A sleep expert has issued a serious warning about sleeping with two pillows at night – and why you need to stop doing so.

The important information was shared in a new TikTok video by user Sammy Jo, who is a doctor of physical therapy.

In the clip, viewers were cautioned against sleeping with two pillows in bed, as it can exacerbate a Dowager hump that may develop on the upper back.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, this issue is often a result of poor posture but can also be triggered by conditions like Osteoporosis or degenerative changes in the spine.

In her video, Sammy explained that oftentimes, during the day, we tend to fall into a position where we are leaning forward by our shoulders. 

The demonstration highlighted the consequences of using two pillows when lying down for extended periods – it raises the floor to the head, conforming to the curve caused by poor posture over time, instead of allowing the neck and spine to extend back into a proper straight position.

She urged viewers to lie down ‘flat’ in their beds, and to only use one pillow or one that is flat.

‘Maybe you can do a rolled up towel or something here to support your curve,’ she suggested.

The important information was shared in a new TikTok video by user Sammy Jo, who is a doctor of physical therapy

‘I have so many patients that, when they come in for therapy, I lie them down on their back, on the mat, and they need at least two pillows, sometimes I even have to lift the head of the mat up, because they cannot lie flat without discomfort or their head kind of going like this,’ she explained, as she tilted her head all the way back.

The doctor of physical therapy explained that when you sleep, it’s important to be in the same position that you want to have and be in during the day.

‘When you go to bed at night, use gravity to your advantage to stretch you straighter, if you can tolerate it,’ Sammy said.

The expert also warned viewers to be wary of mattresses that conform to the shape of your body.

‘Be careful not to give into those, right?’ she explained. ‘Because all of a sudden, you’re conforming to your curves that you’re having through the day, and then you’re like, “Ugh, I can’t reverse that.”‘

‘Because eight hours of that position and not letting your spine stretch into a little bit straighter, that’s gonna build up over time to where you’re like, walking around with a Dowager’s hump and you’re kind of slouchy, right?’

However, if you really feel like using one pillow is just impossible for you, Sammy also offered viewers a stretch that can help your neck.

The stretch involved standing with your back against a wall, and having your knees bent.

In the clip, she warned viewers to ‘resist the urge’ to sleep with two pillows in bed, as it can worsen a Dowager hump, which can occur on your upper back (stock image)

‘Low back is pressed against the wall, there’s no space here… and then I try to bring my back of my head up to the wall, too, without letting this arch,’ she demonstrated.

Then, Sammy began to move her shoulders back and forth in an arched position, with her palms facing outwards.

If you can do that part of the stretch without pain, Sammy recommended bending the arms above your head and then moving them in a way so that your hands touch.

She said that you will feel this in your thoracic spine.

And, if you are having trouble getting your neck to touch the wall, she explained that you can roll up a towel and put it right behind your head.

‘Avoid two pillow syndrome,’ Sammy warned at the end of the clip.

However, in the comments section of her video, many users admitted that they sleep with more than two pillows at night.

‘I use three pillows all mashed up weird and I sleep on my tummy,’ one person wrote.

Another shared, ‘I’m three pillow, on side: one under head, one between knees, and hugging the third.’

‘The acid reflux will not allow anything less than two,’ someone else typed.