists, dentists, and so on.
Therefore, many who have back problems are puzzled by whether it is useful to sleep without a pillow for cervical osteochondrosis. So, it is important to understand here that a night's rest on a completely flat bed only exacerbates the situation, because in this state the neck is in an unnatural position, which leads to malnutrition of the vertebrae and muscle tissue and causes swelling. Nerve roots are compressed, degenerative processes occur in the intervertebral discs.
Is it good to sleep without a pillow with scoliosis? The answer is clear: no. With this disease, it is best to use a roller or not too high and stiff pillow.
Despite the fact that some old-fashioned experts consider sleeping on a flat surface the norm, it should be understood that the pillow helps to relax the body and supports the cervical spine. That is why people with back problems need to rest on a small soft pillow. Moreover, the greater the width of the shoulders, the higher it should be.
Disrupts the blood circulation of the brain
Doctors warn: sleeping without a pillow can lead to ischemic stroke. The reason for this phenomenon is as follows: in an adult, the cervical region has a pronounced lordosis, that is, bends. Sleep without the use of a pillow, especially on the back, causes an incorrect position of the spine. As a result of this, the arteries through which blood flows are pinched, and the brain experiences starvation.
Is it good for children to sleep without a pillow
Doctors highly do not recommend babies to sleep on a pillow for up to a year, because their spine is in a weak state and can be easily bent. Sleep on a flat surface strengthens the neck muscles and spinal column. In addition, asphyxia can occur in a young child who has not yet learned to roll over. Therefore, the question of young parents about whether it is useful for a baby to sleep without a pillow is not even subject to discussion.
But starting from the age of six months, you can put a small folded diaper under the baby’s head, and begin to lay a one-year-old baby on a small orthopedic pillow.
To summarize
Those who still have not decided whether it is useful to sleep without a pillow, it is important to understand that the rejection of such bedding will bring much less benefit than harm. Therefore, it is better to purchase a pillow with orthopedic properties, which can provide support for the spine in the correct anatomical position and relax the cervical spine. Then you can take an optimally comfortable position - and a healthy, comfortable sleep will be ensured. Agree, this is a pretty weighty argument in favor of such an important sleeping attribute as a pillow.