The back and or hug pillow - do you have one?
Posted by fabrictm@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Several years ago I started having lower back issues, and whereas I’ve always been side/stomach sleeper with one arm under the pillow, my lower back says “ah ah aaah” - like Newman in Jurassic park lol.
I discovered that if I prop a pillow against my back and lean on it slightly I sleep better. Same pillow also serves as a body/hug pillow of sorts for when I turn on the other side.
Anyone use something like this? Late 40s here.
RealtorRVACity@reddit
I highly recommend a bamboo/gel bed topper and some gel hybrid pillows. Game changer for me. 57
ilikecats415@reddit
I'm a side sleeper. Purple pillow for my head, king sized pillow that I hug and keep a knee propped up on. One arm goes under my head, but the other arm has to be propped so it is level with my shoulder. I have a fan on me, white noise playing from Alexa, and a sleep mask on.
When I was young, I'd sleep on the floor with a pizza box as a pillow.
yeahipostedthat@reddit
Everybody using multiple pillows here needs to try out a pregnancy pillow. So much better and more convenient.
Alternative-Dig-2066@reddit
My husband and I are both insomniacs with back issues, good sleep is sacrosanct! We just got a mattress and pillows that we love, agreed on what weight covers, and are able to function… but now I’m thinking we should try some back pillows or something!
MidnightKitty_2013@reddit
I sleep in a pillow cocoon. One or two under my head, 1 to hug, 1 between my legs and several along my back. It's very comfortable.
Frosty_Yesterday_674@reddit
Early 50’s dude here. I sleep like you do but I use the hug pillow all night. Can’t sleep without it. My beer belly needs something soft to rest its tired head on, or else it will pull my spine down with it.
Material-Dream-4976@reddit
I agree. My skeketon feeks like it's crushing on itself when I lie on my side without a pillow to drape and stretch over.
Material-Dream-4976@reddit
Yes, yes, and one for my knees. I sleep in a twin size bed stuffed with pillows.
ChaosTheoryGirl@reddit
I am a side sleeper and have a king sized pillow that I “hug” and one leg props up on. I also need to have my hair tied back in a scrunchy and an eye mask on and a fan over head. I just got a Sleep 8 mattress topper to reduce the “hot” that is now in my life. Pretty sure I get some sort of high maintenance award.
SilanceDoGood@reddit
No “High Maintenance” award from this corner. Nope! Nothing but respect and admiration!!! We need to take care of ourselves, before we can care for others…this is you taking care of you!!!
zenlittleplatypus@reddit
No, man. You need quality sleep! Do what you need to do!
SilanceDoGood@reddit
Yep! I use one. It’s wonderful! I even take it when I travel. I find I have fitful sleep without it. But, I don’t think my use links to aging, per se, because it started during my pregnancy.
WillaLane@reddit
I side sleep hug a pillow and always a pillow between my knees
AngelHeart-@reddit
How To Sleep Correctly - Chinese Master Reveals What You Need To Do In Order To Sleep Well
Helenesdottir@reddit
I have an angled mattress pad that elevates my head, 3 pillows, a knee pillow and a large moon pod as a body pillow. I also flip like a rotisserie chicken all night. I have back issues and zero abdominal muscle due to a large baby who ripped that muscle in 1994. No one gave a damn about fixing it so it makes my back worse. Plus I always sleep with a fan, year-round, and a machine that sounds like ocean waves. Sleep is vital and I'm not messing around.
millersixteenth@reddit
Facet arthritis lower back, degenerative discs in neck. Firm mattress and stomach or side. I run a half bolster from the base of my skull diagonally to my temple, or prop my head to a neutral level while side sleeping.
Even if backpacking I have to side or stomach sleep, which gets interesting in a mummy bag...
If I sleep on my back, my lower back is wrecked the next day and I snore to high heaven all night.
EvolutionaryLens@reddit
I sleep with 7 pillows.
Yes. Seven.
RandomRedditNameXX@reddit
I have a regular sized pillow I use as an arm rest when I sleep on my side. I don’t put one between my knees but sometimes I’ll tuck a bit of my sheet/blanket between my knees just for some padding. I did try a full size body pillow but it took up too much real estate on my bed!
