A call to stomach sleepers!

[roboboticus]

Has anyone found a good pillow (or other solution) for sleeping face down? I'm a stomach sleeper, but the neck strain is uncomfortable, so I'm looking at things like crescent-shaped pillows (the kind you'd use on a massage table), though I don't know how feasible they'd be for sleeping.

I've tried sleeping on my back and side, but I find those positions hard on my spine and shoulders, and I fall asleep mUch easier on the stomach.
Any suggestions?

 

[mparker762]

Feather pillow, one of the under-stuffed ones.

 

[_MementoMori_]

Not to be overly disgusting, but I think sleeping face down would result in me drowning in my own drool.

 

[mouscacha]

Not to be overly disgusting, but I think sleeping face down would result in me drowning in my own drool.

Tell me about it.

I find the only pillow I can use is the tempurpedic contoured pillow. I usually turn the pillow 90° and put my hands under the pillow. Wish I could still hug my wife at night, but my 3 yr old sleeps with mommy and I sleep with the 1 year old.

 

[TimmyBoston]

I also sleep on my stomach and wish I didn't, try to find a thin, dense pillow. That's the most comfortable for me. Good luck.

 

[nailhat]

A word of warning: having slept facedown for many years I have recently had to adjust my habits. I started having back problems and was told that this can be caused by stomach sleeping. It took a month or two to adjust my habits, but I converted to face-up and sure enough it did help my back issues. So that's another option to consider...

 

[riooso]

I have never understood back sleepers. They all really want to sleep on their stomachs but....they are afraid!

I use the largest goose down pillow that I can find. When it is new you can shape it into anything you want. As it ages it get flatter then they can make it into you want......so what is the problem?

Later,
Richard

 

[joshmpdx]

A word of warning: having slept facedown for many years I have recently had to adjust my habits. I started having back problems and was told that this can be caused by stomach sleeping. It took a month or two to adjust my habits, but I converted to face-up and sure enough it did help my back issues. So that's another option to consider...

Interesting, do you know the reasoning behind it?

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Yep, stomach sleeper here too. Wish I could be one of those people who can lay flat on their backs and sleep through the night.

I've had good luck with down pillows...especially after they're broken in a bit. Right now I have medium density latex pillows. They might be a bit too tall for stomach sleeping, although I've adjusted and seem to do OK with them. I love how springy and cushy they are. My head really does feel like it has zero gravity, and they have holes punched in the latex block for ventilation. They're nice and cool on warm nights. I wish the store had had low-firmness or density, it would probably be a bit more suited to stomach sleeping.

 

[Kouros]

This:

http://www.bettersleeppillow.com/co...-sleeper.htm?gclid=CNm62f-O46ECFdI65QodgkheJg

 

[roboboticus]

Wow, a hundred bucks- is it worth it?

 

[bmc1979]

I sleep on my stomach too and I've always found a very thin down stuffed pillow to be the best for me. With it being thin I find my head and neck are more vertically aligned instead of at a slight upward angle which would cause me to get kinks and neck soreness.

 

[nailhat]

Interesting, do you know the reasoning behind it?

As far as I know it has to do with posture. There are a couple curves that are supposed to be present in your spine with proper posture but when you lay on your stomach the shape and weight of your body bends it the wrong way. A face-down pillow would probably help some, but I think your lower back would still be strained a bit.

 

[Brad31]

As far as I know it has to do with posture. There are a couple curves that are supposed to be present in your spine with proper posture but when you lay on your stomach the shape and weight of your body bends it the wrong way. A face-down pillow would probably help some, but I think your lower back would still be strained a bit.

When u lie on your stomach your head will always be slightly higher. This position is essentially the same as if you were to lean back slightly when standing. All the pressure is put on the posterior joints in your low back. These joints are not made to handle heavy loads. So when you throw in a soft mattress and pillows these put even more pressure on those joints (the soft mattress allows your pelvis to sink further down into the mattress). Now do this for ~8 hours per day and the damage can quickly add up.

 

[Alacrity59]

I'm a back sleeper . . . or so I thought . . . I think my wife and dog have ganged up on me to stop the jack hammer snoring . . . so I wake up face down often. Turns out I like my forehead on the pillow so there is a space between mattress and pillow for my nose and mouth to breath. Thank goodness for the survival instinct.

Mike

 

[Rik]

Feather pillow, one of the under-stuffed ones.

Same setup. Also works for sleeping on your side. Tried various high-end contour pillows but in the end went back to my good ole feather pillow.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I am amazed at anyone who can sleep on their stomach. I have tried to do this before and find it to be incredibly uncomfortable. I can last about two or three minutes before I have to flip onto my back. It feels like someones placed an anvil on my neck. I've often tried to sleep on my stomach just so I can figure out how it's done, but to no avail.

 

[Isaac]

Not to be overly disgusting, but I think sleeping face down would result in me drowning in my own drool.

I honestly have to say that the mental image I had was pretty disturbing..haha

 

[Omnichron]

Has anyone found a good pillow (or other solution) for sleeping face down? I'm a stomach sleeper, but the neck strain is uncomfortable, so I'm looking at things like crescent-shaped pillows (the kind you'd use on a massage table), though I don't know how feasible they'd be for sleeping.

I've tried sleeping on my back and side, but I find those positions hard on my spine and shoulders, and I fall asleep mUch easier on the stomach.
Any suggestions?

I just bought a giant pet pillow at Big Lots. it works very well. I'm a big guy.

 

[Sam]

Stomach sleeper, in fact, that is my name that the mods bestowed on me. Down pillow is the only option. Tried contour, latex, foam, polyester, sobakawa. I occassionally have the back pains and flip to the back, but unless I train myself like a previous poster, well, stomach is how I been doing it for 50 years