I Spent 3 Months Testing 9 Pillows for Side Sleepers. Here's the One I Still Sleep On.

Score: 8.4/10  |  Grade: B  |  Votes: 5

Best known for their mattresses, the Swedish company also has a great array of foam pillow products. It is ergonomically sound and made with memory foam in order to give you solid support when you're on your side or back. Additionally, the pillow is contoured in order to curve naturally around your head, neck, and shoulders to prevent any unnecessary stress or pressure on pivotal joints. While the polyester outer layer can be removed and machine washed, it's important to note that this product does have an odd time fitting into pillowcases.

This is a great pillow produced by a well-known company. You can tell by feeling the memory foam that it is high quality. This is a great pillow for side sleepers, but it isn't as good for combination back and side sleepers. The primary reason for this is that the contour is merely a single “wave”: this wave doesn't prevent your head from moving side to side as a back or combination sleeper, and so it doesn't align your neck as well as other contoured memory foam pillows.

When I lay my head down on this pillow, it feels a bit too firm. While I feel supported, the foam kind of hurt my ears (especially when I slept on my side).

As you can see, this pillow was relatively aligned when I slept on my side, but it was too high when I slept on my back. This pillow has a “contour,” which can be helpful, but because it is one consistent height throughout the pillow, it actually isn't best for combination sleepers who require different heights when sleeping in different positions.

My verdict: If you're looking for a trusted name in the industry, this is a good option. However, there are other, better-designed pillows on the market. This company specializes in mattresses, and while their pillow offering is good, it isn't the best available, especially for the price.

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Score: 7.6/10  |  Grade: C  |  Votes: 5

This graphite-infused memory foam pillow is a combination of memory foam and latex foam; you can definitely feel the quality of the fill when you sleep on it. The pillow has a good level of firmness: it isn't too firm, and it is not too soft. It definitely provides enough support for your head.

The pillow also sleeps relatively cool. The graphite infused memory foam and the latex foam are generally cooler than most memory foams. It is overall a good pillow, but I had two primary issues with it.

Price and value. This pillow is expensive; there is simply no other way to put it. While the fill is good quality, I would have also expected a higher quality cover (than just cotton) for a pillow of this price. It is significantly more expensive than others on the market. The quality justifies some price increase, but definitely not this large of a price increase.

No specific neck pain reduction features. This is a great overall pillow, but it doesn't do too much to help reduce neck pain. It is not adjustable and does not have an innovative shape or design to help reduce neck pain, and you can tell by sleeping on this pillow.

You can see that the pillow doesn't do much to align your neck and back. It is a high quality pillow, but I didn't find it the most comfortable. I didn't really enjoy the feel of the latex, which was a bit too “springy” for me.

My verdict: A high-quality pillow nonetheless, but it definitely does not help reduce neck pain as much as other pillows do, and the price is hard to justify.

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Score: 7.6/10  |  Grade: B  |  Votes: 4

The Coop Adjustable Pillow is a very good pillow for general use. It is adjustable and can suit the needs of many different kinds of people. My primary issue with this pillow is that it doesn't specifically help with neck pain.

In my experience, neck pain is mostly due to incorrect alignment between your neck and back. Your neck and back can become misaligned vertically and horizontally. This pillow helps with the vertical misalignment, i.e., you can adjust the pillow so that it is the correct height for your neck and back. However, it does not do much to align your neck horizontally, i.e., while you sleep your neck can tilt left or right and this will cause strain to build up and you to wake up with neck pain.

Some other minor complaints: over time, it becomes harder to fluff; the pillow isn't 100% memory foam fill, and you can tell vs. other adjustable fill pillows, as this fill doesn't provide as much support as 100% memory foam pillows; and the adjustable fill can get messy.

As you can see, this pillow doesn't really align your neck horizontally. The difference might seem slight, but it is important and can be a cause of that “crink” in your neck when you wake up.

My verdict: I would recommend this pillow for a general audience (or maybe for your guest room, if you really like your guests!), but not for someone who is specifically dealing with neck pain or is looking for a pillow for side sleepers.

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Score: 7.0/10  |  Grade: C−  |  Votes: 4

The Layla Kapok pillow is another solid pillow for general use. It is adjustable and can suit the needs of many different kinds of people. My primary issue with this pillow is that it doesn't specifically help with neck pain.

I found that my neck was moving back and forth on this pillow, and so I would wake up with a “crink” in my neck. This was the case both when I was sleeping on my side and when I was sleeping on my back. For someone looking to alleviate neck pain, this pillow is probably not the best option.

Some other minor complaints: the gray cover is visible through most pillowcases, and looks a bit off; while the cover does feel cool, it isn't the most smooth, and you can feel the textured pattern on your skin when sleeping; and the adjustable fill can get messy and there isn't a ready place to store it.

My verdict: If you are looking for a solid generic pillow, this is a good option (maybe for your guest room), but it might not be the best if you struggle with neck pain.

