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When I wake up with even a slight twinge in my neck, my mood nose-dives—so I’ve been on the hunt for the best pillows for neck pain for most of my adult life. If you tend to feel sore, achy, or tight through your neck, shoulders, and upper back in the morning, you should probably join me in my search.
Everyone’s pillow preferences are different, but there are some general criteria you should follow to find bedding that helps you get better sleep. “The goal is to ensure that your neck and head are aligned straight over your shoulders when sleeping,” Srikant Kondapaneni, MD, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist in New Jersey, tells SELF. Your whole body (including your neck) should feel fully relaxed as you drift off, he says. To make that happen, you’ll need to find a pillow with a height and firmness that suits your preferred sleeping position.
Below, we used experts’ guidance and SELF staffer recommendations to find the right pillows for all types of sleepers seeking neck pain relief.
(But first, a gentle reminder: If you try switching up your pillow and you’re still waking up at night, fighting a stiff neck in the morning, or noticing that your pain is radiating from your neck to your arm, check in with a doctor to see if there are other factors that could be causing your chronic neck pain.)
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Our top picks
- Best Overall: Coop Home Goods Eden Adjustable Pillow, $105
- Best Budget Pick: Clara Clark Memory Foam Pillow, $26
- Best for Side Sleepers: Pillow Cube Side Cube, $70
- Best Down Alternative Pillow: Casper Original Pillow, $65
- Best Cervical Pillow: AllSett Cervical Neck Roll Memory Foam Pillow, $25
- Best Travel Pillow: Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow, $69
Whether you sleep like a pill bug or a starfish, you don’t have to spend your mornings feeling stiff as a board. Read on to find the supportive pillow of your (literal) dreams.
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best Overall: Coop Home Goods Eden Adjustable Pillow
Coop
Home Goods Eden Adjustable Pillow
SELF’s director of fitness and food admits that Coop’s bestselling Eden pillow is a little splurge-y, but says it’s so high-quality that it’s well worth the investment. “It made such a difference” for her and her partner, who purchased their Edens four or five years ago, she says.
This is particularly impressive because, while she sleeps on her back, her partner is a side sleeper. Side sleepers generally need a taller pillow than back sleepers in order to align their head, neck, and shoulders, which usually means bedmates should opt for two different pillows. But the Eden is adjustable—you can add or remove as much of the filling as you like, so you can find the exact height that works for you. Plus, the fill is made of cooling, gel-infused foam that won’t let you sink down too much or overheat in the middle of the night.
Dimensions: 17 x 27 inches | Height: Adjustable, 2-inch gusset | Materials: Memory foam and microfiber fill, polyester liner, polyester and bamboo viscose blend pillowcase
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best Budget Pick: Clara Clark Memory Foam Pillow
Clara Clark
Memory Foam Pillow
This was the first pillow I ever tried that got me close to that fully relaxed, neutral position that Dr. Kondapaneni describes. With all of its shredded memory foam filling inside, it stands pretty tall, which is great for a side sleeper like me who needs lots of space between the bed and her head—where else would my bottom shoulder go?
Back and stomach sleepers can remove some of the fill to lower the pillow’s height. Either way, it’ll feel firm and supportive. Considering its price point, its filling is impressively dense and heavy-duty—I’ve definitely dealt with some sinkage from time to time, but it always bounces back the next day.
Dimensions: 19 x 29 inches | Height: Adjustable, max height 5 inches | Materials: Memory foam fill, bamboo rayon cover
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best for Side Sleepers: Pillow Cube Side Cube
Unless I some day have a pillow custom-made to fit the exact nook between my shoulder and head, I don’t think I’ll find a more perfect pillow than Pillow Cube’s comfy, supportive side sleeper pillow. It’s made of plush foam, but thanks to its rectangular structure, it doesn’t collapse under the weight of my head. Instead, it cradles me while providing enough room for my bottom shoulder to rest comfortably (rather than scrunch up under the rest of my body).
I also appreciate the Side Cube’s durability—I’ve had mine for a few years now, and it’s retained its shape and firmness wonderfully. One thing to note: You can buy special Pillow Cube-shaped pillowcases from the brand, but in my experience they tend to trap heat. While it might not look like it, the Side Cube can fit inside most traditional pillowcases without issue.
