Mattress Forum

1. Obviously finding a bed that will keep your spine in alignment while you sleep is very important (imagine drawing a line from the base of your skull through your knees while laying on your side... is it it straight? Or does it bend in various locations?) This alignment is maintained primarily in the support layer of your bed (coils, air, foam: like latex or visco-elastic, etc.) If your back muscles do not sense the proper support they will continue to work throughout the night adding to the number of pains you feel in the morning.

2. The second part is finding the mattress that feels the best on your shoulders and hips while you are on your side. (What? Sounds like what you just said, right?) The comfort layer of a mattress is actually the top layers of foams, fibers and padding. If the top of the mattress does not "cradle" your hips and shoulders while on your side, it cn definitely aggravate your existing pains

3. Probably the most often forgotten (or unknown) element of great pressure-relieving sleep is complete body alignment. May side-sleepers actually require a pillow between their knees to reduce or eliminate a multitude of pains, stress points and uncomfortable positions... my suggestion here is referred to as a motion-base, active-base, adjustable base, etc. These bases are not just an "expensive" add-on, but are a requirement in hospitals. Do you know why? Let's take a look:

While on your back...

• Raising your head (from the waist, not the shoulders or neck) anywhere from 3-4 inches to up to as high as is comfortable, has been clinically proven to increase air flow (which means more of that healing oxygen getting into your bllod stream!) without any more effort on your part. It also includes numerous additional benefits and improvements.
• Raising your legs (from the hips and bending at the knee) can make the small of your back "release" allowing your pelvis to rotate forward into the the more natural position and creating a much more relaxed position. How many men out there can sleep like a baby in your La-Z-Boy recliner because you breathe better and your lower back doesn't hurt?

While on your side...

• The minor raising of the head (again from your waist) can still improve the amount of air flow while on your side. Strangely enough (seriously try it for yourself!) it does not feel "weird" or abnormal, assuming you have not elevated your head too high
• The raising of your lower half of the body will probably no be as high as while on your back, but it creates an incredible scenario for your lower back: Instead of your top leg dropping to your bottow leg while on your side, it raise (just enough) your bottom leg allowing both of your legs to come directly off your pelvis without creating any stress on your lower spine

So... a lot of information to get back to your question: If you can create a true cradling of your hips and shoulders, while creating a more oxygen rich blood stream all while allowing more blood flow WITHOUT anymore effort on your part then you can create a higher amount of internal natural healing, less stress points in your joints and reduced pressure points on the corners of your body....RESULT? Better, Deeper, Longer Night's Sleep with less pain and improved healing, naturally and without surgery or medication (unless your doctor says otherwise!)

Sleep well "dandlbee"