Determine the correct pillow height

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

Table of Contents

1. Why is the correct pillow height so important?
2. What is the ideal pillow height for me?
   
   1. The sleeping position, shoulder width & body shape
   2. The hardness 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. This is how you determine the optimal pillow height
4. Personal feeling decides

Our pillow determines the position of the head during sleep. It is responsible for ensuring that we sleep in a healthy posture and that the sensitive cervical spine in particular is well placed and protected at night. A comfortable and natural sleeping position also allows the muscles, ligaments and tendons to relax and reduces the pressure on our bones and joints, making pain-free sleep possible and avoiding the development of headaches, stiff muscles or severe tension Tomorrow will be prevented.

1. Why is the correct pillow height so important?

In addition to the size, shape or type of filling material, height is one of the most important properties that determine the functionality, support and comfort of a pillow. The right height is therefore an important selection criterion when looking for the perfect pillow.

If our pillow is too high, the neck will be bent too much and the spine will be compressed, which will overstretch the neck muscles and promote vertebral blockages. If the pillow is too low, the head tilts back slightly and the cervical vertebrae are overstretched, which can also lead to incorrect loading and tension. 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 collapse effect and hinder free breathing during sleep because the chest area is compressed. An incorrect pillow height 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, however, the head, neck and shoulder areas are stabilized and supported while you sleep. The head and spine down to the pelvis should ideally form a straight line so that the natural double S shape of the spine is maintained and the vertebrae are not pushed into an unnatural shape. Back and stomach sleepers should therefore position their heads in a horizontal position. When sleeping on your side, the shoulders and cervical spine are ideally 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 depends on your preferred sleeping position, shoulder width and the shape of your head, shoulders and neck. But the degree of hardness of our mattress also plays an important role, because this, in conjunction with the pillow, ultimately determines our posture while we sleep.

Sleeping position, shoulder width & body shape

Our sleeping position determines how we actually lie on our pillow. When the head is rested on the side, our shoulder width plays a particularly important role and determines how high the pillow has to be so that the head and the rest of the body can be stabilized in a horizontal position. If you have wide shoulders, the pillow should be slightly higher than if you have narrow shoulders. Finally, the interaction of our head shape, shoulder width and the individual curvature of the spine in the neck area also contribute to the height required to optimize sleeping posture.

The hardness of the mattress

The level of hardness of the mattress also determines how we lie at night. A softer mattress allows the upper body to sink into the lying surface a little more depending on your body weight, which is why the pillow should be slightly lower to maintain a natural sleeping position. When sleeping on a harder mattress, however, the pillow usually needs to be slightly higher because the rest of the body lies straight and sinks less.

#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

As a side sleeper, the pillow should be high enough to keep the head-shoulder triangle at a right angle and to avoid kinking or incorrect strain on the neck and shoulder area.

#3 The ideal pillow height for stomach sleepers

Stomach sleepers are best placed on a pillow that is as low as possible, otherwise the cervical spine quickly bends backwards and neck pain is inevitable.

3. This is how you determine your optimal pillow height

Which pillow height exactly is required so that you lie perfectly ultimately depends not only on the interaction of your personal support needs and your mattress, but also on your personal feelings. An exact value is therefore difficult to measure, but you can orientate yourself on your personal support needs.

And this is how you can easily determine your personal support needs: If you sleep on your back, stand upright and backwards against a wall (if you sleep on your side), do not lean against it and keep your head straight. The distance between the wall and your head corresponds approximately to your personal support needs and is best measured with a flexible tape measure and the help of another person. In general, a support requirement of less than 2.5 cm is considered low, and a support requirement of more than 7 cm is considered high.

4. Personal feeling decides

The right pillow height makes a decisive contribution to healthy sleep. And even if the search isn't always easy, it's even more worthwhile to take a closer look at the various product features and find a pillow that ideally suits your needs and sleeping conditions. So that you can lie relaxed night after night and wake up from your sleep truly refreshed.

5. Conclusion

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

• The correct pillow height depends on the mattress and our individual support needs, which result from the 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.

• As a side sleeper, the pillow should be high enough to keep the head-shoulder triangle at a right angle and to avoid bending the neck and shoulder area.

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

 Best regards and see you soon!