How We Selected The Pillows For Neck Pain
To determine what features in a pillow are best for neck pain, we spoke with three experts about what qualities to look for in a pillow to ease and prevent neck pain. They also shared which products they recommend to patients.
The experts we spoke to include:
- Kevin Lees, DC, manager of auditing and quality at The Joint Chiropractic
- Rahul Shah, MD, board-certified orthopedic spine and neck surgeon based in New Jersey
- James D. Lin, MD, spine surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Best For Back Sleepers: Core Products Tri
Amazon
Why We Like It: This cervical pillow design helps cradle the head and support the neck while sleeping on your back.
Its Worth Noting: The polyester fiber fill can trap heat, so it may not suit hot sleepers.
Back sleepers should look for a flatter pillow to help keep your necks natural curve, explains New Jersey-based Rahul Shah, MD, board-certified orthopedic spine and neck surgeon. The Casper Original Low Loft Pillow, our pick for stomach sleepers, will work well for back sleepers, too. But Dr. Shah says that many people who sleep on their back also like a cut-out pillow since it helps cradle the head.
This cervical pillow from Core Products is a simple design with a center cradle for your head. It has a low, firm bolster at the bottom to support the natural curve of your neck for people with small frames, and a larger, firm bolster at the top for folks with a big frame. The raised sides help keep your head nestled in, too. This pillow provides firm support for the therapeutic benefits to your neck. However, the polyester fiber fill may retain heat.
Bear in mind that a cut-out cervical pillow may take time for your body to adjust to it. To start, alternate with a traditional pillow every other night for two weeks. If you occasionally roll on your side during sleep, this pillow is not for you, because it is not meant for side sleeping at all.
Price at time of publication: $46
Product details:
- Trial or guarantee: 100% satisfaction guarantee
What Makes The Tempur
- Thanks to its unique shape, this pillow works best for back and side sleepers dealing with neck pain.
- The thick, firm piece of TEMPUR material is very supportive, but also has a bit of give.
- TEMPUR-Pedic has a version of this pillow thats been infused with gel for hot sleepers.
Read our full TEMPUR-Neck pillow review!
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Brooklyn Bedding Talalay Latex Pillow
- Customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
- Firmness: medium firm
- Material: latex foam
If you hate the sinking feeling of memory foam, opt for a pillow made of latex foam instead. Supportive natural latex helps cradle the head and neck while you rest easy on your side. The organic cotton cover is said to be breathable, easy to clean, and soft to the touch.
The pillow is also hypoallergenic and available in a low or high loft. High is likely the best choice for side sleepers.
Side sleepers like that the pillow provides plenty of neck support without being too firm. A handful of customers also appreciate that it doesnt sleep hot like memory foam.
The brand offers free shipping, a 30-night trial, and a 3-year warranty.
Our Neck Pain Pillow Testing Methodology
We put each of the pillows in this guide through several tests, including sleeping on each for at least three nights. When shopping for a pillow, the most important factors to consider are comfort, return policy, and adjustability.
Here are the main attributes we look for and how we test them:
Comfort: I tested each of the pillows for at least three nights. For reference, I’m 6 feet tall and 215 pounds. I mainly sleep on my side but can find comfort in any position. Each morning, I would record how comfortable I felt on the pillow, if I experienced any neck pain, and how well I slept. Since several factors play into pillow comfort, including your body type and sleeping style, the firmness of your bed, personal preferences and more, I also enlisted the help of six neck-pain sufferers on the Insider Reviews team to help me test.
Return policy: The only way to find out if a pillow is truly right for you is to sleep on it for several nights. We gave preference to pillows that had a trial period of at least 60 days and a return policy free of loopholes, like requiring the customer pay return shipping.
Cleaning: I cleaned all of the pillows according to the manufacturers’ directions. Many had removable machine-washable covers. A few, including the MyPillow pillows, were entirely machine-washable. However, it was hard to gauge when they were completely dry. I rated each pillow on how easy it was to clean and how cleaning impacted the feel.
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Sidney Sleep Side And Back Sleeper Pillow For Neck And Shoulder Pain Relief
Features :
- Sleep on your side by Choice? Your Body Is not Shaped Like A Rectangle. Your Pillow Should Hug, Contour And Support You During The Night.
- Neck and Shoulder Pain Hurts. Our Adjustable Pillow Flows Under Your Neck and Around Your Natural Shoulders Shape, Giving You More Support When You Sleep.
- Like A Firm Pillow? We Include Extra Foam So You Can Adjust the Pillow Height To Your Liking. Firm, Soft or Medium Loft, the Choice is Yours.
- Premium Fabric – Plush to the Touch and Elegantly Soft. For the Ultimate Comfortable Sleep Experience
- Cleaning Made Easy. Our Removable 19″ x 29″ Pillow Case Is Machine Washable and Fast Drying. Wake Up Daily Feeling Fresh And New
Finding The Right Loft & Firmness For Neck Pain
When it comes to relieving neck pain, neutral spine alignment is the name of the game. Youll hear me mention this a few times, but promoting neutral spine alignment is your pillows most important job .
