Determine the correct pillow height

The right pillow height ensures a comfortable head position while sleeping and contributes significantly to a healthy sleeping posture. We'll explain how to find the right pillow height for restful sleep and to prevent painful tension the next morning.

Table of contents

1. Why is the right pillow height so important?
2. What is the ideal pillow height for me?
   
   1. Sleeping position, shoulder width & body shape
   2. The firmness of the mattress
   3. The ideal pillow height for back sleepers
   4. The ideal pillow height for side sleepers
   5. The ideal pillow height for stomach sleepers
3. How to determine the optimal pillow height
4. Personal feeling decides

Our pillow determines the position of our head during sleep. It is responsible for ensuring that we sleep in a healthy posture and that the sensitive cervical spine is well positioned and protected at night. A comfortable and natural Sleeping position It also allows the muscles, ligaments and tendons to relax and reduces the pressure on our bones and joints, allowing for pain-free sleep and preventing headaches, stiff muscles or severe tension the next morning.

1. Why is the right pillow height so important?

Along with size, shape, and the type of filling material, height is one of the most important characteristics that determine a pillow's functionality, support, and comfort. The right height is therefore an important selection criterion when looking for the perfect pillow.

If our pillow is too high, the neck is bent too far and the spine is compressed, which overstretches the neck muscles and promotes vertebral blockages. If the pillow is too low, the head tilts slightly backward and the cervical vertebrae are overstretched, which also leads to incorrect strain and Tensions Depending on your sleeping position, the wrong pillow height can also increase pressure on the shoulder area, promote the occurrence of the so-called shoulder-flopping effect, and hinder free breathing during sleep because the chest area is compressed. An incorrect pillow height therefore not only leads to unpleasant tension, pain, or blockages in the head and neck area, but also disrupts breathing and promotes snoring.

With the right pillow height, the head, neck, and shoulders are stabilized and supported during sleep. Ideally, the head and spine, including the pelvis, should form a straight line to maintain the spine's natural double S-shape and prevent the vertebrae from becoming distorted. Back and stomach sleepers should therefore position their heads horizontally. When sleeping on your side, the shoulders and cervical spine should ideally be positioned at exactly right angles to each other.

2. What is the ideal pillow height for me?

The right pillow height depends on your personal support needs and your preferred Sleeping position, shoulder width, and the shape of your head, shoulders, and neck. The firmness of our mattress also plays an important role, because this, in conjunction with the pillow, ultimately determines our posture while sleeping.

Sleeping position, shoulder width & body shape

Our Sleeping position decides how we lie on our pillow.When resting our head sideways, our shoulder width plays a particularly important role and determines how high the pillow needs to be to stabilize the head and the rest of the body in a horizontal position. Accordingly, if we have broad shoulders, the pillow should be slightly higher than if we have narrow shoulder widths. Finally, the interaction of our head shape, shoulder width, and the individual curvature of the spine in the neck area also contributes to the height required to optimize our sleeping posture.

The firmness of the mattress

The firmness of the mattress also determines how we sleep at night. A softer mattress allows the upper body to sink a little more into the sleeping surface, depending on body weight, so the pillow should be slightly lower to maintain a natural sleeping position. When sleeping on a firmer mattress, however, the pillow usually needs to be a little higher, as the rest of the body lies flat and sinks less deeply.

#1 The ideal pillow height for back sleepers

Back sleepers need a pillow on which their head rests as horizontally as possible and the spine is stabilized in its natural shape.

#2 The ideal pillow height for side sleepers

If you are a side sleeper, the pillow should be high enough to keep the head and shoulder triangle at a right angle and to prevent bending or incorrect strain on the neck and shoulder area.

#3 The ideal pillow height for stomach sleepers

Stomach sleepers are best advised to use a pillow that is as low as possible, otherwise the cervical spine will quickly bend backwards and neck pain is inevitable.

3. How to determine your optimal pillow height

Ultimately, the exact pillow height required for your perfect sleep depends not only on the interaction between your personal support needs and your mattress, but also on your personal preferences. Therefore, an exact value is difficult to measure, but you can base your decision on your personal support needs.

And this is how easy it is to determine your personal support needs: If you're a back sleeper, stand upright against a wall (if you're a side sleeper, stand on your side). Don't lean against it, and keep your head straight. The distance between the wall and your head will then roughly correspond to your personal support needs and is best measured with a flexible tape measure and the help of another person. Generally, a support requirement of less than 2.5 cm is considered low, while a support requirement of more than 7 cm is considered high.

4. Personal feeling decides

The right pillow height contributes significantly to a healthy sleep. And even if the search is not always easy, it is all the more worthwhile to take a closer look at the various product features and pillow Find the one that's ideally suited to your needs and sleeping conditions. So you can rest easy night after night and wake up truly refreshed.

5. Conclusion

• The height of the pillow determines the position of the cervical spine at night and ensures a healthy head posture for restful sleep.

• The correct pillow height depends on the mattress and our individual support needs, which result from sleeping position, shoulder width and body shape.

• Back sleepers need a pillow on which their head rests as horizontally as possible and the spine is stabilized in its natural shape.

• If you are a side sleeper, the pillow should be high enough to keep the head-shoulder triangle at a right angle and prevent the neck and shoulder area from bending.

• Stomach sleepers are best advised to use a pillow that is as low as possible, otherwise the cervical spine will quickly bend backwards and neck pain will occur.

Best wishes and see you soon!