Dimensions: 12 x 24 inches | Height: 5 inches | Materials: Viscoelastic polyurethane foam fill, polyester and spandex cover
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best Down Alternative Pillow: Casper Original Pillow
Love the loft of a down pillow, but find that the real stuff makes you sneeze? Michael Gallizzi, MD, a spine surgeon at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, recommends Casper’s Original Pillow. It has a medium-soft feel that’ll please anyone who likes their pillow to have a little give.
That doesn’t mean the Original Pillow is flimsy—its core is dense and firm, while the outer layer contains soft, fluffy fill, so your head won’t go straight through it to the mattress below.
Dimensions: 18 x 26 inches | Height: 9 inches uncompressed, 2-inch gusset | Materials: Polyester microfiber fill, polyester lining, cotton percale cover
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best Cervical Pillow: AllSett Cervical Neck Roll Memory Foam Pillow
AllSett
Cervical Neck Roll Memory Foam Pillow
For back and side sleepers looking for additional support, consider adding a cervical pillow (also known as a rolled neck pillow) to your snoozing setup, Dr. Kondapaneni says. Just slide it inside your regular pillow’s case and position it under your neck as you lay down.
AllSett’s cervical pillow is made with sturdy, adaptive memory foam that conforms to your body without totally collapsing and comes with an ultra-soft cover. Bonus: It also makes a decent knee pillow, in a pinch.
Dimensions: 4 x 17 inches | Height: 4 inches | Materials: Memory foam fill, bamboo rayon cover
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks Best Travel Pillow: Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow
Ostrichpillow
Go Neck Pillow
If you can sleep on a plane and wake up ache-free, my hat’s off to you. For the rest of us, there’s Ostrichpillow’s Go Neck Pillow, a wrap-style cushion that SELF contributor Kells McPhillips calls her “travel secret weapon.”
Both ends of the pillow are lined with Velcro, so you can fasten it around your neck to your desired fit. Meanwhile, its memory foam body molds to the shape of your neck and the weight of your head. “The OstrichPillow isn’t too tall, and it squishes flush against the seat back so I never wake up with a stiff neck,” McPhillips writes.
Dimensions: 17 x 27 inches (perimeter ranges from 12.59 to 17.70 inches) | Height: 5.10 inches | Materials: Memory foam fill, modal and elastomer cover
Healthy lifestyle tips Relationship advice Life hacks for everyday living Personal development tips Relationship tips and tricks What should you consider when shopping for a pillow that’ll address your neck pain?
To an extent, the firmness of your pillow (meaning how much it yields to pressure) is a matter of personal preference. But if you’re shopping with neck support in mind, here’s what you need to know.
“Back sleepers need the least amount of support and firmness in their pillow,” Alice Chen, MD, a physiatrist at HSS Stamford in Stamford, Connecticut, tells SELF. Feel free to try softer options, since they tend to compress more and have lower profiles, which will keep your head from tipping forward into an uncomfortable position. Stomach sleepers can shop similarly—a very thin, soft pillow is far less likely to bug your neck, Dr. Chen says.
Side sleepers, on the other hand, need something a little firmer (though not rock-hard). You want the pillow to still feel “malleable,” Dr. Chen says. A medium-firm pillow will give you the support you need while accommodating your bottom shoulder.
Also known as a pillow’s loft, height plays a key role in maintaining proper alignment from your head to your neck to your shoulders. Dr. Kondapaneni explains that side sleepers typically benefit from a taller pillow, since the pillow’s added height allows for more space for your shoulder to rest comfortably without scrunching forward. Meanwhile, a lower-profile pillow is usually better for back sleepers, who risk neck strain if they have a pillow that’s too tall, Dr. Chen says.
That’s why adjustable pillows are so helpful (and popular). They make it easy for you to tweak the height of your pillow to suit your body. Think of this way: Rather than getting hung up on specific measurements, just look for a pillow that will fill the space between your head and neck, Dr. Chen says.
Again, some people have strong feelings between foam versus downy pillows—and you can let those preferences guide your shopping. Just keep in mind that some synthetic materials, including many types of foam, can feel too warm for some (especially if you’re a bit of a hot sleeper). If you can, it can be helpful to try pillows with different fills and materials to get a better idea of what feels most comfortable and supportive for you.
Related:
- The Wrong Shoes Can Make Knee Pain Worse, but These Actually Help
- The Best Mattresses, Tested and Reviewed
- 9 Comfy, Supportive Shoes Podiatrists Swear by for Back Pain
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