How to Find the Right Kind of Pillow for However You Sleep

Finding the right pillow can be a real pain in the neck. Save yourself time and avoid wasting money with our guide to finding the right kind of pillow for however you sleep.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a new pillow, not least of which is how you sleep. Below, we’ll look at why pillow height matters and the best pillows for every sleep position.

First, a quick caveat about pillow firmness ratings:

Even if you know you prefer a firmer pillow, one company’s ‘firm’ is another’s ‘extra-firm’. Similarly, what feels perfectly soft to you might be unbearably extra-soft to someone else.

My advice is to choose a pillow sold by a company with a reasonable return policy. Chances are that you’ll want to sleep on a pillow for at least a week before you decide if it works for your sleep needs.

Why does pillow height matter?

A properly designed pillow can make a world of difference for comfort, sleep quality, and your overall health. I dug around in some medical journals to find sleep studies that focused on pillow height and found that when you sleep with a pillow that’s just the right height it helps to:

1. Ease pressure on cervical (neck) muscles and promotes a good night’s rest (R)
2. Supports good oxygenation and blood flow to the brain, which avoids increased risks of neurological disorders, including cerebral hemorrhage and stroke (R).

In general, research shows that feather pillows perform less well than other types of pillow and that latex pillows perform best (R, R). This is likely because down and feather pillows are very squishable, providing little in the way of firm support for your head and neck.

In contrast, latex is responsive but firm, providing gentle cradling to support your neck and maintain spinal alignment.

I’m a big fan of shredded latex (blended with kapok) as a supportive, soft but buoyant, pillow fill. This style works well for back-sleepers and some stomach-sleeping, and if stuffed full enough, can also work for side-sleepers. Shredded latex by itself can also be a good choice for back-sleepers and side-sleepers, though this will feel firmer overall than a blend with kapok and definitely doesn’t work for me as someone who likes to sleep on my front.

Check out the pros and cons of a variety of natural pillow materials here.

What’s the best height for a pillow?

According to a couple of studies, most people experience proper cervical spinal alignment with a pillow that is around 4 inches (10-11 cm) high (R, R). Another study suggests that a pillow with a loft of 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) is best for pulmonary function (i.e., how well your lungs work) (R).

These studies tend to assume you’re sleeping on your back, though.

In reality, most people are side-sleepers, while some (like me!) sleep most comfortably face-down.

The perfect pillow height for you will depend on how you sleep, as well as any health conditions, your body size, which materials you choose, and other factors, like the softness of your mattress.

The chart below offers a rough guide to the best pillow height based on sleep positions alone.

You might think, by looking at the chart above, that it doesn’t matter much how high a pillow is if you’re a back or side sleeper, or if you’re a back and front sleeper. What does an inch or two matter, really?

I’m here to tell you that it matters, a lot.

My perfect pillow height experiment

As an experiment, I measured the height between the mattress and my head when resting comfortably on my side on a firm pillow. Even as a petite person with narrow shoulders, the most comfortable height for me was 5 inches. This surprised me as I had assumed I’d fall outside of (below) the average.

Switching to my front, this height was unbearable though. It was also quite uncomfortable for back-sleeping. To find the perfect heights for these positions, I removed fill from my adjustable latex and kapok pillow.

On my back, the right height came in at 3.5 inches. On my front, just under 2 inches felt right, and this easily squashed down to almost nothing. In fact, with the amount of fill I removed from my pillow, I could probably make two or more other pillows for fellow petite stomach-sleepers!

The takeaway for me is that, as is often the case, it’s almost impossible to tell if a pillow height will work for you until you try it. This is why I am strongly in favor of adjustable pillows and a good return window in case things just don’t work out in situ.

Why mattress firmness also matters

The ideal height for your pillow also depends on the firmness of your mattress. For a firmer mattress, you’ll need a higher pillow because you won’t sink into the mattress as much. If your mattress is softer and your body sinks in more, increasing the angle between your head and shoulder, a lower pillow is better.

My mattress is too soft for sleeping on my front and I find that I wake up with neck and back ache if I sleep with a regular pillow. The trouble is, I also have to sleep on my side for part of the night (toddlers, eh?), which means the softer mattress and higher pillow is essential.

My workaround is a very flexible buckwheat pillow and a back-up latex and kapok pillow for back support. I’ll switch these around during the night to get the support I need.

