Physiotherapist Samantha Spiegel has issued a warning to those who prefer to sleep on two pillows at night. In a video shared with her followers on TikTok, she claimed that using more pillows than necessary could lead to spine-related issues and muscle discomfort.
One of the main problems with using too many pillows is that it can contribute to poor posture and other muscle issues. She cited a study which suggested that pillow height directly affects spinal alignment.
Pillows that are too high can push the head forward, increasing tension in the neck and cervical muscles. However, when fewer pillows are used, resulting in a lower overall height, the spine can maintain a more neutral alignment, leading to less pressure.
Long-term poor posture can also contribute to neck and back pain as well as muscle stiffness upon waking. Samantha stated: “I have so many patients that when they come in for therapy, I lie them down on their back on the mat, and they need at least two pillows. Sometimes I even have to lift the head of the mat up because they cannot lie flat without discomfort or their head kind of going like this.
“I don’t want to sleep in this position. I want to sleep in the position that I want to be in and that I want to reflect in my posture. I’m already fighting bad posture enough as it is. I don’t want to lie down in bed and have a pillow that puts me in bad posture, right?”
She warned. “When you go to bed at night, use gravity to your advantage to stretch you straighter if you can tolerate it. You know those mattresses that conform to your body? Be careful not to give in to those, right? Because all of a sudden, you’re conforming to your curves that are happening through the day.
“And then you’re like, “Oh, I can’t reverse that.
” Because eight hours of that position and not letting your spine stretch into a little bit straighter is going to build up over time until you’re walking around with the dowager’s hump and you’re kind of slouchy, right?”
For those battling with poor posture, she recommends standing slightly away from a wall, bending their knees while keeping the lower back pressed against the wall, then placing their head back up the wall without allowing too much arching of the back. Once this is achieved, she suggests pulling the shoulders back and slightly down, opening up the palms and pressing the spine into the wall.
For those who can handle it, she suggests raising the arms overhead and then back down without letting the back leave the wall. She said: “You should feel this in your thoracic spine. Your thoracic spine is just as important as your cervical spine.
“Wherever the thoracic spine goes, the cervical spine goes.”
For neck pain relief, the NHS recommends using a low, firm pillow, taking paracetamol, applying heat or cold packs, and performing neck flexibility exercises.
However, they caution against wearing a neck collar unless prescribed by a doctor and engaging in activities that could exacerbate neck issues.
The late Dr Michael Mosley also had advice on pillows at bedtime. He said which pillow you sleep with depends on how you sleep.
He said: “People who sleep on their back will benefit from thinner pillows ‘which help to limit stress on the neck’. Stomach sleepers need a really thin pillow, or no pillow at all, to keep the spine straight and minimise stress on the lower back. For side sleepers (the most popular position), a standard pillow will do, though they might consider ‘placing a pillow between their knees or thighs to help maintain spinal alignment as they sleep’.”