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Score: 7.8/10  |  Grade: C  |  Votes: 4

The Marlow pillow is a new pillow brought to market by the makers of Brooklinen, the sheets company. After sleeping on this pillow, I think it is a solid pillow for the right person.

The way this pillow works is that there is a zipper that you can either zip or unzip to adjust the height/firmness of the pillow. If you happen to enjoy one of the two levels, then this pillow could be a good fit for you. However, if you don't then it might not work for you. That being said, it is easier and less messy to adjust this pillow than it is to adjust other adjustable pillows.

How often are you going to adjust your pillow once you get it? Once you find that ideal level of firmness, you probably don't have to adjust it again. That also brings me to my next issue with the pillow: if you don't happen to like one of these levels, then it will not help you at all with reducing your neck pain. These levels might be too high or too low for you.

Another issue I have with this pillow (and most pillows, to be honest!) is that I am a combination side and back sleeper (as most people are!) and most pillows only have one height throughout the pillow. One consistent height might be okay if you only sleep on your back or side, but if you sleep on both, you need a pillow that has multiple heights. In my opinion, this is a great benefit of the contoured orthopaedic pillows that have a dip in the middle (for back sleeping) and are higher on the edges (for side sleeping).

Marlow does offer an extremely generous return policy and warranty. You're able to return the pillow within 365 days (so you can definitely try it for a long time to see if it suits you, although you'll probably know sooner than that). And the pillow has a 2 year warranty in case it gets damaged.

My verdict: As you can see, this pillow (even when zipped) is clearly too high for me. It can work for some people, but definitely not everyone.

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Score: 7.0/10  |  Grade: C  |  Votes: 3

This pillow is a lower quality version of the Dosaze Contoured Orthopaedic one. It is smaller, made of lower quality materials (fill and cover), and not as comfortable. I found that the memory foam in this pillow (which was not CertiPUR-US certified) was not as comfortable as the memory foam in other pillows. The cover is also a bit scratchy (as it is 100% polyester).

I found that this pillow is okay for back sleeping, but less good for side sleeping. The contour of the pillow works okay if you sleep on your back (although again it was a bit too shallow for me), but when you sleep on your side the pillow is not thick enough to fill your shoulder gap, which can cause alignment issues. I also found that the foam on this pillow is noticeably firmer than that of other pillows. This does a lot for providing support, but does not do much in terms of providing comfort.

It's a bit hard to tell in this photo, but I essentially felt like 100% of my body weight was on my shoulder when I slept on my side on the EPABO pillow. There was a lot of pressure on my shoulder as I kind of “sank” into my bed to meet the pillow. The memory foam wasn't supportive (or high) enough for me.

My verdict: A bit cheaper than other alternatives, but not the best in terms of quality, and it might need to be replaced more quickly. With only a 30 day trial period (and sometimes it can take that long to really get used to a new pillow) and no warranty, this pillow is kind of a gamble.

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Score: 6.2/10  |  Grade: D  |  Votes: 2

The Pillow Cube is touted as a pillow designed specifically for side sleepers. While it is a good pillow for side sleepers, it isn't the best.

The cube shape is marketed as ideal for filling your shoulder gap and promoting neutral alignment between your neck and back. While this is true and it works, I had a couple of big issues with this pillow.

The first is that I like to roll from side to side (and sometimes even sleep on my back). This pillow isn't great for sleeping on your back; it's simply too high.

The second is that, even when I sleep completely on one side, I found that the memory foam was a bit too firm and warm vs. other pillows I tried. Now, a firmer pillow might be nice for some people, but this one wasn't adjustable and was just too firm for me. That being said, you might like it if you gave it a try.

My verdict: This pillow was on the expensive side as well, especially for what it is. The cooling version comes in at $134.

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Score: 6.6/10  |  Grade: D  |  Votes: 4

The Purple Harmony pillow is good for someone looking to try something new. It definitely takes some getting used to (and you may very well like it a lot), but it wasn't for me. This pillow is probably better suited for someone who tends to sleep very hot: the grid is breathable, and I did notice that I slept cooler throughout the night.

However, the latex is pretty “springy” and honestly provides a bit too much resistance against your head. For me personally, this pressure was a bit too much to handle. The pillow is a bit “jiggly” as well, and the vibrations can make it challenging to fall asleep.

The pillow also does not promote alignment in any particular way, so your head, neck, and spine may get out of alignment. Some people also complain that the grid feels weird against their skin and can leave marks (although I didn't have this issue).

This pillow does come in multiple sizes, so make sure you follow the guidelines based on your height and sleep style to get the pillow that suits you. I will say, however, that Purple does have a pretty good return policy: you have 100 days to make a return or exchange. So you can try this pillow and see if it suits you with little to no risk.

My verdict: I would expect a generous return policy given the extremely high price point of this pillow ($159). For that much money, you could get two or more of a lot of other pillows.

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