How We Test Pillows
All pillows are evaluated in the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Textiles Lab. First we check the care labels to see how easy they are to clean , then we wash them five times to see whether they’ll actually hold up to laundering. We also look at how well they fit into a pillowcase and we perform support and recovery tests that mimic the pressure from your head lying on it all night: A weight is left on the pillow for an extended period then we measure how quickly it returns to its original shape.
In addition to Lab testing, we also have real consumer testers try them out for in-depth feedback on things like comfort, support, temperature regulation and more. Testers are assigned a pillow based on an initial survey to make sure they’re getting a good match, then they’re given weeks to sleep on it before providing both scored and open-ended responses.
Does It Matter How You Sleep
Yesand here comes the big butremember that we toss and turn throughout the night, so you want to choose a pillow that works for you in all of your sleeping positions. Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist in Los Angeles, explains that side sleepers may need a firmer, thicker pillow than stomach sleepers, who can get away with a soft pillowor with not using one at all.
As far as thickness goes, he recommends choosing one thats the same as the distance between your ear and outside shoulder, which allows your nose to be in line with the middle of your chest. Back sleepers, on the other hand, need flatter pillows to keep their head and neck in alignment. A soft pillow works, but if you have neck pain and sleep on your back, look for a pillow that provides additional support, while maintaining the softness thats comfortable for you, he says.
You should also take your bed itself into consideration. A mattress that is plusher on top may affect the height of the pillow that is the most comfortable for you, Cralle points out. For example, a soft pillow may be better for a firm mattress to keep your head and neck in perfect alignment, while a medium-to-hard one could be better for a soft mattress.
Is Your Pillow Accommodating For You
We have a method side sleepers can use to determine if their pillow is lofty and firm enough for them. Essentially, you should be able to draw a straight line from your nose down to your belly button. If not, it may be time for a more accommodating pillow.
For those who sometimes sleep on their back, they should test their pillow by the curvature of their neck. Your neck should make a proper C curve. If youre looking more forward than you are up towards your ceiling, the pillow might be too lofty.
If you switch positions and sometimes sleep on your stomach, we dont necessarily have a test for that. Unlike side sleepers, stomach sleepers need a pillow with little loft and should feel out how well their pillow is working for them. If there is a kink in the neck, theres a chance the pillow is too lofty.
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Who Should Try The Purple Harmony
- The Purple Harmony is also a great pick for hot sleepers. Its Purple GridHex gel pad and latex core promote lots of airflow and keep it super cool.
- As a back sleeper, I thought the Purple Harmony was basically the perfect back sleeping pillow. It kept my head and neck properly aligned, and the medium firmness is just right comfort-wise. It comes in multiple lofts, but I recommend the low or medium loft for back sleepers.
- I also think its a great pillow for side sleepers, but Id go with the medium or high loft to ensure spinal alignment.
The Purple Harmony is great for any position sleeper and is extremely breathable to help you sleep cool through the night!
Purple Cloud Pillow Firmness
I found that the Purple Cloud also had a medium firmness, but its quite a different feel than the Harmonys. The gel fiber fill gives the Purple Cloud some of the softness of traditional down your head will sink down into it but it maintains an elevating feel, so you dont sink quite as much as you might with traditional down.
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Sleeping Positions To Avoid With Tummy Trouble
This isnt shocking news, but its best to not sleep on your stomach when youre having stomach problems. First of all, sleeping on your stomach puts all of your weight on the place thats in the most pain, not a great move.
Secondly, its very hard to get good spine alignment when you sleep on your stomach, as youre automatically putting strain on your hips and back. That stress and strain can lead to greater inflammation and prolonged toilet troubles.
If you have GERD, reflux, or extreme nausea, avoid sleeping flat on your back. Laying flat makes it easier for the acid to travel and you want all that acid to stay right in the stomach, where it belongs.
For constipation, sleeping on your side with your knees tucked may feel comfortable but may not have any great effects on relieving the constipation. It wont do any harm, but be sure that your knees arent pulled in too close to the chest. You want the position to be as relaxed as possible.
If you have diarrhea, sleep in whatever position allows you to get out of bed the fastest.
Theres not much a sleeping position can do to help diarrhea, so its best to stick with what feels comfortable and lets you run to the bathroom when the time comes.
Which Pillow Is Best For Neck Pain
There isnt one single pillow out there thats perfect for everyone, but the best pillow for neck pain has two main characteristics: its firm enough to keep your head at a neutral angle so your spine stays aligned while you sleep, but yet somehow soft enough to allow some give to help alleviate pressure points. Thats why we like the Tempur-Pedic Tempur Neck Pillowit checks all the boxes.