Now, you might be wondering, How am I supposed to know if my spine is in neutral alignment? Well, heres a trick we like to use: If your spine is in neutral alignment, your ears should be in line with your shoulders, and your chin should be in line with your sternum. So when youre lying in bed, take some time to see if your chin is being craned upward, or if your ear is pressed into either shoulder. If so, its time to readjust and regain a healthy posture.
That said, its important to match your pillow to your preferred sleeping position in order to keep a healthy posture. To find the right fit, youll need to keep a close eye on the pillows loft and firmness rating. So lets take a closer look at the best loft and firmness for each position:
Before we move on to the next factor, remember that you can find a more in-depth explanation of how to keep a healthy sleeping posture in my complete guide to picking the right pillow!
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Uttu Sandwich Pillow Queen Size Orthopedic Pillow For Neck Pain Relief Cervical Pillow For Back Pain Neck Support For Side Sleepers Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow Certipur
Features :
- ADJUSTABLE FOR NECK PAIN RELIEF – UTTU Pillow features unique adjustable lofts for varied types of sleepers. Originally with a 4.7in of high contour and 3.9in of low contour, taking out the middle layer youll get 3.5in of high contour and 2.8in of low contour.
- PRESSURE RELIEF – Made with UTTU DYNAMIC FOAM, the premium exclusive memory foam, this Side Sleeper Pillow conforms to the natural curve of your body and supports your neck and head to ensure comfort.
- NEVER BECOMES HARD – We used UTTU DYNAMIC FOAM, which never gets hard in cold weather. Unlike most memory foam on the market, it remains consistent with firmness and comfort feel all year.
- BAMBOO COVER – This bamboo pillow has a cover made of 40% bamboo viscose, making it a COOLING PILLOW for you to stay cool all night long. The pillowcase is MACHINE WASHABLE.
- ITEM DIMENSIONS – 23.6″×14″×4.7″/3.9″, this cervical pillow is designed to fit different sleeping postures, you can sleep in comfort with UTTU whether on your back, side, or stomach.
The Wrong Loft Pillow
Flat pillows often cause necks to crane out of alignment, creating knots and muscle tension. Remember, always make sure your pillow promotes a neutral alignment. When resting on your side, your ears should line up with your shoulders and your chin should align with your sternum. Back and stomach sleepers, youll want to ensure your necks line up with your sternums as well.
Read Also: Can You See Bed Bugs On Your Mattress
Tempur Original Large Pillow: Best Memory Foam Pillow For Neck Pain
Price: £109 | Buy now from Tempur
Contoured memory foam is the pillow type of choice for people seeking relief from neck pain, and Tempur is the king of memory foam pillows. This classic robust pillow is pricey, but it’s a superb investment if you want to sleep better and wake in comfort.
The raised section supports your neck and helps your head, neck and shoulder muscles to fully relax in their natural posture while you sleep. The Large size is 11.5cm at its highest, which is not actually that high, so while it’s perfect for back sleepers you may need a bit of extra height to accommodate your shoulder if you’re a side sleeper. Luckily the Tempur Original also comes in X Large with 13cm of support, which is ideal for side sleepers. However it’s also worth noting that the pillow will compress and firm up over your first few nights of sleep.
Key specs Filling: Memory foam Cover: 100% cotton cover Sizes: Large is 61cm x 31cm also available in Medium and X Large
What Type Of Pillow Is Best For Side
The best pillows for side-sleepers feature specially contoured designs that help relieve pressure on your neck and shoulders, allowing you to sleep comfortably and wake up pain-free.
Another key feature? The fill of your pillow. Memory foam is best at evenly distributing your weight, but it can also be heavy and hot. Look for a pillow with breathable memory foam or even better, one that contains shredded memory foam that can be removed to adjust the height and thickness of your pillow. The more you customize your pillow to your body, the more comfortable it will be, both for sleeping and when youre awake.
Now grab a sleep mask and your favorite mattress topper and get ready to drift off in comfort, because weve rounded up the best pillows for side-sleepers with neck and shoulder pain. Keep scrolling to shop our picks!
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What Is The Best Pillow For Side Sleepers With Neck Pain
Side sleepers make up more than half of the American population, so we’re not surprised to see this question so frequently!Side sleepers with neck pain really need to focus on finding a pillow that has enough loft and height to support the 4″ to 6″ gap that resides between the top of the shoulder and the side of one’s head and neck.When the head and neck are properly supported and the shoulder does not have increased pressure on it, the neck can stay free from tensions and stress and neck pain should go away.The goal is to look at oneself in a side sleeping position and see a straight line from the forehead, nose, chin down to the neck and sternum – this means neutral alignment is achieved.
