Sleeping Posture

Sleeping posture has a greater effect on the body than most people might imagine.

If you think about it the average person will probably spend between a quarter and a third of their life in bed (approximately 6 to 8 hours per night).

With that thought in mind, it's easier to understand the impact poor sleeping posture can have on the body.

Well, there are two main ways that posture can be affected by sleep. Firstly, there is the pillow (or pillows) you choose to use and secondly there's your mattress. In combination, these two items have a great determining influence not only on how soundly a person sleeps but also on whether they will suffer strains and pain in the back and the neck.

Having a good quality mattress and supportive pillows are very important to help support the neck and the spine in the correct alignment.  After all, it no good working on improving posture during daytime only to have all the good work undone whilst asleep!

Regular pillows are made with a range of different filling such as feathers, down, foam and polyester or cotton fiber.  On the whole, regular pillows tend to be quite supportive when new - or else people whouldn't buy them, right?

However, the problem with many regular pillows is that - within a fairly short period of time - the filling rearranges itself or gets crushed so that the supportive qualities are reduced significantly. Without this important support the neck risks losing correct alignment and muscles may be strained.

If you find yourself constantly 'puffing' your pillow to make it fuller and more supportive in the center you will already have experience of this.

These days it's possible to find a whole range of pillows designed to promote neck relief and good sleeping posture. These are premium products that are scientifically designed to improve the alignment of the neck and spine whilst in bed and can have provide almost immediate benefit. Find out more about supportive neck pillows.

Mattresses should be able to provide enough support to keep the spine straight. As wth pillows, there are different types of mattresses around but not all offer the same levels of support.

Old mattresses, in particular, are a real problem; spings start to sag and the body rolls away from the true horizontal position - again, stressing the spine and the back muscles.  If your mattress sags in any place then likely it's past its best. If your bed sags and you have back pains in the morning it might be worth a trip to a bed store to see what else is available.

One major advance of the last few years is the development of memory foam mattresses (and pillows).  Memory foam was devised by NASA for it's space program and has now found its way into the general market - to the benefit and relief of millions of people.

Memory foam mattresses use the body's own heat to mold themselves to the exact shape of the body, bearing weight evenly so there are no pressure points. In a way, sleeping on a memory foam mattress is almost like having a 'weighless' sleep - it needs to be experienced to believed.  Importantly, this even, molded support promotes good spinal alignment and helps achieve excellent sleeping posture.

Some companies also now manufacture memory foam mattress toppers - thin mattresses that sit on top of an existing mattress and provide some additional support and padding. Obviously, these will not offer the full sleeping posture benefits offered by regular memory foam mattresses but they do offer a much cheaper option - ideal for someone who wants a try-out without making a full financial commitment.