Why sleep position matters

Side-sleepers, stomach-sleepers, and those who sleep on their back tend to do better with different types of pillows. This is because the distance between your head and mattress changes in each position, assuming you’re maintaining a good spinal curve.

Conveniently, some brands label their pillows as ideal for different sleep positions. As with firmness ratings, though, it’s best to take these classifications with a pinch of salt.

If you sleep on your side, you’ll almost certainly want a higher pillow than someone who sleeps on their back. And if you sleep on your front, you’ll want a lower pillow than back- and side-sleepers.

I’m a stomach-sleeper and find that almost all pillows are too lofty (high) for my needs. This is because the majority of people (around 70%) are side-sleepers, which is why most mattresses and pillows are designed with such folks in mind.

For combination-sleepers who switch positions throughout the night, a flexible pillow you can scrunch and fold, or two different kinds of pillows, usually works best.

The best pillows for side-sleepers

In general, side-sleepers do best with a firm or extra-firm pillow as this helps to keep the neck and spine in alignment. A pillow that is too soft will not provide enough support. Too much sinkage into a pillow can also make it harder to breathe.

If you’re a side-sleeper with especially wide shoulders, you will want a higher pillow than average. Conversely, if you’re a narrow-shouldered side-sleeper, a medium-loft pillow may be just fine.

The best pillow materials for side-sleepers

For side-sleepers, then, some of the best pillow materials include:

• Molded latex
• Shredded latex
• Buckwheat or millet
• A combination of shredded latex and kapok
• Hemp
• Organic cotton
• Organic wool.

Down, feather, polyester, and pure kapok pillows can be too soft for proper support if you sleep on your side. Even with shredded latex, wool, and cotton, you’ll want to make sure the pillow is well stuffed. That way, the pillow will maintain its firmness, so you don’t sink in too much under the weight of your head.

The best pillow designs for side-sleepers

As for the shape of a pillow, side-sleepers tend to sleep better with a contoured pillow shape that supports the neck and head. Molded or contoured latex pillows help support the head at the proper angle and do not flatten over time, unlike polyester or down pillows.

The downside of a molded pillow is that you can’t adjust the height if it’s off by a quarter inch or so. One workaround is to wrap your pillow in a small wool blanket to add extra height under your pillowcase.

A soap-shape pillow (high on the sides and low in the middle) is also a good option for side sleepers. This sort of shape means you can find the perfect elevation by moving across the width of the pillow.

The best pillows for back sleepers

Back sleepers do best with a pillow that supports the head without compromising the neck’s natural curve. This usually means a medium-firm pillow at a medium-height.

If you have a very firm mattress, you may want a higher pillow, and if your mattress is very soft, you’ll want a lower pillow, so your head and neck aren’t forced up as your body sinks into the mattress.

The best pillow materials for back-sleepers

Back-sleepers have a range of great pillow materials to choose from. I recommend:

• Shredded latex
• Buckwheat or millet
• A combination of shredded latex and kapok
• Organic cotton
• Organic wool.

Down and feather pillows can also work, but only if you have a very soft mattress and the pillow has lots of stuffing. Otherwise, you’ll find that you have to fluff the fill to restore the loft throughout the night.

Similarly, pure kapok can be too soft for back-sleepers who need medium-firm support. This is why I recommend pillows that combine slightly firmer shredded latex with kapok.

Buckwheat and millet are also great choices for back-sleepers because these provide firm support but with continuous, subtle adjustments in height, so your neck stays in alignment.

The best pillow designs for back-sleepers

If you sleep on your back, I strongly suggest you buy a pillow you can adjust at home. Because most pillows are made for side-sleepers, the fill level will be too much for anyone who sleeps on their back or front. If you can unzip the pillow and remove a quarter of the fill or so, chances are you’ll find your perfect pillow partner.

If you’re looking at a latex pillow, consider a medium-loft, medium-firm pillow design. I’d avoid molded latex pillows, unless they come with a good return policy, given that you can’t adjust the height and most are intended for side-sleepers.

The best pillows for stomach sleepers

Stomach-sleepers are the rarest kind of sleeper, accounting for just 1 in 10 folks or thereabouts. This means you’re far less likely to find an off-the-shelf pillow that works out of the box.

Naturally, I’m a stomach-sleeper.

High-loft, firm pillows make for an uncomfortable sleep if you tend to end up face-down on your pillow like me. Such pillows force your head up and cause neck pain. I can confirm this from painful experience.

