Body dimension measurements for pillow design for Taiwanese.

Study reported a pillow with a uniform height was not suitable for sleeping in supine and lateral positions. The study aims to determine the pillow dimensions for fitting supine and lateral positions for Taiwanese. Ten females and ten males subjects with a mean age of 21.9 years (SD= 1.07 years) participated in the study. Body dimensions of head, neck and shoulder in crown and sagittal planes were measured with the Martins' anthropometer and a curve measurer to determine the pillow's sizes. The results showed that the basic form of pillow for both genders is a U form from the front view. The middle area of the pillow is for supine position and the both side areas are for lateral positions. The base of pillow is a rectangle from the top view. The pillow is designed with a width of 75 and 70 cm for male and female, and a depth of 40 and 35 cm for male and female. The height in middle area and both side are 4 and 14 cm for male, and 2 and 12 cm for female. A neck rest with a height of 1.5 cm was proposed for neck support.