Basically, sleeping postures are divided into four types: back sleeping, left-side sleeping, right side sleeping, and stomach sleeping. Among the above, back sleeping and right sleeping are usually considered as healthiest sleeping positions. When lying on your back or side, make sure your pillow gives you enough support for your shoulders.
If the pillow is too low, the head will tilt downward; If the pillow is too high, the head will be stretched uncomfortably. Sleeping in an unsuitable pillow for a long time may cause numerous problems, such as neck pain, back pain, and shoulder pain. That’s why doctors like to emphasize the use of the best bed pillows for back and side sleepers.
Table of Contents
5 Best Pillows For Back And Side Sleepers in 2021
What’s the Best Pillow for Side and Back Sleepers?
Comfortable back and side sleeping are influenced a lot by a mattress and bedding system that provides adequate support to the sleeper’s body. When it comes to choosing a pillow, many side sleepers prefer one that is fuller in shape, with the neck and spine aligned. Soft, standards-compliant materials such as best memory foam pillow for side and back sleepers are popular because they relieve pressure on the neck and shoulders.
This guide will discuss best bed pillows for back and side sleepers. First, let’s share the 5 best pillows for side and back sleepers. Our selection is based on proven customer veritable experience, and authentic product research and analysis.
1. Adjustability
Coop Home Goods – Premium Adjustable Loft Pillow
Pillow is one of the most important bedding, whether its height is appropriate directly affects the cervical vertebra of the person. According to the characteristic of human body structure, when you are lying on the side, accordingly pillow needs to be a few taller because of the relation of the shoulder. In contrast, when lying on the back, the pillow needs to be a little lower. In this condition, you will feel comfortable. However, the height of the existing pillow is fixed and impossible to change the height. Therefore, sleeping on the side of the cervical spine will be excessive bending, which is one of the main causes of the cervical spine.
On the other hand, ordinary pillows are generally square, and the surface of the pillow is also ordinary plane. As the improvement of people’s living standard, the requirement to Morpheus quality also is higher and higher. Especially to the person that has cervical vertebra disease to trouble, using common plane pillow too often causes neurasthenia, headache, shoulder acid, neck pain, and so on. Thus, choosing the best adjustable pillow for sleeping on your back and side is a very important thing.
If you toss and turn on a pillow that is too flat or too thick for eight hours every night, your body and mind will suffer a lot. While you are sleeping in a higher pillow, your neck will be tightened up, causing you feeling sore and drained in the next morning. Similarly, sleeping in a lower pillow, your neck couldn’t get enough support, resulting in neck pain, discomfort, even sleepless nights. In reality, your unique shape and sleeping posture should determine the healthy sleeping position of your ideal loft pillow. Luckily, this most adjustable pillow for sleeping on your back and side in the world allows you to sleep better and wake up refreshed.
This Premium Adjustable Loft Pillow is made of a medium-firm mix of memory foam and microfiber. The unique adjustable design allows you to remove your pillow to suit your size, height, shape, and sleeping posture, making your body aligned. Based on this, the pillow can keep the best balance between support and comfort, providing you with the most comfortable sleeping experience.
2. Ergonomic Design
ComfiLife Orthopedic Knee Pillow 
The right pillow not only provides you with comfort but also helps you keep your back in good shape. When you’re sitting or sleeping, the lack of support puts unnecessary stress on your spine. This pressure can cause back pain, as muscles become tense due to the uncomfortable posture. Various pillows make it easier for your back to fall asleep and sit down. For instance, this ergonomic knee pillow for backside sleepers makes your side sleeping more relaxed and relieve your back pain, leg pain, hip, and joint pain. This is especially important for sleep, as it’s a time for the body to repair itself and repair the damage caused by the stress of the day.
If you are a side sleeper, place a sturdy pillow between your knees to take the pressure off your back. Without a knee pillow, the upper leg pulls your pelvis, which in turn pulls your spine out of its neutral resting position. Add a pillow to support your upper body and keep your spine in correct alignment.
While if you’d like to sleep on your back, using one or more pillows to support your knees can also help stretch your spine. This will allow you to get fully relax and rest, leaving you with less tension and pain when you wake up.
This ergonomic silhouette keeps your legs, hips, and spine in ideal alignment during sleep and improves circulation. This pillow has a breathable zipper cover to ensure that the pillow does not get warm and is machine washable for easy cleaning.
