The runny nose incident on 1/24 convinced me to give sleeping without a pillow a shot. Being able to breathe better at night would definitely be a plus because it could help stave off my early morning grand mal attacks.
I began my trial run on the night of 1/26. The first two days, things looked promising. On those days, AutoSleep showed more time Awake/Disturbed, but I still felt more focused and awake. For example, on 1/28 the numbers were as follows: Awake/Disturbed = 1h39m, Light Sleep = 5h33m, Still/Restful = 1h46m, Deep Sleep = 1h0m.
Once the weekend rolled around, I began to have doubts. The AutoSleep numbers had returned to normal, but I no longer felt more focused than usual. Particularly disturbing was a CPS incident that occurred early Monday afternoon. The aftereffects of that seizure lasted much longer than usual; I felt really out of it the rest of the day. Whether my sleep was related is unknown, but it didn’t help.
On Tuesday, I talked it over with my physical therapist Spencer. He reassured me that sleeping without a pillow was fine, as long as I had my adjustable bed head angled up and didn’t sleep on my side. According to him, the most important consideration was to make sure my neck was not tilted too far forward or back. That professional guidance gave me the confidence to keep at it just a little while longer.
However, a grand mal seizure Wednesday morning (aka my first of 2022) left me at a crossroads on what to do next. These next few weeks I’ll continue to test my options.
Currently I’m trying out my buckwheat neck roll with the outer cover removed. With that setup, it lies lower to the ground so it feels more similar to sleeping without a pillow. I also purchased an AllSett memory foam neck roll that’s set to arrive tomorrow. Of course, no pillow will continue to get a chance.
