How to cut down on pillow drool

Sometimes when I’m busy with a long but interesting project, eating and sleeping are nothing more than interruptions in my time. I’m writing about sleep today, so settle back and get comfortable. I believe the old adage, “Don’t live to eat, eat to live,” also holds true for sleeping.

In my line of work, I’m always asking people what their favorite sleeping position is. My primary advice without exception is, “Don’t sleep on your stomach.” That position forces the neck to rotate 90 degrees to the side all night long. Because the neck contains the most complicated part of the spine, it is the easiest to injure if leveraged in that fashion. By avoiding that position, you also cut down on “pillow drool.”

Sleeping on the back is good but be careful not to stack so many pillows under the head that you push your chin to your chest all night. That also causes an abnormal leveraging of the neck’s spine… So stop it. Sleeping on the back with a couple of pillows under the knees is often very helpful if the low back has been painful at night.

Side sleeping is fine, too. Just make sure that you keep enough pillow(s) under the head so that the neck is level with the rest of the spine. Many s i d e - s l e e p e r s find that placing a pillow between their knees helps the low back if it’s been troublesome at night.

And it just feels good anyway. Here are my mattress options: Air mattress – great if you can afford them; Waterbeds – good, if your wife isn’t moving the bedroom furniture every six months; Firm mattress – fine if you need them or like them; Semi-soft mattress go for it if you love them.

I suppose that everyone expects a chiropractor to sleep on an extra-firm bed. Forget that. By the way, when was the last time you flipped your mattress?

— Dr. Hardwick is a doctor of chiropractic and a North Lake College student. He may be reached at 972-255-6700 or moritz_hardwick@yahoo.com.