Neck Pain Pillow Glossary
CertiPUR-US certified: This is a standard for polyurethane foams, including memory foam. Pillows that are CertiPUR-US certified are made without heavy metals, flame retardants, ozone depleters, phthalates, and formaldehyde. They also have low VOC emissions.
Hypoallergenic: Pillows that are less likely to cause allergic reactions are called “hypoallergenic.” In general, hypoallergenic pillows are made of synthetic materials, like foam or polyester. Bedding filled with down or other animal products is more likely to cause an allergic reaction. Currently, there is no certification process that a manufacturer must go through in order to call its pillows hypoallergenic.
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What To Know About Choosing The Best Pillows For Neck Pain
All three of our experts agree: Finding the best pillow to support your spinal alignment is highly individual. Dr. Shah recommends spending at least 15 minutes laying on a pillow in your preferred sleep position in the store before buying it if possible. When shopping online, we recommend looking for a pillow with a sleep trial period or no-questions-asked return policy that way, if the pillow ends up not being ideal for your body, you can return it and try another.
If your neck pain is chronic, or its from an injury or condition, consult with a chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedic surgeon to find out what kind of pillow they recommend for your specific needs.
But in general, youre looking for a pillow that will keep your head and neck in neutral alignment with your spine. There are two key factors that influence this:
This Pair Of Soft Popular Pillows From Amazon
Amazon
Fill: Down alternative fill | Trial period: 30-day return policy | Adjustable: No
Amazons bestselling pillow has gel memory foam filling and a rectangular shape that offer an ideal combo for side sleepers. Its important to have a pillow that contours to the head and neck, and this pillow does just that. Its no-shift design makes it ideal for the side sleepers who switch sides during the night and dont want to constantly adjust to find that perfect angle for a quality nights sleep.
What the reviews say: With more than 155,000 reviews,happy sleepers agree that the Beckham pillows are the ideal balance of firm and soft. When you lay down on them your head sinks into the pillow but is still supported enough to stay slightly elevated, writes one 5-star reviewer. For side sleeping, this is one of the very few pillows where it is just the right height and I don’t have to use a second pillow with it, writes another.
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Change Your Sleeping Position
We discussed it above, but it’s worth repeating not every sleep position is created equal. Specifically, stomach sleeping is considered by medical professionals as the least desirable sleeping position.
We know changing how you sleep at night is easier said than done. Old habits die hard, and how we sleep can feel out of our control.
But there are things you can do to change from a stomach sleeper to a side or back sleeper.
To start, you can put a pillow under your knees. This elevates your legs and does two things. First, it takes pressure off your lower back, which helps you sleep better at night . Second, it makes it hard for you to turn over on to your stomach.
Or, you can get an adjustable bed frame. Adjustable bed frames go directly beneath your mattress. There are several different types, but the ones we recommend have quiet pneumatic motors beneath the head and the feet. These motors can lift the frame, which then lifts your mattress. By raising your legs just slightly, you again take pressure off your lower back and make it difficult for to flip onto your stomach.
Our Pick: Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow
*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.
In four years of testing, the Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow has consistently outperformed many pricier pillows, but in recent testing two of the four Xtreme Comforts pillows we tried had a strong chemical odor that made them unusable . If you get one that doesnt smell, its a great pillow that typically costs about half the price of our favorite shredded-foam pillow from Nest Bedding. It offers comfortable neck support without being too stiff, a problem with many loftier pillows. The breathable, micro-perforated cover, a bamboo viscose and polyester blend, keeps hot sleepers cooler, and the removable shredded-foam fill makes the pillow easy to adjust for your body. Although its lumpier than the Easy Breather, and the texture took getting used to for some of our testers, most of our back- and side-sleepers, as well as a few stomach-sleepers, have liked it over the years. This pillow gives much better support for my neck than any down/synthetic down pillow I have owned in the past, one side-sleeper told us.
The Xtreme Comforts best surprise is its low price, half as much as that of the other shredded-memory-foam pillow we liked, our pick, the Nest Bedding Easy Breather. And despite the Xtreme Comforts popularity with our testers, it wont work for every body, so a 30-day return policy gives you the flexibility to try it without risk.
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Finding The Best Pillows For Neck Pain
If your pillow is causing neck pain, shoulder pain, or a stiff neck, it’s usually because the pillow is either propping your head up too high or letting your head sink down too low. What you want from your pillow is even and consistent support.
But you also want comfort. Imaging laying on a brick that’s the right height to keep your neck straight. Sure, you won’t have an issue with your spine alignment, but you’re not going to sleep well. The pressure building up on your face will keep you up, and you’ll constantly be tossing and turning.
Below, we break down the best pillow for neck pain into categories:
- The best side sleeper pillow
- The best back sleeper pillow
- The best combo sleeper pillow
- The best cooling pillow
You need a supportive and comfortable pillow that works for your body type. Below are general recommendations that you can purchase online right now, or for a personalized recommendation that’s tailored to all your needs, visit one of our Slumberland showrooms.
