Many seniors are unfortunately bed-restricted for most of the day. This limitation is a reason for bed sores in their delicate bodies and can lead to complicated issues like sleep apnea, backache, neck ache, snoring, heartburn, and acid reflux. The primary health issues that come with limitations to bed is due to improper sleeping positions. To deal with elders’ sleeping troubles, there are various remedies you can go for like selecting the right kind of bed accessories like pillows, mattress, etc. Let us talk about the best solution: Positioning Pillows!
These positioning pillows like neck support pillows, knee cushions, etc., come in handy when elderly want to hold their position in bed while providing themselves a cushion to rest against. Here are some of the advantages of using a positioning pillow:
Benefits of Positioning Pillows
1. Improved Body Alignment
When the elderly sleep on their side, one side lifts without any support, and thus, the whole-body weight tends to lean upon the other side. This leads to a sore body in the morning. You can avoid this trouble by assisting them to rest their other side on the positioning pillows. This way, they will not have to sleep only on their back and wake up with a stiff back, and their one side will not have to bear the whole-body weight. This pillow will instead support their back, spine, and hip by keeping the body well aligned.
2. Pressure Relief
The most painful spots in the elderly’s body are the lower back and knees. They need the positioning cushions to rest their hips, shoulders, and spine. This way, the pressure on the lower back and spine can be relieved.
3. Relief from Various Sufferings
Acid reflux is not as much about indigestion as it is about acid accumulation in the patient’s chest because of sleeping only on the back. And as we discussed earlier, with the right pillow, you can sleep on the sides without any trouble. Positioning pillows are also of great relief when it comes to elders suffering from headaches, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other physical ailments.
4. Helpful While Sitting As Well
Being bed-confined does not mean that the elders need to spend their time only laying on the bed. They can even sit on it and do some activities like working on a laptop, eating, writing a diary, or playing a game of checkers. By providing the elderly with the right positioning pillow, they can sit with proper support and enjoy time with their loved ones. This even helps them to deal with stress, tension, and strain.
Seniors often suffer from many-body aches that a positioning pillow can easily relieve. For example:
- Knee cushions placed between their legs can provide relief from knees pressed against each other or from the improper alignment of the hips.
- A comfortable neck support pillow can reduce tension in the neck and shoulders, aligning the spine properly.
- A full-body pillow can give relief in various sleeping and sitting positions.
One can place these pillows behind them to sit and sleep comfortably. The wedge pillow slightly elevates your head, neck, and shoulders. It is also ideal for reducing acid reflux. You can even get wedge pillow designs to use to elevate the legs post-surgery or any other needs.
And by providing the best possible support to their body, these pillows help in equal weight distribution and facilitating blood circulation. Let us see how other ways these pillows can benefit the elderly:
How to Pick the Right Positioning Pillow:
It can be an overwhelming process to choose a right positioning pillow for the elderly. But not when you know what they require. Thus, we are going to help you by providing few criteria that you should look up to before buying a positioning pillow for your loved ones:
Fill
This is a vital area to investigate while buying a positioning pillow. You can choose the fill as per the requirement of the elderly—memory foam, synthetic down, latex, cotton, polyester fill, and wool.
Weight
You need to be careful about this factor as it directly can relieve or worsen the situation. If the weight of the pillow is not as per requirement, then it will affect the elderly’s body parts, making them sorer. Different fill and materials have different weights, like memory foam or latex pillow will be heavier, and a down or synthetic pillow will be a little lighter.
Fabric
Even though you may cover the pillow with a pillowcase, you still need to ensure that the pillow fabric is breathable and durable.
Size
Positioning pillows are meant to make sleeping more comfortable for the elderly, thus ensuring an accurately sized pillow is necessary. There are different positioning pillows for different purposes, so look which size fits your elderly’s body parts and buy accordingly.
Quality
A quality-made pillow will naturally last longer and help one to sleep better. Once you decide on which type of pillow you want to buy, you should also do your research and read reviews to ensure that you invest in the right one.
Now that you know what is best for your loved ones, you can help them sleep peacefully with the help of positioning pillows. Also, do not forget to take the advice of their doctor before investing in any pillows.
