Everybody understands the importance of sleep to our overall health. After a good night’s sleep, we wake up refreshed and ready to face the challenge of the new day.
To some of us, sleep is of a second nature and it is as effortless as eating or breathing. However, others are not that fortunate as they suffer from various sleep problems.
In the spirit of the Kaizen method, we can gradually improve the quality of our sleep, one step at a time. One of the small improvements we can start with is to focus on our environment and to ensure that we have a good sleep posture that is conducive for sleep.
Your sleep environment matters
First, we should start with our mattress and pillow as they have a tremendous impact on our sleep quality.
Have you experienced neck pains when when you wake up in the morning? If so, it is possible that your mattress is too soft. The reason is that as you rest your head on the pillow, your neck will curve itself internally in an unnatural manner for the entire night.
If the mattress is too soft, this would mean that the spine is unable to receive the support it needs. The muscles around the spine would also be in a constant state of tightness, resulting in the accumulation of lactic acid. This is the reason why your muscles feel sore and tired when you wake up. Hence, you should choose a mattress that is hard enough.
So how do you choose a suitable pillow? For those who are accustomed to sleeping on their backs, the pillow which you are sleeping on, when compressed, should be roughly around the height of a fist.
As for those who sleep on their side, your pillow should be higher. The pillow when compressed, should be roughly around the height of a fist, index finger and middle finger.
The correct sleep posture
To maintain a good sleeping posture, your spine should maintain a reasonable level as seen in the diagram below.
If the pillow is too low, your head would be tilted upwards when you lie on your back. This will lead to an unnecessary pressure and bending of your neck. A low pillow may also cause your neck to curve towards the side If you sleep on your back.
Having said that, we should also be wary of pillows which are too high. Your neck may be unnaturally arched if you sleep on your back on a high pillow. You will wake up with a stiff neck as your neck muscles are rigidly constrained for the whole night. Similarly, your neck would be unnaturally compressed if you sleep on the side on a high pillow.
Even if your pillow is of an appropriate height, you still cannot catch a good night’s sleep if your mattress is not compatible with your pillow. For example, a soft mattress would lead to the same situation as if you are sleeping on a high pillow.
Check your pillow and mattress and see for yourself if they are responsible for your sore neck. If so, rectify the problem and you will be one step closer to the refreshing sleep you always wanted.
Happy snoozing!