3. Material
DreamNorth PREMIUM Gel Pillow
During sleeping, to assure the best quality, maintaining the blood supply of cerebrum and cervical vertebra, and muscle comfortable is the key. Therefore, a pillow selected right or not is directly in relation to your Morpheus condition, whether you are back sleeper or side sleeper. The main effect of pillow is to maintain the physiological curve of the human body normal, ensuring the human body is not out of shape in the physiological radian of the neck when sleeping. To judge a pillow, the crucial point is the material of a pillow.
DreamNorth Premium Gel Pillow Loft is a high-quality pillow made from poly gel-filled fiber inside. This material could provide you maximum comfort for different positions, especially for sleeping on your back and side. As for its cover, it is made of 100% pure cotton fabric material to keep soft, breathable, and dry. More importantly, the whole body of the pillow uses allergen and chemical-free material, so it is more suitable for people with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory difficulties.
Sleeping in DreamNorth Premium Gel Pillow, you will feel your head on a pillow of clouds, but keeping your head and neck aligned with your spine for the most relaxing sleeping position. In a word, this is the best pillow for both side and back sleepers.
4. Health and Safety
Xtreme Comforts Hypoallergenic
With the emergence of a series of social safety problems, people pay more attention to the health and safety of food and intimate products. Formaldehyde, heavy metals, and other chemicals can cause respiratory problems, gastrointestinal problems, and even cancer, especially for kids and senior people. A healthy and safe pillow deserves your investment.
Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow only use certified American foam and meet strict standards for padding, exhaust, and durableness. This best memory foam pillow for side and back sleepers has been verified no formaldehyde, heavy metals, and other forbidden chemicals. This gives you a strong guarantee for your whole families’ health and safety, especially for expectant mother.
The manufacturer puts the strength of Kool-Flow Microvented Technology together with bamboo to produce the softcover. Based on this technology, the cover provides a superb air cycle and permeability. This adjusts the temperature and keeps the surface of the pillow cool so you won’t sweat and sleep well all night.
The adjustable thickness of this pillow makes the best fit and alignment for your body. This function helps to reduce pressure points, promote optimum blood flow, provide muscle relaxation, and increase overall spine health. Therefore, this is a perfect pillow for all kinds of sleeping positions, whether you are back and side sleeper or stomach sleeper.
5. Comfort
Utopia Bedding Gusseted Quilted Pillow
Whether you are a back sleeper or side sleeper, the most important thing of selecting a right pillow is a comfort. Without a comfortable experience, you will suffer a lot instead of enjoying sleeping time.
A satisfying pillow for both side and back sleeper cannot be too soft or over the firm. If the pillow is too low or too soft, it will tilt your neck back, causing congestion on the head and swelling on the face. If the pillow is over firm or too high, your neck is stretched forward for a long time, which is the same as you have been playing with your phones for 8 hours with your head down. Both of these conditions can cause stiff neck muscles, and result in problems with breathing and lack of oxygen. Therefore, the too soft, too hard pillow is not the best choice.
Utopia Bedding Gusseted Quilted Pillow is padding with a blend of hardness and high-quality materials. Choosing this best pillow for neck pain back and side sleeper, you will find it firm enough to support your head and neck, but not too hard. This is the perfect option for side, stomach and back sleepers because it is extremely versatile for the different sleeping position, even for work.
All of the above is my recommendation of the 5 best pillows for back and side sleepers. I sincerely hope that you could pick your favorite pillow based on my guidance. If not, I also wish you realize how important the pillow is to your sleep, so far as to your daily life and work. If you want to know more about sleeping or pillow, please the following text, or other posts on my website.
What Should You Know About Sleeping Position?
Sleep is a very important thing in our lives, and good sleep can make us full of energy all day. On the contrary, if we cannot get enough and premium sleep, we will fall into a bad condition the whole day. A good sleep habit can bring health and happiness to our body. But how to form a healthy sleep habit? Let’s start from our sleeping postures.
At the beginning of the passage, I have already made a brief introduction of sleeping positions. Then let’s discuss this important topic in detail.
What Types of Sleeping Position Matched for You?
The UK sleep assessment and counseling service identified six sleeping positions in a questionnaire and found that each position corresponds to a personality type. Let’s see what kind of personality is yours?
1. Sleeping on Your Back
About 13% of people are used to sleep in this way. This back sleeper can be divided into two types: soldier and starfish.
