My Sleepless, Pain-Filled Nights… And The One Thing That Changed Everything

It started as a dull ache — nothing dramatic. A slight twinge at the base of my neck when I turned too quickly, or when I sat too long in front of the TV.

But little by little, that ache grew. Until it took over my life.

I’m not exaggerating when I say neck and back pain became the defining feature of my day. And night.

Each morning, I’d wake up feeling like I’d been in a wrestling match. Stiff, sore, groggy — not rested. My neck felt like a rod of steel. Turning my head left or right was enough to make me wince.

And at night? Forget about it.

Tossing. Turning. Constantly fluffing and flipping my pillow. Trying to find some mythical “sweet spot” that would finally let me rest. The harder I tried, the more elusive sleep became.

I’d lie awake thinking: Is this just aging? Is this what sleep looks like after 45?

I dreaded bedtime. I dreaded mornings even more.

Reading in bed? Couldn’t focus through the discomfort. Long drives? Torture. Even simple walks left my shoulders and back aching.

But the worst part wasn’t the pain — it was the exhaustion. The kind that seeps into your bones and steals the joy from your day.

You start snapping at your loved ones. Skipping plans because you’re “too tired.” Waking up more exhausted than you were before you went to bed.

And yet… I still didn’t connect the dots.

I blamed stress. Age. My office chair. Everything but the one thing that touched my body for eight hours a night: my pillow.

I wasn’t looking for a solution when I found it.

I was venting to a friend — someone who knows me too well — about how I couldn’t remember the last time I slept through the night.

She gave me a look. One of those “I’ve got something for you” looks. Then she said: “You need to try something. Just trust me.”

And that’s how I was introduced to something called Derila.

At first glance? Just a pillow. But within a few nights, I realized: this wasn’t just a pillow. It was the first thing that made me feel supported.

It cradled the base of my head and neck in a way that felt… intentional. Not fluffy. Not flat. Not like the dozens of pillows I’d cycled through over the years.

This felt engineered. Thoughtful. Correct.

The first night, I’ll be honest, felt strange. I’d gotten so used to sleeping with my old pillow that anything different felt “wrong.”

But by night three, I started noticing something subtle: I wasn’t tossing and turning as much.

By night five, I woke up and didn’t immediately grab the side of my neck in agony.

And within a week?

It was like a fog had lifted.

The stiffness… gone. That radiating tension in my shoulders? A memory. I was sleeping — actually sleeping — through the night.

I felt human again.

I later learned that Derila is made with high-density memory foam designed to support the natural curvature of the neck and back.

In simpler terms: it aligns your spine while you sleep.

And that? That was the problem all along. My old pillows had let my neck droop, twist, sink. Derila kept everything in a natural, comfortable position — and let my body heal overnight.

Now I wake up rested. Energized. I feel younger than I have in years. My mornings aren’t about painkillers or slow stretches. They’re about coffee and getting things done.

And all because of a pillow.

This isn’t a miracle cure. It’s not magic.

It’s simply the right support in the right place.

If you’re reading this and nodding along — if you’ve felt that same neck tension, that same aching fatigue — I can’t recommend Derila enough.

Sometimes, the smallest change makes the biggest difference.

I just wish I had found it sooner.