As an executive mum, you juggle demanding work schedules, endless meetings, and the responsibilities of raising young children. Sleep should be your time to recharge, yet you often wake up with a pounding headache, stiff neck, and aching shoulders. If this sounds familiar, your sleeping posture could be the culprit. Poor sleep positioning places unnecessary strain on your cervical spine, leading to cervicogenic headaches - headaches caused by issues in the neck. In this blog, let’s uncover common sleeping posture mistakes that could be triggering your headaches and how to fix them.
Sleeping on Your Stomach: If you sleep on your stomach, your neck is forced into full rotation for hours. This unnatural positioning stresses the muscles and joints in your cervical spine, leading to cervicogenic headaches.
Solution: Transition to side or back sleeping. If you struggle to break the habit, place a pillow under your stomach to reduce spinal misalignment. Here is a video on Two easy tips to change your sleeping posture from sleeping on stomach to side or back sleeping:
Using the Wrong Pillow Height: Your pillow plays a crucial role in maintaining neutral spine alignment while you sleep. A pillow that is too high pushes your head forward, increasing strain on your neck muscles, while a pillow that is too low fails to provide enough support, leading to neck muscle tightness and cervicogenic headaches.
Solution:
Side sleepers – Use a pillow with a thickness equal to the distance between your ear and shoulder to keep your neck aligned.
Back sleepers – Use a medium-thickness pillow that supports the natural curve of your cervical spine.
Poor Neck & Shoulder Support: Many executive mums unknowingly tuck their chin to the chest or hunch their shoulders while sleeping, leading to tight muscles and poor circulation in the neck. This can compress the nerves in the cervical spine, causing cervicogenic headaches.
Solution: Keep your chin neutral and avoid pulling your shoulders up while sleeping. Placing a small pillow under your neck (instead of just your head) can provide better support.
Twisting Your Spine While Sleeping on Your Side: Sleeping on your side is one of the best positions for spinal alignment, but only if done correctly. If your top leg crosses over your body without support, it twists your lumbar spine, hip and pelvis, throwing off the alignment of your entire spine, including the neck. This tension can travel up to your cervical spine, leading to morning cervicogenic headaches.
Solution: Place a pillow between your knees to keep them stacked on top of each another when sleeping on your side to keep your spine in a neutral position.
Your sleep posture has a significant impact on how you feel when you wake up. By avoiding these common mistakes and optimising your sleeping position, you can wake up refreshed, pain-free, and ready to tackle your day.
If you found this helpful, share it with a fellow mum who needs better sleep and headache relief.
If you are not sure if your headache is cervicogenic or originating in the neck, HERE is a free guide on 'Is your Neck the cause of your (Cervicogenic) Headaches?'
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