- Soldier
In this position, you lie on your back completely with your hands at your sides. People who like to sleep like this are generally introverted, quiet and conservative, and don’t like to make a fuss. They scrupulously adhere to strict standards and, over time, unconsciously do so with others.
- Starfish
The starfish position is lying on your back with your arms up near your head on the pillow. People who sleep in this position tend to make many good friends because they are always ready to listen to and help others. These people generally don’t like to be the center of attention.
2. Sleeping on Your Side
Most people would like to sleep on their side. There are many different ways to sleep on the side, and I list three main types below.
- Fetal
This sleep posture is just like the fetus in the mother’s belly. People who sleep in the baby position tend to be tough on the outside and soft on the inside. They may be very shy when they meet at first, but they will soon become relaxed. The baby position is the most common gesture, and women are more likely to adopt it than men.
- Trunk
The tree trunk position is lying flat on one side with your arms at your sides. People who sleep in the trunk position are easy to get along with, sociable, enjoy being part of a group and trust strangers easily. But they are also more gullible.
- Speaker
The speaker position is sleeping on your side with your arms extended forward. People who adopt this sleeping position have an open disposition, like to communicate with others and are easy to integrate into the group. However, people who sleep in this position are more suspicious, prone to cynicism and have a hard time accepting different opinions. The speaker position is a reflection of cold war or escaping from trouble.
3. Sleeping on Your Stomach
Free-fall
To sleep in a free-fall position is to lie on your stomach with your hands on the pillow and your head turned to one side. People who sleep this way are sociable and quick-tempered, but in private they can be sensitive and diffident. They don’t like criticism or extreme situations.
These are the six sleeping positions summarized by the questionnaire. Which one is your standard sleeping position? However, different sleeping positions have different pros and cons, so let’s find out what’s best for you.
What Is the Best Sleeping Position?
Many people wake up in the morning, feeling giddy, back-breaking, or exhausted. To dig out its reason, basically, it is caused by improper sleeping position. Thus, selecting a suitable posture for your sleeping is the cardinal task.
Right Side Sleeping
Right side sleeping is usually considered as the best position to lower back pain. Adopting this position can not only relieve back pain but also prevent snoring to some extent. In this condition, your heart is elevated and not oppressed; your liver is in a lower position with good blood supply, accelerating metabolism. At the same time, your whole body is in a relaxed state, breathing freely and slow down. Your brain, lung, muscle, and bone get enough rest and oxygen supply.
However, there are still some disadvantages. For instance, long-time sleeping on your right side may result in more wrinkles on your right face. To avoid this kind of thing, you can choose the best pillow for side sleepers.
Left Side Sleeping
Generally speaking, the left side sleeping posture can loosen the human body most. When lying to the left side, slightly curl double leg, the body can get more thorough relaxation. What’s more, this is the best position for pregnancy to protect the baby.
But you cannot sleep on your left side for a long time, because your heart will be oppressed, and your gastrointestinal system is squeezed, which is not good for digestion. If you are pregnant, you can pick a pillow for the pregnant woman to solve this problem.
Back Sleeping
Lying on your back is the best position to promote restful sleep. Sleeping on your back with your back, arms, and legs straight is considered the best way to fall asleep. The spine supports the heavy head and internal organs for all day, bearing most pressure. It is extremely important that the vertebrae get full rest and relieve stress during sleep.
Nonetheless, back sleeping still has some negative factors. Lying flat on your back for a long time brings lower back pain, hip pain, and legs pain. To improve this situation, you may purchase a knee pillow for back sleepers. Using this pillow, you will feel more support is provided to your whole body.
Stomach Sleeping
If you can choose your posture for sleeping, I hope the free-fall sleeping position is your last choice. There is almost no advantage of this style except reducing snoring.
It is sad to say that this position will not only cause your back pain and neck pain, and also add a lot of pressure onto your visceral organs and your bone. Therefore, you often feel sore and exhausted at the beginning of the day if you are one of these sleepers. In case that you cannot change this sleep habit, I strongly suggest getting a thinner pillow or a special pillow for lower back pain.
Conclusion
No matter which position you choose, I hope you can find the most suitable posture for you.
If you have sleeping problems, like neck pain, back pain, legs pain, or others, select the best pillow for sleeping as soon as possible. Sleep is crucial to your body and life, which needs you to pay more attention to it. Finally, I wish you could enjoy your sleep every night.
Here are several pillows that you may also like: