There are many different sleeping positions one can end up in but, when it comes to sleep posture, there are only two options: good and not so good. Expert James Leinhardt, founder of the Anywhere travel pillow, reveals all we need to know about sleeping better at home and on the go

“We spend so long looking forward to our holidays, don’t we?” James begins, chatting to The Club from his offices at Levitex HQ. “We have all these expectations, parting with hard-earned cash to make sure it’s good. And then we go and spend two weeks in a luxury Caribbean hotel waking up with crippling neck pain? Sleep makes up a third of your holiday and yet we’ll do more enquiring into the restaurant and spa before we even think about the beds.”

James Leinhardt, the certified king of sleep posture – the art of sleeping in neutral alignment – is banging his drum. And not just via his entertaining, informative Instagram reels, demonstrating the easy sleep posture fixes that could change lives – though these have swiftly reached the masses, too. Talking to him, it’s clear that the Leinhart manifesto can be distilled into the following: life should not be ruined by poor sleep. Not when solutions are this simple.

“At the end of the day, sleep is survival,” James continues. “Working in the NHS, I saw so many poorly people who were made infinitely worse by virtue of no pressure relief, poor sleep posture and terrible support. And there’s nothing worse than seeing a 50-year old patient dreading going to sleep.”

This is what prompted James to develop his trademark pillow foam. A combination of conventional foam and memory foam, it takes all the support of the former and mixes it with the pressure-relieving qualities of the latter (all the while managing to ditch memory foam’s temperature sensitivities, which may see it harden or soften). James may have concocted two pillows using the Levitex foam – one for at home, and the Anywhere travel pillow for your trips, but he’s much more interested in educating than selling.

“A lot of people think they’re in the right position because they sleep quickly – but sleeping quickly isn’t sleeping well. You sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow because you’re exhausted, not because you’re a ‘good sleeper’. Good sleeping means waking up without any pain and smashing your day because you have so much energy. That’s good sleep.”

James’ eight golden rules for sleep posture
Keep reading to make sure you’re getting the very best sleep possible, wherever you are in the world.

1. Sort your pre and post-flight game 
I hate to say it, but frequent flyers are never going to be able ace their sleep posture at 35,000 feet. Waking up in new places, shifting time zones – your circadian rhythm doesn’t like a lot of travelling, which is why it’s even more important to make your sure pre- and post-travel sleep hygiene is whistle-clean. It’s about damage limitation for the inevitable disruption in the middle.

2. Start in neutral 
None of us can control what position we wake up in. What you can control, though, is the position you get yourself in when you’re ready and want to sleep. Imagine a posture your granny would be proud of – now translate that to a lying down position, be it on your back or side. That means head and neck in alignment, not curving your spine into a twisted pretzel, and making sure your hips are in line with your knees and ankles.

3. Aim for one of these two positions
There are only two sleeping positions that would be recommended in a clinical, hospital setting, so why should it be any different for you at home? Sleeping on your back and side are the only two ways to go – no sleeping on your front, please! As outlined above, you want to make sure in both arrangements that you’re aligned to give yourself the best shot of great, non-damaging sleep.

4. Fill the gaps
Popping a pillow – any pillow – in the gaps where gravity is taking you (whether into a mattress or an aircraft seat) is going to give you that ideal sleep posture. If you’re sleeping on your side, that means a pillow in between the natural hollow of a waist and the mattress, between the knees, or behind the small of your back. Essentially, bring the mattress up to meet you. The pillow under your head does the same job. It should completely occupy that gap between your mattress and your ear – not too high as to lead to painful hyper-extension, and not a bowl of porridge that’ll have your ear sinking into your shoulder.

5. Don’t follow the crowd
Our Anywhere travel pillow comes in four sizes because we come in all different shapes and sizes, and we all have different, unique dimensions and needs. Imagine it – you’ll go to the most expensive hotel in the world, and yet you’re using the same pillow as everyone else? You want to personalise your sleep just as much as you want to personalise your holiday.

6. Keep things moving
Generally, you want to be someone who sleeps on both sides – not favouring one over the other. And this just takes some training to rewire your brain to know you can comfortably do both. If you usually sit with your right leg crossed over your left, you want to keep switching that up, too. It maintains symmetry in the body and helps engage muscles that don’t usually get much action. On planes, switch between putting the Anywhere travel pillow under your bum, and in the gap in the small of your back – again, filling space.

