When it comes to neck pain, like many other things, prevention may be better than treatment. It's true that you have no control over some causes of neck pain, like age-related damage.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of things you can do to lower your risk. Knowing your sleeping habits and any potential effects they may have on neck aches is a good place to begin.
So, what is the best treatment for neck pain? Good sleep. Although there are more treatments, nothing beats natural rejuvenation during sleep.
Your body works extremely hard to repair itself while you're awake.
But while you're sleeping, it can change its focus from trying to fix everything to strengthening your muscles and bones, repairing tissues, and recharging your batteries so that you wake up feeling revitalized and ready to take on the day.
Neck pain can be caused by stress or tension in other areas of the body—like shoulders, back muscles, and hips—so, a good night's rest allows these muscles time to relax too!
Here are a few ideas for preventing neck pain:
Firm and supportive mattress
Make sure your mattress is firm and supportive enough for your body type and weight. Avoid mattresses that sag in the middle or have too much give under your head or feet.
This will help keep your spine aligned while you sleep, which can reduce fatigue and improve overall health.
Adjust the position of your pillow
For back sleepers; place a pillow under your head and shoulders to support them so they don't sink into the mattress and cause strain on your neck.
For side sleepers; you can put a pillow under one shoulder while leaving the other side free.
For stomach sleepers; use no pillow at all! Studies show that this position is actually helpful for relieving neck pain because it allows gravity to hold up your head as opposed to having to rely on muscles in the back and shoulders.
Or get a contoured memory foam pillow; these are layered pillows and shaped to support the natural curve of your neck as you sleep.
Avoid sleeping with a pillow under your knees (unless you need one for medical reasons)
This can cause an uneven distribution of weight and pressure on the discs between each vertebrae in your spine when you're lying down flat on your back or stomach all night long (which is what happens when you sleep with a pillow under one knee).
Remember; the moment when you feel a twinge in your neck, and you think: 'Oh, this is nothing. Just a little soreness. It'll go away in a few minutes'–And then it doesn't, it only means it's serious.
It’s a real bummer, but we also know you can do something about it! So don't ignore your pain, tend to it right away--the better you feel, the more you achieve. Simply make an effort to get a good night's sleep to make it go away!