KaitB2020@reddit
His name is Nedry (not Newman). Not that anyone, especially that Dilophosaurus, cares.
And yes, I sleep with multiple pillows. I keep at least one for between my knees when I roll to the side. That one usually ends up on my chest to keep my cats from killing me when they race across me. For the life of me I’ve no idea how I ended up as part of the race track for their nightly Kitty500.
I also have an extra pillow for my head since someone, one of those raceway felines, likes to push me off my pillow & take it for himself. God forbid I try to retrieve it.
And last, I had a double mastectomy this past year, keeping extra pillows around just makes sense. It allows the cats to walk across without hurting me and I prop myself up any which way I currently find comfortable.
I have a few small “toddler” size ones I got off Amazon that I can throw in the wash easily if they get Eww. They’re small & work great for travel as well.
Last Christmas my mom gave me a stuffed cat that’s lavender scented and can be heated up in the microwave. He went with me to the hospital for my surgery and I’ve used him for those cold chills after having a bad low blood sugar. My husband made sure I had the cat when I woke up after the surgery to hug. Since i was all trussed up with IVs & bandages, the stuffed cat was easier to hug than my human husband was. I had the cat under one arm while my husband held my hand on the other side.
SilkySyl@reddit
I started to use a hug pillow about 8 years ago when my husband started working at camp. He'd be gone two weeks and back for one. I was used to hugging him to get to sleep, so it helped me transition to sleeping single.
everythingbeeps@reddit
I don't have anything special for sleeping, but I do have one of those "sitting up" pillows for if I want to read in bed.
I'm a side sleeper but it's both sides, so I can't use something that will force me to stay in place. I basically roll like a log while I'm sleeping.
Mondschatten78@reddit
I'm like you, I roll too much to use a body pillow. I end up hugging the end of my head pillow, with a small plush to rest my upper arm on.
My husband has a pair of pillows for between his knees, and a large plush he uses as a hug pillow. He's got bad scoliosis, so he needs the extra support.
StringFartet@reddit
One between my knees.
NocturnalPermission@reddit
This is the answer to sleeping with back issues.
jcgreen_72@reddit
Amen. Hug pillow and knee spacer. And not putting my arm under my head (and losing all circulation)
polymorphic_hippo@reddit
One body pillow on each side. That way I can flip and flop all night without having to bring the pillow with me.
JumpReasonable6324@reddit
I have 4 pillows (two for under my head, one for under my hips and one for my back) I also have a supportive backrest pillow for reclining.
BeBopBarr@reddit
My kids are 6 & 11 and I still have their Boppy pillows from when they were babies. I'm a side sleeper, so I drape over my midsection so that which ever way I roll it comes with me, so I have a pillow under my arm that's on top.
zenlittleplatypus@reddit
I have both!
SinD2315@reddit
Pillow for under head, pillow for over head (left over from working nights and shutting daylight out) and a hug pillow-side sleeper so need arm rest with hug pillow. I take my sleep seriously and God help who interferes lol-always been this way (Pisces) 🤪
koine2004@reddit
Hug pillow and pillow between the legs. My partial sacralized L5 (born with it) thanks me for the latter. I also sleep with a CPAP.
PopcornFlying@reddit
I sleep with a back pillow, a full length body pillow, two head pillows, two eye masks, and a fan. I don't mess around
That-Election9465@reddit
Dope 🤘
That-Election9465@reddit
5 pillows 4 different sizes 😂
Front, back, and between the legs.
Thank you for giving me a platform to confess this. 🙏
PsychologicalMix8499@reddit
Full body pillow here.
Jack_Q_Frost_Jr@reddit
I have both, and one for between my knees. The bigger heavy one is great for my back.
WanderingArtist_77@reddit
Since my 20s. So, for over 20 years. One leg is longer than the other, I have scoliosis, sciatica, and spinal arthritis. 😅
EdwardBliss@reddit
I actually do, when I'm sitting down at my laptop. A couple of pillows and this rectangle cushion thing called "Contour" I found at those 2nd hand stores