7. No falling asleep on the table tray!
It pains me to see people hunched over the table tray on airplanes, either sleeping or desperately trying to. Remember that posture your granny would be proud of? Take the seat and tray away and look at yourself – that’s not granny-approved! Sit back and recline your seat as much as you can without ruining the life of the passenger behind you. To stop any head bobbing, simply wrap a soft jumper around your neck – it’s supportive, tells your head where it needs to be and roughly keeps it there without being a rock, as most shop-bought wraparound travel pillows are. No crossing your legs, either.

8. Don’t fall for the pillow menu
Hotel pillow menus might sound like they’re on your side, but are they really the best pillows or just a posh gimmick? Yes, you can get a fancy £600 goose-feather number that was hand plucked by artisans, but it’s double the height you need it to be. Or, equally, it’s not dense enough – your head, all four to six kilos that it is, squishes it down into a pancake. This applies to your pillows at home, too. Your future self will thank you for investing in one that perfectly fills the gap between your ear and the mattress, leaving your neck and spine in lovely, long alignment.

Ready to to invest in your sleep? We test drive the market’s best travel pillows

Trtl Cool Pillow 
Reviewed by: Emma Blackmore
Is it a scarf? A neck brace? No, it’s the new curved u-shaped Trtl Cool Pillow. This lightweight (223g), machine-washable pillow has high ventilation mesh and soft, grey ponte fabric (think athleisure wear) to keep you cool, including a travel bag to clip onto your carry-on. The removable internal support sits under your jaw, while the 10mm high density foam holds your neck, secured by Velcro. You won’t get points for looking stylish – and the Velcro is unhelpfully disguised on first use – but your neck might just thank you. £59.99

Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow
Reviewed by: Bryony Coleman
If you had whiplash, the Go Neck Pillow would make a decadent cervical collar, providing the kind of neck support that means you can sleep sitting bolt upright whichever direction your head lolls in. It should suit anyone who doesn’t mind things wrapped tightly round their necks, though it might vie for space with any over-ear headphones. That said, its memory foam and ‘viscoelastic core’ are at once firm and giving, its ‘wings’ adjust via Velcro, the whole compresses down into a carry bag and the cover (in a choice of colours) removes for washing. £69

Cabeau’s The Neck's Evolution S3 (TNE) Neck Pillow
Reviewed by: Hannah Hopkins
If you’ve ever done ‘the head bob’ that jerks you awake just as you’re about to nod off, then this is the travel pillow for you. Its raised sides and genius chin strap supportively hold your neck and head in place, whilst stopping you from snoring and drooling (we’ve all been that person). You’ll love the slimmed-down back (less stress on your spine) and the compact size (it’s easily squished into its clip-on pouch). Bonus points for the jazzy colourways – from ombre to vibrant green – and the inclusion of a pair of corded silicon earplugs. £46.66

SNUGL Travel Pillow
Reviewed by: Rebecca Naylor
Against the window? Headfirst on the tray? Dribbling on the shoulder of a fellow flyer? This one’s for all the wrigglers out there. No matter your position predisposition, the SNUGL Travel Pillow’s bouncy memory foam is both superlatively soft and supportive (and rolls down to 30% of its original size for practical packing!). A bit of a subversive in the cushion competition, twist your SNUGL for sideways slumbers, or flip it upside down for extra shoulder support, then reverse as a chinrest. How snuggly, indeed. £36.95 

Anywhere travel pillow by Levitex
Reviewed by: Hannah Ralph
Maybe you’re in a bog-standard holiday rental, or maybe you’re in your fanciest ever five-star. Either way, the pillows have presented you with a startling dichotomy – one is a balloon, the other is a pancake. Here, the Anywhere travel pillow, which miraculously inflates upon unwinding the nozzle (it’s not air, but Levitex’s patented foam within), presents a geniune saviour. With aforementioned nozzle not yet fully closed, punch the pillow a little to create some slack, tighten it up and you’re off to the dream races. On the plane, stick it behind the small of your back and mimic some semblance of proper posture on the move. £65

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This article has been tagged Wellbeing, Travel Tips