Memory foam and feather pillows are excellent options because they provide support, but also cradle your head to keep your spine neutral. Cervical pillowsthe ones that have a depression in the center and raised edgesare also top picks. Keep in mind that the best pillow for neck pain may not feel totally comfortable at first. It can take some getting used to, so give it a little time.
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Fabric And Material Choices
Since we do rate this pillow as a top cooling pillow option due to how it is constructed, it is important to explain here that sleeping cool is a relative term that is related to the many variables surrounding the choices you make with your sleep products. Everything from the mattress you sleep on to the pajamas you wear can influence your body temperature.
Fabrics, such as cotton and bamboo, naturally breathe easier than synthetics that have a much more closed off cellular structure. These fibers also can draw moisture away from your body and allow it to vaporize into the surrounding air, creating a cooling effect as it does so.
Also, how tightly your fabric choices are, called thread-count, can influence how well air is able to pass through it. Even highly breathable fibers lose their ability to allow for airflow when tightly woven together. Therefor, if you sleep hot, taking a closer look at what your mattress, pillow, sheets, and even pjs are made from is a step in the right direction to a cooler sleep environment.
My Final Thoughts About The Purple Pillows
Despite all coming from the same brand, these three pillows are quite different from each other. Here are my final takeaways on each one.
The Purple pillow is simultaneously the most versatile of these three pillows it can work for every sleeping position but its also the most controversial. Many customers whove reviewed it dont like that it doesnt have a traditional pillow feeling or dont like how firm it is. I definitely fell into that camp even though I felt that the pillow supported my head and neck well, I just didnt like the firm feel.
However, the whole point of this pillow is to be non-traditional and thats what some people love about it. If you do like a firmer pillow, I think youll appreciate how the Purple gridcompresses beneath your head and neck to offer pressure relief, but still maintains firm support. I also love that Purple includes the option of boosters to adjust the loft to fit different sleepers needs.
The Purple Harmony was definitely my personal favorite of these three pillows. The use of the Purple GridHex gel pad with the latex foam core allows the pillow to conform around you, while still providing head and neck support.Id say this pillow offers the best blend of Purple technology with a more classic pillow feel.
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Purple Pillow Cooling Claims
As mentioned, the focus of this pillow is true overall comfort rather than is being constructed solely for a cooler surface experience. The material choices are as such to promote the correct conditions for a comfortable sleep temperature to occur as well.
The polymer the pillow is made from is not conducive to a cool environment and isnt very breathable all on its own, but when constructed in a supportive grid like structure, large, breathable air pockets are created to allow a free flow of air through to the bottom of the pillow. This allows air to move freely even when you are lying upon it, and keep from heat sinks from occurring.
I am not a hot sleeper myself are rarely ever feel too warm to sleep, so in order to gauge how effective this pillow is in helping to maintain a consistent temperature comfort, I ran my trial with multiple room temperature variables. Both a average 72 degree room was used as well as a warmer, 80+ degree room.
Who Should Try The Purple Cloud
- The Purple Cloud has a high loft that makes it great for maintaining side sleepers spinal alignment.
- Its the only one of these pillows thats entirely machine washable, which makes it a great option for people with allergies or who like to keep their bedding super clean.
- The Purple Cloud is also the least expensive of these three pillows from Purple, making it a better choice for shoppers on a budget.
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What Makes These The Best Side Sleeping Pillows
When looking for the best pillow for side sleepers, our Slumber Yard team members looked back on our years of experience with pillows and chose the ones that fit certain important criteria for side sleepers, which well discuss in more detail below.
In general, side sleepers typically like taller, firmer pillows to keep their heads in proper alignment with their spine. In other words, down pillows usually arent your biggest friends. All the choices below are pillows that we think stand out from the rest of the pack.
Purple Pillow Purple Harmony And Purple Cloud Feel Comparison
I personally tested all three of these pillows so that I could give you an idea of how they feel, but keep in mind that feel is subjective, so you might have a different experience than me.
Each sleeping position generally does best with a different feel from their pillow: side sleepers with a firmer feel, stomach sleepers with a softer feel, and back sleepers with a medium feel. This is because the head and neck are placed differently when sleeping in these positions, and you want to ensure that your neck stays aligned with the rest of your spine.
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What About The Purple Plush Pillow
The Purple Plush is a pillow that Purple used to offer. It featured a two-firmness design that could be changed by zipping or unzipping it and was filled with Purples Smart Fluff fill. However, this pillow has been discontinued. The most similar pillow currently offered would be the Purple Cloud, or the Purple TwinCloud, which isnt featured in this review.
