Psoriatic Arthritis and the Right Pillow

Did you know that your psoriatic arthritis can be affected by your pillow when you are sleeping?

I am not sleeping great, and I just discovered that my pillow needs to be replaced. My psoriatic arthritis has been very active in the last few months in my spine.

I wonder if it is my pillow or mattress? First of all, my neck has been feeling like I am sleeping at an odd angle. Second, there is so much lower back pain. After having poor sleep, I am experiencing fatigue during the day.

Testing my theory

Tonight I am going to spend the night with my best friend. She is staying nearby in a hotel. She has asked me to stay the night and take her back to the airport in the morning.

I know it's not much time, but we cherish the time we get. Plus, this gives me the chance to see if my poor sleep has something to do with my bed or pillow. We have done a lot of walking and riding in the car, so my arthritis is definitely active.

Resting on the bed

As we get ready to lay down, I climbed up on the bed and put my back against the pillows. WOAH! The hotel pillows were so plush!

My bestie commented on how much she enjoyed them the night before. She tells me she was exhausted from her day of travel, two airports, and a conference.

She said, "I don't know if it was just the travel, but the pillow was amazing!" I am excited to try it out.

Proper left-side sleeping

My bed has 4 pillows on my queen-size bed. My preferred way to sleep is lying on my left side.

Did you know there is a proper way to sleep? It is true. There is research about keeping your body aligned properly.

First, use a pillow to support your neck. Second, drape your right arm over a pillow placed at shoulder height next to you in the middle of the bed. Third, sleep with your knees bent and a pillow between them. This keeps your knees from laying on each other and stabilizes your hips.

You should place another pillow behind your back. I decided to give it a try.

Waking up

I did not wake up until the alarm went off. I am still in the same position as when I went to sleep the night before. So, I must not have moved very much.

I turn over on my back and adjust the pillows to their proper place at the head of the bed. Normally, when I sit up, every part of me hurts! Sitting up on the side of the bed is usually a challenge. Not today!

I am happy to report I sat up fairly easily and quickly. My arthritis is behaving itself. My neck is not askew.

What I learned

I decided to pull the 4 pillows away and lay flat on the bed. Oh my goodness, if my best friend had not been there, I would still have been lying in bed. The pain, and inability to move, were crippling!

I slipped one pillow behind my head with my friend's help, and I got instant relief! How could I have not noticed this before? My friend looked at the pillow for the name and company. Turns out the hotel has a line of pillows. They are somewhat expensive, but for the relief, I don't mind paying! She ordered two, and I am going to order some for myself as well.

Checking my own bed

This relief caused me to look at my bed and how I was sleeping. The pillows were flat! There was no support left in them.

Look at that. The mattress is not even fully on the frame. After shifting the mattress, I have found the comfort is improving. It has astounded me how little you realize a pillow can make that much difference to your arthritis.