The human posture seems to require pillows in most sleeping positions to put the neck into a neutral position for the greatest comfort. However, it’s hard to think of any other animals where this is the case, most common animals seem to have regular sleeping positions that keep their neck neutral on flat ground.
Are there any animals that, if given a human pillow, have a strong preference for sleeping with it under their head for greater comfort? Are there any animals that routinely make pillows out of found material in the wild? I’m aware that many animals make some kind of soft bedding if they can but I’m asking specifically for animals that make bedding where there’s a pronounced hump (or divot) where their head rests.
If not, what is it about humans that make us so much less adapted to sleeping on flat ground than other animals?
Well, there is the position of the foramen magnum at the middle of the bottom of the skull instead of the back. (We have skulls “on top”—most animals have skulls “in front”.
One of our dogs, Loki, loves having a pillow to sleep on. When I go to bed every so often my gf will be asleep, as will Loki, on my pillow. When I’m tired I’d rather not deal with rearranging things, so I’ll go to one of our spare bedrooms.
Half the time I’ll fall asleep in the spare bedroom, then Loki will join me there, using my legs as her pillow.
My dog likes pillows, as does one other dog in my informal dog share network. That still puts them in the minority of the roughly dozen dogs in the dog share.
While this is true, they also seem just as happy on the sidewalk, on the hardwood living room floor, on top of the refrigerator, on the cold concrete basement floor, etc. They don’t really seem to have a major preference. Mine don’t, at least.
I’ve seen her sleep with her head on a pillow, & other times I’ve seen her sleep with her body on the dog bed & her head not on the bed but on the lower, hardwood floors. Go figger.