Improve your sleep instantly with this expert pillow trick

(Image credit: Jude Infantini on Unsplash)

last updated 11 March 2022

If you feel comfy when you drop off to sleep, but wake up with aches and pains, it might be that your mattress isn't providing the support you need (in which case, our best mattress guide can help). However, it might also be your sleeping position that's putting strain on your spine or joints. According to sleep posture expert James Leinhardt, the shape in which you sleep can have a major impact on your wellbeing.

There are good and bad poses to sleep in. A good pose can work wonders, helping improve your posture overall and speed up recovery times. A bad pose does the exact opposite. You probably already have a favoured sleeping pose, and training yourself out of it – if it's not a good one – can be tricky. However, James has a clever trick to help, and all you need is a pillow.

Here is it: if you're lying on your side, stick a pillow between your knees. This helps to ensure your knees stay stacked one above the other, which is the best resting position to ensure your spine stays neutrally aligned, as in 'the Dreamer' position below. If you let your upper leg drop over the lower, as in 'the Applauder', your spine is twisted, and you're more likely to end up suffering lower back pain.

If you have wider hips – as women often do, it also helps bring the hips, knees in line from a side lying perspective, by widening the knees to a similar width as the hips. This is not a job for your best pillow, says James. Any old pillow will do. And while you're getting used to it, you could even use your duvet folded over.

Illustrations of two side sleepers, one in 'Dreamer' position, other 'Applauder' position

If you prefer to lie on your back, there's a trick for you too: put a pillow under your knees.

If you lie flat with your legs down, you'll notice your lower back arches up a bit. You might even be able to get your hand under it. Raising your knees slightly acts to cancel out this curve.

"By slightly rotating your pelvis and lifting your knees up a bit, a. you take the weight of your legs into the cushion or pillow beneath you. And b. you'll find that the spine straightens in that curve," explains James. "You'll find an immediate change in the tension in your lower back."

James Leinhardt runs Levitex, a pillow and mattress company, but has also spent a decade providing specialist bed solutions in healthcare.

Ruth is a lifestyle journalist specialising in sleep and wellbeing. She has tested more mattresses than her small flat can handle and will talk at length about them to anyone who shows even a passing interest, and has had to implement a one-in-one-out pillow policy for fear of getting smothered in the night. As well as following all the industry trends and advancements in the mattress and bedding world, she regularly speaks to certified experts to delve into the science behind a great night's sleep, and offer you advice to help you get there. She's currently Sleep Editor on Tom's Guide and TechRadar, and prior to that ran the Outdoors and Wellness channels on T3 (now covered by Matt Kollat and Beth Girdler-Maslen respectively).