I keep waking up with a stiff neck. is there a specific position i should sleep in to minimize this pain?

Yes: Make sure your pillow/s are appropriate. Sometimes it may help not to use a pillow. If stiffness is rather uncomfortable, a short course of muscle relaxants may be helpful.

Neck pillow: I would recommend contoured foam neck pillow to help prevent neck pain and stiffness.

Watch out for bruxis: Sleep related bruxism is where you clinch your teeth or grind them at night, . Muscle spasm and upper ack pain can result: Clonazepam at night is the medical solution if that is the case, look it up if that's occurring. It's often called TMJ or tmjd by the dentists. It is a dental and anxiety issue and is often missed.