Reprise: Egyptian headrests, modern substitute

Pull an old pair of socks over a suitably-sized bottle, cut the legs on an old stool
to the right height to rest your lower legs on it while on your back on the floor, place the padded bottle under the back of your neck, close your eyes, and have a nice nap. It's good for your neck, it's good for your back, and it's good for your circulation if you happen to have pitting edema of the feet and lower legs.

  And before someone says, "That pitting edema in the feet and lower legs may indicate a right-side heart problem, and/or heart failure..." may I say "Thanks, but I have the Merck Manual, and I'm aware of all that." Like the guy said after falling off the Empire State Building, and passing the third floor going down, "So far, so good!" And we won't get into my ECGs, and the periodic skipped beats, and the Atrial Fibrillation, and the Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) 15 mg. to thin the blood to reduce the likelihood of clotting due to that fibrillation, nor what it sounds like if you listen to it with a stethoscope (like sloshing in a bucket) - so instead of all that, I'm just going to say it doesn't affect me-affect me-affect me hardly at all. And now, let's change the subject, may we?

And yes, it really is possible to have a relaxing nap in this position. One note of caution, however: I don't recommend that you use the bottle/headrest as you would an ordinary pillow for sleeping on your side. Because? Because it isn't designed to have the same weight distribution characteristics as pillows, and if
you are lying on your side, there's a danger of putting too much pressure on a
carotid artery, possibly restricting blood flow to the brain. ( see illustration )

So this is why the ancient Egyptians, using headrests, or me and my bottle-in-a-sock substitute, use those while on our backs, not on our sides. If you must sleep on your side, get a nice big pillow so the weight of your head will be spread over a larger area, without danger of creating pressure points. I think what I'm trying to say here is that these things aren't toys, and must be used with care.