Which Purple Harmony Should You Gethow Theyre Different
Purple Harmony has two height options. It comes in 3 lofts: low, medium and tall. Which one should you get?
- Low 5.5: You like a thinner or lower height pillow. Usually thats stomach and back sleepers. Or if you have narrow shoulders.
- Medium 6.5: You like a medium height pillow. More often for back or side sleepers. Most people should pick this one.
- Tall 7.5: Side Sleepers with average to larger frames. Anyone who generally prefers a taller pillow.
Unlike the original Purple Pillow, The Purple Harmony is lightweight and has a thin layer of comfort grid built into the cover.
This is the most expensive of Purples pillows by quite a bit, however, its also the nicest one.
Materials:
Cover: 92% Nylon Fiber, 8% Spandex Fiber, with moisture-wicking treatment. Inside the cover is thinner hexagon pattern of Purple Grid.
Core: Ventilated Talalay Latex
Pillow dimensions: 26 x 17 x 6.5 and comes shipped flat in a box .
Sizes: Comes in standard or king size.
Weighs about 4.2 lbs
Cost: $159 and is sometimes offered free with mattress purchase
Pros: most substantial pillow in the lineup and wont sleep hot.
Cons: pricer but worth it if you like latex and the flexibility of the construction to move with you.
This pillow is for you if you love latex, want more loft and bounce. Its huggable and keeps its shape.
PLEASE NOTE the cover is where the magic is. Its most of the weight and has the comfort grid embedded into it.
Purple Plush Pillow
THIS PILLOW HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.
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Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow
- Slightly loose fit in pillowcase
- Fill material: Foam
- Firmness level: Medium-firm
Tuft & Needle makes our list again, but this time for its foam pillow. It’s made with solid foam instead of foam clusters for a more supportive surface, but it has ventilated holes to make it breathable along with graphite and cooling gel to prevent overheating. The brand describes the feel as “squishy while remaining supportive” and we fully agree based on our evaluations.
In Lab tests, it bounced back to shape immediately after we applied pressure. It fit fairly well into a pillowcase but is just a bit smaller than other pillows so there’s a slightly loose fit. Only the cover is machine washable, but it laundered well without any shrinkage.
Tester notes: It was a top-rated pillow from sleep testers, who gave it perfect scores for comfort and keeping its shape. Plus, testers unanimously said it felt like an upgrade from the pillows they normally use. Its praise included comments like, “this pillow was firm enough that it kept its shape, but felt overall soft” and, “it was comfortable in multiple sleeping positions and the perfect level of firmness.”
Best Latex Pillow
Facts About Purple Mattress Products
1 Purple doesnt like memory foam and so you wont see any in their products.
2 The Hyper Elastic Polymer or comfort grid takes different forms and formats but it will be the material closest to your head or body. They dont add a layer between you, the cover and the mattress or pillow. Thats how you get the full effect of the flexible properties of the comfort grid.
3 Purple sheets and covers for the mattresses and all but the Purple Plush pillow are stretchy so that it can move with the comfort grid. This allows you to get the full effect and feel of Purples unique comfort grid. The Purple Plush makes absolutely no sense for this brand because it breaks all of the rules.
Each pillow has a 100 night trial and a 1 year warranty you can return your pillow for a full refund if youre not satisfied.
I have done this once and it worked well. Purple is US based and handle returns efficiently. I got my money back pretty quick. I GUARANTEE this isnt often how things go with mattress companies and it can be so frustrating.
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How Do I Clean The Purple Pillows
The Purple Cloud pillow is entirely machine washable. Purple recommends washing it in warm water on a delicate cycle. To dry, tumble on low heat on a delicate cycle, as well. Purple even says that washing the Purple Cloud can fluff it!The covers of the Purple pillow and Purple Harmony can be machine washed. Additionally, you can hand wash the core of the Purple pillow in warm water.
What Fill Should You Pick
If you like the slow, sinking feeling of a Four Seasons hotel pillow, a down pillow may be for you. Some people have allergic reactions to the goose or duck fibers, so if thats the case, you can opt for a down-alternative pillow or one made from wool or cotton, which are both naturally hypoallergenic materials . Like puffer coats, real down pillows are more expensive than their synthetic and polyester counterparts. Synthetic- and polyester-fill pillows will flatten with time and typically need replacing more frequently than other types of pillows, Breus says.
Two other fill materials you may be familiar with are latex and memory foam. Latex pillows are firmer than down and tend to hold their shape better over time . Memory foam is pretty popular too since its all about conforming to your individual shape. However, it retains heat .
Now that you know a Goldilocks pillow doesnt exist, you can begin your journey to the perfect nights sleep. These are the 18 best bed pillows of 2022. Good night!
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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