Getting enough sleep is hard enough, but waking up with a sore, creaky neck adds insult to injury. If this sounds familiar, you might need a new pillow, and ideally one that is designed to ease neck pain.
This, of course, depends on your individual habits and needs. Side sleepers are going to need a very different pillow from back sleepers, and taller people (or anyone with big, buff shoulders) won’t feel comfortable snoozing on a pillow that’s made with smaller folks in mind. In other words, finding a pillow that relieves your aching neck will probably require some trial and error. But there are a few rules of thumb you can follow to narrow your search. We spoke to experts for tips on finding the best supportive pillow for your neck to help you fall asleep faster and, hopefully, wake up pain-free.
How to find the best pillow to alleviate your neck pain
“The goal is to ensure that your neck and head are aligned straight over your shoulders when sleeping,” Srikant Kondapaneni, MD, the chief of pulmonary medicine at Englewood Health in New Jersey, tells SELF. Your whole body, including your neck, should feel fully relaxed as you drift off, he says—that’s how you know you’ve found a pillow that stands a chance at keeping shoulder pain (and that dreaded crick in your neck) at bay. In order to attain that level of relaxation, you’ll need to find a pillow with a height and firmness that suits your preferred sleeping position.
Height
Dr. Kondapaneni explains that side sleepers typically benefit from a taller pillow, since the pillow’s added height allows for more space for the sleeper’s shoulder to rest comfortably without scrunching forward. Meanwhile, a lower profile pillow is usually the better pick for back sleepers, who are at risk of sleeping with their neck and head cranked forward if they have a pillow that’s too tall. The same goes for stomach sleepers, but it’s recommended that you try to avoid sleeping on your tummy as much as possible, as this sleep position can strain your back and neck.
You might need to test out a couple of different pillows to get a clearer idea of what height is right for you, but you can start with a pillow that’s between four and five and a half inches high, Angelie Mascarinas, MD, a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, tells SELF.
Firmness and material
You’ll know you’ve found a pillow with a good firmness level when it allows you to relax your neck and shoulders without feeling like your head is sinking straight through it. Side sleepers should look for a medium-firm pillow, Dr. Mascarinas says. If you’re a back or stomach sleeper, you can try softer options since they tend to compress more and have lower profiles than firm options, which will keep your head from tipping forward into an uncomfortable position.
As far as materials go, you might already have a strong preference between, say, memory foam or down alternatives, but side sleepers may want to try a rubber or latex pillow, Michael Gallizzi, MD, a spine surgeon at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, tells SELF. One older study of 106 side sleepers and a 2021 review of 35 scientific articles concluded that rubber pillows relieved neck pain and improved overall sleep quality more effectively than feather ones. Again, 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.
Before we get into the best pillows for neck pain, a gentle reminder: If you try switching up your pillow and sleeping positions, and you’re still waking up at night and fighting a stiff neck in the morning, check in with a doctor, if you can, to see if there are other factors that could be causing your neck pain.
Now, whether you sleep like a pill bug or a starfish, or prefer memory foam over a down alternative, you don’t have to spend your mornings feeling stiff as a board. Read on to find the supportive pillow of your (literal) dreams.
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