I sleep with a pillow that supports the
neck. It also feels like the muscle, vertically along the spine, is
sore sometimes. If I do stretches and some yoga in the morning and take a hot shower, do some running I get some relief. If I role a large towel and lie down on it with my spine along, that provides some good relief.
Swimming and surfing aggravate the neck a bit. The more I do it, the worse it feels.