If you sleep on your side and wake with a sore neck, the loft is almost certainly wrong. Aim for 5 to 7 inches, medium-firm, and start with the adjustable Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow so you can dial it in rather than guess. For side-sleeping pillows generally, see best pillows for side sleepers; this page is the neck-pain version.
Our picks
Product photo: Coop Home Goods.
Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow
Shredded gel-infused memory foam and microfibre you can add or remove through a zip, with a cooling gel layer on one side. Side sleepers need more loft than anyone else and rarely know how much, which is exactly the problem an adjustable pillow solves.
Who it is for. Buy this if you are not certain what loft you need. Start full, remove a handful at a time until your ears sit stacked over your shoulders.
From $109. See today’s price →
Product photo: Tempur-Pedic.
Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Neck Pillow
A solid contoured core with a higher and a lower side, so you choose your loft by which way round you lay it. The shape holds all night because there is no loose fill to shift.
Who it is for. Best for committed side sleepers who stay in one position. It fights people who roll around, because you end up on the contour edge.
From $104. See today’s price →
Product photo: Saatva.
The Saatva Pillow
A shredded natural latex core inside a down-alternative pillow, so it pushes back more than foam and sleeps cooler. Latex holds its loft through the night rather than slowly compressing under the weight of your head.
Who it is for. For side sleepers who sink through memory foam by 3am, and for anyone who wants a responsive rather than slow-sinking feel.
From $165. See today’s price →
Pluto Pillow
Pluto builds the pillow to a questionnaire about your position, body type and how hot you sleep, which is a reasonable shortcut if you have already returned two or three pillows.
Who it is for. For side sleepers who have tried the usual options and want someone else to make the loft decision.
Product photo: Brooklinen.
Brooklinen Down Alternative Pillow
Sold in soft, medium and firm, so side sleepers can pick the firm version and get the support they need without paying foam prices. Machine washable, which most foam pillows are not.
Who it is for. For side sleepers on a budget, and for anyone who wants a plush feel without down allergens. Choose firm.
From $59. See today’s price →
Why side sleeping hurts your neck
On your side, your head has to be held further off the mattress than in any other position, and the gap between your ear and the surface is wide. If the pillow does not fill it, your neck spends the night bent toward your shoulder and the muscles on the top side stay stretched for hours. That is the stiffness you feel on waking.
Two things fix it: enough loft, and enough firmness to keep that loft until morning. Everything else — material, cover, cooling — is comfort on top of those two.
- Use one pillow, not two. Stacking over-lofts the neck and is a common cause of morning pain.
- Do not tuck an arm under the pillow. If you do it automatically, the pillow is too low.
- Check the shoulder. It needs to sink slightly into the mattress; if it cannot, the neck bends however good the pillow is.
- Numbness or arm weakness is different. That needs a clinician, not bedding.
Start with adjustable loft
Remove fill a handful at a time until your ears line up with your shoulders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best pillow for a side sleeper with neck pain?
The Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow. Neck pain on your side is almost always a loft problem, and the Eden is the easiest pillow to tune: remove fill a handful at a time until your ears sit stacked over your shoulders.
How do I know my pillow is causing the neck pain?
The pain is at its worst in the first hour after waking and eases as the day goes on, and it changes when you sleep somewhere else. Constant pain regardless of where you sleep needs a clinician, not a new pillow.
What loft do I need as a side sleeper with neck pain?
Roughly 5 to 7 inches, and firmer than you would expect. Too low and the head drops toward the shoulder; too soft and the loft collapses within half an hour and you end up in the same place.
Should I use a contour or cervical pillow?
They work well if you stay on one side all night, because the contour holds the neck curve. If you turn over often you will end up on the raised edge, and an adjustable shredded-fill pillow is the safer buy.
Could my mattress be the real problem?
Often, yes. If the mattress is too firm for your shoulder to sink into, your head is held too high and no pillow can close the gap. That is a mattress fix, not a pillow fix.
How long before a new pillow helps?
Give it two weeks. A correctly fitted pillow can feel wrong for the first few nights while your neck stops bracing against the old position.
Related guides
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