why do we sleep with pillows?

vimothy

yurp
I don't sleep with pillows (feel free though to get your kicks wherever you can) -- but you can't read in bed without at least two.
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
I use two. It's probably better to sleep with a pillow, if you like lymph and other fluids to drain instead of building up in your facial tissues over night and making your face puffy. That and it's better to elevate your head and allow your sinuses to drain at night.

Everytime I've been forced to sleep without a pillow I've wanted to die for a week afterward because my neck hurt so much.
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
They are wicked for watching sitting up to read and watch movies but just wondering if they are an anatomical necessity...

Nice to sleep on front without a pillow. Quite enjoyed road testing a single one last night instead of two.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
"Tonight, Luigi, you sleep with the pillows..."

Sounds like a threat by the lamest mafioso ever.
 

empty mirror

remember the jackalope
"another night another pillow" eh?

:smarmy:

i put my head underneath a pillow
sometimes put it between my legs
in the philippines, we called pillows-between-the-legs-pillows "tundai" (phonetically, no idea how it is really spelled)
 

empty mirror

remember the jackalope
and:
a223p1.jpg
 

swears

preppy-kei
Pillows recreate the slain animals and enemies we'd rest our heads on to sleep after a mighty caveman battle. Stephen Pinker said so.
 

polystyle

Well-known member
Aaah, the 'dutch knee' pillow , or is it a dutch 'lap' ...
Perchance to dream your head is on a wife or mistress' lap and she is cleaning your ear- those peaceful moments in a salaryman's existance ...
Puts 'em right out !

We used to do research on pillows and stress relief for Japanese Company -
not one that made these dutch knee /dutch lap things mind you ...
It was interesting work, as there was alot of interest in different types of pillows.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
pillows are terrible for spine curvature. they unnaturally bend your neck forward.

best way to sleep is facing up, so gravity pulls your face evenly, slowing signs of aging. and some other reasons which i forget.

and in this position the only support we need is under the neck: a towel rolled up works fine.

but i'm not disciplined enough to sleep face up every night. so sometimes i do use a pillow for sleeping on the side... with one arm under... mmmm so comfortables :)
 

Lichen

Well-known member
I'd heard that some Japanese use a small wooden box as a pillow!

Is this a mainstream thing, or highly ritualised geisha type sleeping?
 

polystyle

Well-known member
We don't think you'll find those Edo period wooden pillows around much by now.
Meiji era women used them to keep their hair alright,
around 100 years ago that practice kind of died out !
 

Client Eastwood

Well-known member
pillows are terrible for spine curvature. they unnaturally bend your neck forward.

best way to sleep is facing up, so gravity pulls your face evenly, slowing signs of aging. and some other reasons which i forget.

and in this position the only support we need is under the neck: a towel rolled up works fine.

but i'm not disciplined enough to sleep face up every night. so sometimes i do use a pillow for sleeping on the side... with one arm under... mmmm so comfortables :)

aaaannnddd relaxxxx.

I find a minimal height pillow helps me to nodd off. (Cant stand those big fluffy ones) if wake and I am on my side I still have the pillow under my head. Otherwise Ill be sleeping on my front without a pillow.

Oh the psychology of sleeping positions. Nomad ?
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
sleeping on your back sans pillow i find a bit hardcore, i like sleeping on my front from time to time, probs something about regressing to a babylike state or something, i associate it with little kids a bit, sprawled out on their tummies, feels a bit infantile!
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
pillows are terrible for spine curvature. they unnaturally bend your neck forward.

No they do not. Your spine has evolved to curve, and it's made of osseous structures (BONES) that help you bend easily. Pathological curvature of the spine is either congenital/genetic or caused by dietary issues or disease. Bad posture can effect--wait for it-- your posture. Osteoporosis is the cause of the humped back in older females and general loss of bone/muscle mass is the cause of same in older males.

Signs of aging are not slowed by sleeping on your back. UVA/UVB rays and gravity cause aging of the skin...that and cellular degeneration/loss of collagen fibers or elasticity.

There's some correlation between SIDS and putting infants to sleep on their stomachs I think...

Oh god the psychology of sleep positions, I have no idea. The science of sleep is really complicated in and of itself, nobody really understands why we sleep as long as we do.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
No they do not. Your spine has evolved to curve, and it's made of osseous structures (BONES) that help you bend easily. Pathological curvature of the spine is either congenital/genetic or caused by dietary issues or disease. Bad posture can effect--wait for it-- your posture. Osteoporosis is the cause of the humped back in older females and general loss of bone/muscle mass is the cause of same in older males.

Signs of aging are not slowed by sleeping on your back. UVA/UVB rays and gravity cause aging of the skin...that and cellular degeneration/loss of collagen fibers or elasticity.

There's some correlation between SIDS and putting infants to sleep on their stomachs I think...

Oh god the psychology of sleep positions, I have no idea. The science of sleep is really complicated in and of itself, nobody really understands why we sleep as long as we do.

i feel that with my head lying on a horizontal line with the rest of my body, with only support under the neck, is the most comfortable and i wake up with less tension in my neck. and it makes sense doesn't it? instead of having a big object which bends your neck forward. i guess small pillows are better than big ones.

and by signs of aging i mean wrinkles. having even gravity pull all over your face instead of in one particular direction will result in less wrinkles. over time of course.
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
i feel that with my head lying on a horizontal line with the rest of my body, with only support under the neck, is the most comfortable and i wake up with less tension in my neck. and it makes sense doesn't it? instead of having a big object which bends your neck forward. i guess small pillows are better than big ones.

and by signs of aging i mean wrinkles. having even gravity pull all over your face instead of in one particular direction will result in less wrinkles. over time of course.

Well, maybe you feel more comfortable with a small pillow, sure, whatever. But that's a different issue.

Also, you will get wrinkles no matter what. Gravity applies always. It doesn't matter how you're lying, or standing, or what. Sunlight is much bigger factor. Women tend to get wrinkles sooner because of hormonal factors, and because they have somewhat thinner dermis than men do.
 
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zhao

there are no accidents
Also, you will get wrinkles no matter what. Gravity applies always. It doesn't matter how you're lying, or standing, or what. Sunlight is much bigger factor. Women tend to get wrinkles sooner because of hormonal factors, and because they have somewhat thinner dermis than men do.

is sunlight good or no?

is there an explanation for why east asians seem to get less wrinkles than caucasions?
 
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