We frequently get asked this question from patients, family members and friends. This is a common question from people who have neck pain; especially pain that interrupts sleep quality.

Research on the optimal pillow is not strong. However Dr. Sue Gordon *), a physical therapist at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, has done extensive research on sleep position and waking neck pain. She found that subjects who reported sleeping mostly on their side were significantly less likely to report waking cervical pain or waking scapular or arm pain compared with subjects who slept in any other position.

*) Gordon S.J., Grimmer K.A., Trott P. 2007 “Sleep position, age, gender, sleep quality and waking cervico-thoracic symptoms.” Internet. J. Allied Hlth Sci. & Prac. Vol 5 No. 1.

It is recommended to have two or three different pillows and to rotate between them on a two to four weekly cycle. The goal is to prevent using one pillow style long enough to adapt to the particular support mode and posture associated with that pillow, and instead introduce a different support/posture interface on a regular basis. The short turnaround seems to reduce the initial discomfort of a pillow change and the regular change might be the equivalent of a postural position change during the day.