Resting on a Good Night's Sleep

Seems like every client I see in my massage practice has some trouble getting comfortable to fall asleep and stay asleep all night.

Granted, people coming on for massages tend to be those with a computer-based job, a history of neck or back injuries and trigger points, all elements that mess with sleep.

What is remarkable in this info-age is that people don’t have good information on how to get comfortable for a good night’s sleep. We spend a lot of time complaining about sleep but little time looking into how to sleep better.

As massage therapists know, a good night’s sleep is pretty basic to health and wellness, and trigger points tend to send a wrecking ball right through our attempts to repair and rest our bodies and minds.

I’m forever recommending pillows, positions, stretches, any number of solutions for people to get their sleep. It’s based more than a bit on my own experience trying to get enough good rest to feel healthy.

That means I have taken a few wrong turns here and there, resulting in a vast collection of neck pillows that promised to balance the spine and quiet neck knots and didn’t quite deliver.

The most expensive ($120) is my cat’s favorite nap spot. It’s the memory foam pillow, which I thought would be a big acquisition and it actually turned out to be a big bust. The foam molds a little too well to the body, lacking support, and the foam reflects heat. An awful lot of heat. Kitty wins this one and good riddance.

The side sleeper tunnel pillow. A curved piece of metal with a foam cushion top, which supposedly allows you to sleep on your side with your arm stuck over your head. Hard, uncomfortable and unforgiving, it is hidden in the linen closet.

The four-square pillow, which features a dip in the middle for the head, larger sides. This is uncomfortable in all positions. The cat likes it.

The Dog Bone-shaped pillow. This little $10 item wins as the best fit for a side sleeper, but it does not adjust for smaller necks. I wish it was available in small, medium and large.

The hot water and foam pillow. I left this in a hotel room when I was on vacation and have cried ever since. It was completely adjustable and had two water-filled chambers to separately adjust head and neck support.

So when my clients ask me what is the best pillow to use, I have to confess to having the world’s largest collection of pillows. And that I now use an old down pillow and punch it up into the right shape to fit my neck.

Now we can all get some rest.