It used to be simple. You roll into a homeware store and find a pillow and mattress that feel comfy. Hate to say it, but you’re missing out on quality sleep: but don’t worry, these 4 tips WILL solve that achy strain.
Guest blog post by Oliwia Koren
It might seem obvious that we need sleep to function and to achieve our best on a daily basis – but how many of us have a real working knowledge of the benefits that come hand-in-hand with sleep?
Being a parent comes with its own sets of challenges. Between juggling your career and tending to the little ones (and that’s just the start!), it’s completely understandable that you’re probably not getting your 8 hours a night.
That’s fine - here’s how you can optimize the sleep that you do get, without buying anything new.
1) Change Your Sleeping Position & Use a Second Pillow…
In a recent survey it was discovered that 82% of the UK aren’t optimizing their sleeping posture. We can’t always control the amount of sleep we get, but we can certainly improve the quality of it.
For most people, the ideal sleeping position presents itself in a semi-foetal, side lying pose and for the best sleep – stick a second pillow between your knees and ankles! It’ll do wonders.
But, if you’re more old-school-cool and prefer lying on your back, that’s fine too! There is just one tip that we strongly recommend adapting: Stick a second pillow underneath your knees.
Why the second pillow? It gives your back a much-needed break through ensuring that your back, hips, knees and ankles are all in a neutral alignment, which is kind of like the holy grail of sleep.
2 ) What To Do With Your Arm When You Sleep On Your Side?
At some point or another, we’ve all wondered ‘What do I do with my arm when I’m sleeping on my side?’ Would it surprise you to know that the solution has a lot to do with the material properties of your pillow?
If you have a soft, fluffy pillow – and sleep on your side already – you probably bend your arm under your pillow to increase the limited postural support of a ‘comfy’ pillow. If this is your struggle, here’s what to do:
Combine 2 of your pillows by sticking them into the same pillow case! It will be bulkier, but it’s going to provide you with a much firmer support, comparatively.
While we recommend switching to a firmer pillow overall (not memory foam!), see how you get on with this small change first.
TIP: If you are anything but ‘the dreamer’ you won’t achieve neutral spine alignment aka the holy grail of sleep posture.
3 ) Take The Pressure OFF! It’s not an overnight fix.
Sleep Posture is a life’s work. We’re trying to address the position you go to sleep in.
There are many associations we build up over a lifetime e.g. that sacred mug of coffee first thing in the morning without which, it’s a no go for the rest of the day…
The position that you currently fall asleep in is what you’ve been practicing for years! Our suggestion is to at least try the optimal position for you and see how it feels. Even if you’re only able to hold it for 15-20 minutes before you fall asleep, that’s progress!
There’s always tomorrow and all that we recommend doing, is trying to challenge your current associations.
Before you even know it, you’ll be patting yourself on the back, proud that you’re giving yourself the gift of optimised sleep.
4 ) Lastly… If you’re a front sleeper… Here’s how to NOT to end up on your tummy while you sleep.
A quick disclaimer – front sleeping is the worst position you can sleep in!
Please, if you absolutely insist on sleeping on your front, make sure you have NO pillow.
If you’re ready to become a side or back sleeper, in addition to the secondary pillow – get a third! Often front sleepers struggle to kick the habit, citing that they try to sleep on their side or back but always wake up on their front… The solution? Hug a pillow.
By hugging the pillow, you’ll find it much more difficult to roll over! Your body picks up on your surroundings through something called proprioception and the moment that you stabilise your lying surface, it will acknowledge it and before you know it, say hello to restful sleep…
IG Levitexsleep
Levitex are offering an exclusive £15 off their foam pillows to our WoMos. Use code WOMO15 at checkout. Website