Why do we use pillows when we sleep?

Question

Why do people feel more comfortable sleeping with their heads raised? Is it something natural or is it a habit we develop due to culture?

Answer 1

i think its a habit.

Answer 2

spend a night in juvi and u will wish u had a pillow

Answer 3

It feels better.

Answer 4

Have you tried sleeping without one?

There's your answer!

Answer 5

for comfort.

Answer 6

I think it's something we've developed as a culture, honestly speaking :P  

Or a mixture of both culture and comfort ;P

Can't really explain why though D:

Answer 7

Babies don't have pillows at all, because of the risk of choking. Nobody sleeps more soundly than a baby!  I think that it is because as we develop our head needs support, especially for breathing. Apparently the position of your head can affect the movement of air through your nasal and throat passages, and the level of the vibrations that cause snoring. Old people tend to have two pillows. I believer, however, from the fact that soldiers are able to sleep on flat ground without any support to their heads, that pillows are not strictly necessary for sleep. When I've tried this, my ear has felt somewhat tender as a result!

Pillows seem to have been around for a long time and in Ancient Greece they were used to support both the head and the back. http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Furniture/...

Answer 8

for neck and back support and also sleeping falt can make the lids under your eyes swell bigger and a darker color with blood

Answer 9

We use pillows because they are softy and puffy which comfort the bodies head so the next morning you don't have a kink in your neck as if that happens it is very painful.

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Answer 10

When animals  sleep in groups they rest their heads on each other. Think of a pack of dogs nuzzled together.

Orang-utans make nests for them selves and rest their heads on the raised edges.

I think that suggests that it is an instinctive natural need.