No pillows

Recently I’ve started getting “tech neck” – aches in neck and upper back from computer use. I think it’s similar to repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel, but less serious… for now.

Besides fixing my posture and chair while sitting in front of my monitor, what’s surprising was the no pillow method.

I’m a back sleeper and used to sleep fine with my current pillow. It’s not super soft, has some thickness, and helped propped my head forward. But lately I’ve been waking up with neck aches. I wondered if the pillow is propping up my head too much, so I experimented with not using any pillow, just a small cushion to support the neck-to-mattress gap (while back of head is on mattress).

Interestingly it helped! This was despite most advice from the internet saying that it might be bad for most people:

For most sleepers, omitting the pillow is likely to have detrimental effects on sleep posture. When a back sleeper lies on a flat surface, the head and neck may fall into a downward tilt, leading to pressure in the neck. – Sleep Foundation

My back sleeping posture definitely makes my head tilt backwards a little. But yet somehow, my tech neck seems better. I could still sleep pretty good, so no sleep quality or quantity was sacrificed. I wonder if the slight back tilt helps counter the forward repetitive strain during the day? 🤔

More observations needed to see if the no pillow technique is helpful or detrimental.