Benefits of Sleeping with a Pillow Between Your Legs

If you find yourself consistently waking up with a sore back, it may be time to think about changing the way you sleep. One sleeping position that many people say helps them find pain relief is putting a pillow between their legs while sleeping on their side.

Putting a pillow between your legs keeps your pelvis neutral and prevents your spine from rotating during the night. Maintaining good alignment can relieve some of the stress from the tissues in your back and may potentially reduce pain caused by a herniated disc or sciatica.

Let’s dig deeper into the benefits of sleeping with a pillow between your legs. We’ll also walk you through the best way to get comfortable at bedtime.

Benefits of sleeping with a pillow between knees

Putting a pillow between your knees helps keep your knees on top of each other during the night. Without a pillow, your hips and back tend to twist.

Using a pillow to align your sleeping posture may have the following benefits.

Reduces back and hip pain

It’s estimated that up to 23 percent Source of the world’s adult population lives with chronic back pain. Correcting your sleeping position is one easy way to reduce back pain caused by poor posture.

Putting a pillow between your knees or thighs has the potential to help you maintain the natural alignment of your hips and pelvis while you sleep. This improved alignment may help take the strain off inflamed ligaments or muscles that are causing your discomfort.

May reduce sciatica pain

Sciatica is an impingement of your sciatica nerve that usually leads to pain in your buttocks and down the back of your leg. Sleeping in positions that cause twisting of your lower back and hips may make sciatica pain worse by further compressing the nerve.

Sleeping with a pillow between your knees may help you reduce compression by keeping your spine aligned.

May reduce herniated disc pain

If you’re dealing with a herniated disc, any excessive rotation of your spine may cause pain from pressure on your spinal nerves. Choosing a sleeping position that minimizes rotation of your spine, like sleeping with a pillow between your legs, may help relieve your discomfort.

May improve posture

Research Source has found that sleeping in nonsymmetrical postures can cause negative structural changes to your spine. Improving your sleep posture by putting a pillow between your legs may help you maintain your spinal health and overall posture.