Sleeping on the wrong pillow can be a nightmare.
Too high, and back sleepers are likely to wake with a crick in their neck. Too hard or too soft and you can’t get comfortable enough to just drift off.
The right pillow for you depends on a unique set of factors that can change according to mood, stress levels and the time of year. It’s ever-shifting, which doesn’t lead to a lot of nocturnal laughs when you’re tired and just want to catch your 40 winks. And you thought Goldilocks had it bad.
The answer? Pepper your bed with a selection of pillows in varying degrees of firmness like a child building a pillow fort. Or throw your lot into an adjustable pillow.
It’s just as it sounds: a pillow you can height adjust depending on your sleep position or preference on any given night. Side sleepers with broad shoulders will appreciate a pillow design where you can tweak the level of loft to keep the spine properly aligned, while back sleepers can deduct them for the same reason, creating the healthiest position to sleep in.
The right pillow support is essential - not only can it safeguard your neck and back, but it can cut snoring, improve circulation and even enhance your posture, all while you’re out for the count. Not bad for a night’s work.
An adjustable pillow usually includes a memory foam layer which moulds to your head and keeps it from moving around when you’re asleep. This means you’re held in the correct spinal position, leading to a restful sleep and a happier wake-up call.
If you’re ready to swap restless nights for sweet dreams, we’ve rounded up the best options here. We’ve chosen across price brackets so you should find one at every budget. Good sleep is for all.
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Cloudpillo Original
From Dutch inventors comes the Cloudpillo. On delivery, it comes stuffed to the brim with filling to the point that you wonder who on earth it could be comfortable for. Yet with tweaking down to your precise comfort level by removing the shredded memory foam, you're left with a pillow tension that meets your exact needs.
What's more, the exterior cover offers dual features: a cooling Ice Silk for warm nights and a soft, cosy side when temperatures drop, making it an all-rounder whatever the season.
Buy now £55.96, Cloudpillo
Silentnight Perfect Pillow
Not sure what guests will need in the spare room? Silentnight solves the problem in one with its Perfect Pillow design. The piece is made up of three layers to create the right level of firmness for you. Stick with one if you prefer a soft landing for your head, two will take things up a notch to medium firmness, while all three layers used together offer a higher level of support.
The layers are easily accessed via a zip on the hypoallergenic cover that’s ideal for allergy sufferers.
Buy now £24.99, Amazon
OTTY Adjustable Pillow
Designed for side sleepers - the UK’s most common sleeping position - OTTY’s fully adjustable pillow stops the threat of neck pain in its tracks. Play around with the loft levels until you find the right fit for your frame that takes care of your spinal alignment. The filling is made up of shredded memory foam, offering great levels of support while keeping air flowing around so you’re not waking up a sweaty mess.
Sold with a 10-year premium warranty.
Buy now £69.99, OTTY
Eve The Adjustable Pillow
Fed up with being caught between a rock and a soft pillow? Eve to the rescue! The sleep brand's adjustable design offers a flexible level of comfort via three layers so you can set your own firmness rating. Set an extra alarm - you might have trouble getting out of bed after sleeping on this.
Buy now £99.00, Eve Sleep
Simba Hybrid Pillow
This space-age contender from Simba is a feat of somniferous engineering and has been one of the pillows to beat recently. Inside are hundreds of foam Nanocubes which can be removed to adjust height and firmness. Around this layer are cool microfibers, and there’s mesh for airflow as well.
Topping it all off is “Stratos”, an outer layer inspired by astronauts that applies phase change technology (don’t ask) to soft cotton, meaning it absorbs, stores and releases heat when needed. Phew!
The result is a huge amount of bounce, support and comfort that doesn’t disappoint, although this wasn’t the coolest pillow on test here.
Buy now £109.00, Simba
Vispring Adjustable Wool Luxury Pillow
Vispring specialises in luxury bedding - and the case in point is this pillow, made from sumptuous British wool. The brand has selected only the most premium materials, from authentic and traceable wool to the all Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton cover.
The pillow is stuffed with wool clusters which make it lofty (and temperature-regulating!). This is one for those who like firm sleeping surfaces or those who find one pillow is typically not enough but two is too many.
That said, it is adjustable so you can redistribute the inners to make it softer, flatter or firmer as you desire. This means that it works equally well for front or back sleepers as it does for those who slumber on their side.
Buy now £132.00, Harrods
Brightr Luna Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow Bundle
Many people shy away from memory foam as it can absorb heat and become too warm.
Brightr uses Graphene memory foam which has cooling properties, ensuring you won't overheat through the night. The heat and sweat-wicking design keeps your head aloft to the right level, allowing you to drift into a peaceful sleep.
You’ll get a pair of pillows in this purchase, helpful if you’re looking for an option for a partner or just one to keep spare to treat guests.
Buy now £79.90, Brightr
Emma Original Pillow
There are three memory foam layers in Emma’s Original Pillow to ensure you get the rest you deserve: simply add or remove them to get the right combination for you.
Each pillow contains a pressure-relieving viscoelastic memory foam; a supportive HRX hyper-soft cold foam (one for the hot sleepers amongst you); and an ultra-breathable Airgocell memory foam.
It will keep its shape over time and the cover can be put in the washing machine when it’s time for a clean.
Buy now £55.00, Emma
Aeyla The Dual Pillow
Walking the tightrope between support and squish, Aeyla’s osteo-approved Dual Pillow could say goodbye to neck discomfort for good. It's a bit of a Matryoshka-esque design with a smaller pillow sitting within a larger one for improved support without feeling like you're laying on a rock (which also means a layer can be removed).
A 100 per cent cotton cover keeps the pillow feeling blissfully cool, and there's built-in support along the edges, which helps the pillow maintain its height with minimal plumping on your part.
Buy now £69.00, Aeyla
Aeyla The FOAMO Pillow
Fun name aside, the FOAMO pillow is filled to the brim with ultra-cooling, supportive and soft memory foam. However, unlike your standard memory foam pillows which feel more like rock-solid bricks than fluffy clouds which mould to the contours of your head - the foam filling has been broken up into small pieces so that the technology can work across an extended surface area as well as provide a far more comfortable feel.
Plus, because of the broken-up nature of the filling, you can add and remove the memory foam depending on your preferences with regard to firmness. The outer fabric cover is made from a bamboo viscose which is both breathable and moisture-wicking, helping to circulate airflow for an all-round cooler sleep.
Buy now £69.00, Aeyla