I have run into this problem time and again, especially when travelling or visiting friends and family. Most pillows just aren’t designed with stomach-sleepers in mind, which makes sense, given the statistics.

While traveling, my workaround is usually to just not use the pillows provided. Instead, I often sleep without a pillow at all or use a folded blanket as a tiny bit of extra head support. I am also planning to take my low-profile toddler pillow with me whenever I travel next as this is lightweight, easily packable, and will work for me and my toddler!

At home, though, I love a good scrunchy pillow that is easy to compress and very low profile.

The best pillow materials for stomach-sleepers

With the emphasis on ‘squishability’ and adjustability, the best pillow materials for stomach-sleepers include:

• Kapok
• Shredded latex
• Buckwheat or millet
• Down and feathers
• Organic cotton
• Organic wool.

The trick with cotton and wool is that these need to be very low-profile pillows. The same goes for down and feather pillows as you don’t want to compromise your breathing by smothering your face in a lofty pillow.

The best pillow designs for stomach-sleepers          

If you sleep on your stomach, avoid any medium or high molded latex pillows. If you do want a molded latex pillow, consider a toddler pillow or extremely low-profile option. Anything else will almost certainly be too lofty for your needs.

The best kind of pillow for sleeping on your front is one where the fill is soft and adjustable. Look for pillows with a zip on the case, so you can open it up and remove around a third to half of the fill. Save this in case you need to refresh the pillow at a later date. Or, if you know someone who is a side-sleeper, buy two pillows and divide up the fill to perfectly meet everyone’s needs for loftiness.

The best pillows for combination sleepers

If you’re a combination sleeper, you might start the night on your back, move to your side, and end up on your front. How are you supposed to choose a pillow, given everything we’ve talked about already?!

The best approach is to favor flexibility, rather than try to force yourself to sleep in one position all night.

From personal experience, having tried to become a back-sleeper and then a side-sleeper during pregnancy, I know it’s exceptionally challenging to break a lifetime habit of sleeping on my front.

So, embrace your combination preferences and find a pillow that you can quickly adjust throughout the night to match each kind of sleep style.

The best pillow materials for combination sleepers

Flexible pillow materials include:

• Kapok
• Shredded latex
• Organic cotton
• Organic wool
• Buckwheat and millet.

Hemp can be too stiff and inflexible for combination sleepers. It’s impossible, impractical, or just not advisable to bend these kinds of pillows to change their height while you sleep.

The best pillow designs for combination sleepers

Some combination sleepers do well with a molded latex pillow that has a soap shape with higher sides and a lower middle. This kind of pillow design lets you switch between your back and your side without having to adjust the pillow.

However, if you also like to sleep on your front, avoid molded or contoured pillows. These will almost always be too high and will put a crick in your neck.

Better options include adjustable buckwheat, millet, shredded latex, and kapok pillows. I’d suggest removing around a quarter of the fill if you’re a combination sleeper. That way, you can:

• Enjoy the right level of firmness and support while sleeping on your back
• Move some of the fill out of the way and sleep on the edge of the pillow on your front
• Compress the pillow to firm it up for more height if sleeping on your side.

Buckwheat and millet pillows are excellent choices for combination sleepers because the groats or seeds move subtly to support your head and neck as necessary.

Final thoughts on how to find the right kind of pillow for however you sleep

However you sleep, there’s a pillow out there that’s right for you. Life is too short to spend a third of each day trying to fluff up or flatten a pillow that’s not ideal, so think through your next pillow purchase carefully.

If you’re still unsure which kind of pillow will upgrade your sleep, try out a few different types. This can mean visiting a sleep store to get a feel for different materials or ordering pillows online that have a good return policy. You might also ask around family and friends to see if anyone has pillows they’re not using. If they have a buckwheat, kapok, or other less common kind of pillow languishing in a guest room, see if you can test-drive it for a week or so.

Finally, if you’re replacing all the pillows in your home or kitting out a new house, do yourself a favor and don’t just buy all the same pillows. Choose a variety of pillow types, including adjustable pillows with different fills, heights, and firmness ratings. Your guests will love you for it, and you may find you also prefer a different kind of pillow to the one you’re used to.

Also, even if you’re a side-sleeper now, you may become a combination sleeper down the line, or have cause to sleep on your front or back for health reasons. With a range of pillows available, you’ll never have to compromise your sleep again!