Everybody has a deal-breaker when it comes to the bedroom, especially in the pillow department.
Some like them as soft as clouds, while others can’t drift off unless their heads are resting on something with the dimensions and density of a paving slab (raises hand).
Pillows are a personal choice: everyone has their own level of Goldilocks-level comfort, even those who share the same bed.
But while couples often must compromise over a new mattress purchase, duvet togs and bed linen, a great pillow can be real Princess and the Pea stuff. Our advice? Be picky.
A pillow is a purchase worth getting right, especially when you consider that the human head weighs around 11lbs (for context, the average weight of a newborn baby is 7lbs) and needs proper support - especially when you’re trying to switch off as the supporting neck muscles need to relax. A poor pillow can, quite literally, become a pain in the neck.
And when you factor in the fact that the average person spends a third of their lives asleep, it soon becomes clear that investing in a superior pillow is an absolute necessity.
How to buy the perfect pillow for sleeping
CEO of Ethical Bedding James Higgins has some helpful tips for shopping for the perfect pillow online:
- Stuffing: Hungarian goose down is the softest filling and great for those who prefer to be close to their mattress. If you want more firm neck support, synthetic fibres could be a better choice.
- Breathability: If one usually runs hot when asleep, breathable textures like goose feathers should be preferred. Alternatively, if prone to chilliness at night, the inclusion of at least one synthetic layer can help trap body heat for warmth.
- Hypoallergenic: People with dust and skin allergies may choose an antimicrobial pillow. Bedding made of bamboo, silk and Tencel fibres are naturally resistant to dust mites and mould.
- Comfort: Pillows casings matter. Thread counts decide the softness of the fabric and usually range from 100 to 1,000. The higher the thread count, the softer the pillow. We generally recommend pillows with 200–400 thread count covers for best results.
- For silk, the count is the Japanese unit of measurement called the Momme (pronounced moh-mee). It refers to the weight of the fabric. The higher the Momme, the higher the quality of silk. A Momme of about 16 is average while 22 is premium quality.
- Quality: A good quality pillow may be expensive but a great one can transform the quality of your sleep.
Best pillow types for front, side and back sleepers
Your sleeping position matters too. Sleep Junkie writer, and certified sleep science coach, Rosie Osmun reveals the best pillows for every type of snoozing position.
Back Sleepers: Because back sleepers sometimes toss and turn, they’re best suited for a pillow that’s a happy medium in both loft and firmness. When back sleepers lay flat on their back, they want their neck to align with their shoulders, reinforcing the natural curvature of the spine. The most important thing when choosing a pillow for a back sleeper is making sure it’s not too thick or too thin.
Side Sleepers: Side sleepers need a firm pillow with a higher loft to keep their neck in line with the rest of their body. Sleep specialists suggest the perfect loft for side sleeping is 4-6 inches (although those with broader shoulders may require greater depth). Contoured pillows are often recommended as they have two edges that allow you to pick which side fits your neck most comfortably. Side sleepers should avoid softer pillows because they encourage the neck from sinking down to an uncomfortable angle.
Stomach Sleepers: It’s crucial for stomach sleepers to find a low loft, soft pillow to prevent their neck from craning upwards when they sleep. Sleeping on your stomach isn’t the best for your spine, because you have to turn your head to the side to breathe, twisting your neck. A too-tall pillow will cause the neck to twist sideways and upwards. A relatively flat pillow will allow your head to rest comfortably in line with the rest of your spine, reducing the chance of experiencing neck pain.
And if you’re sharing a bed with a snorer "find a pillow that’ll prop your shoulders, neck, and head up to open airways."
A single pillow is best
Osteopath Payal Patel warns against sleeping with two stacked pillows: "One pillows is better as it keeps the neck and spine aligned. Using two pillows is always a huge risk causing people to sleep awkwardly as one may slip or move, hence a big cause to causing a crick in the neck. The only time I recommend two pillows is for side sleepers. One for your neck and the other between the knees to support and take the pressure of your hips and lower back."
To help along sweet dreams, we’ve drawn up a list of the best pillows to shop now, for the most popular needs. From the sumptuously soft to the best pillows for those who sleep in the foetal position, settle down and prepare for some serious pillow talk.
See our favourites below
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Best cooling pillows
Simba Hybrid Pillow
If you’re forever searching for the cold side of the pillow, relegate middle-of-the-night flipping to the past thanks to Simba’s astronaut-inspired temperature-regulating design.
Measuring the standard 50 x 70cm, traditional filling has been swapped for lightweight open-cell nanocubes (to stop that tedious bunching) and there’s a mesh strip to encourage airflow too.
Buy now £109.00, Simba
Best memory foam pillows
The Nectar Premium Foam Pillow
Crafted with a rhomboid memory foam core, quilted polyester cover and breathable Tencel mesh border, this pillow promises to not only support the head and neck during sleep but provide an always-cool feeling that prevents the need for restless pillow flipping on hot nights.
While definitely firm, it’s not a traditional spongey memory foam pillow. Instead, a shredded interior is largely propped up by the plush quilted cover. Its cooling power is by no means a magical revelation, but the mesh border indeed allows cool air to escape with every toss and turn.
Buy now £65.00, Nectar Sleep
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 a 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 £55.30, Emma
Eve Sleep the memory foam pillow
Designed for back and side sleepers, eve’s memory foam sleeping pillow relieves your muscles of pressure, creating an ideal drifting asleep environment. The contouring nature of memory foam means it’s wonderfully supportive and cooling air holes keep temperatures as a comfortable level.
Buy now £70.00, eve sleep
TEMPUR Original Large Medium/ Firm Pillow
Tempur has built its reputation on memory foam sleep products, and many loyal customers won’t sleep on anything else. As well as mattresses, the brand also offers this medium-firm pillow specifically designed to conform to the natural curvature of your spine, allowing you to drift into slumber without any distractions.
The unusual shape can take some getting used to, but once you have, you’ll wonder how you managed without it. Ideal for side sleepers, but be warned, as is the case with memory foam, it can feel too warm. Something to note in the summer months. Medium and XL sizes are also available.
Buy now £99.00, Argos
Best soft pillows
The White Company Super-Soft Ultra Wash Pillow
If you sleep on your back, a soft pillow is all you really need to safeguard your back health while you’re catching 40 winks.
Starting at £12, this great-value hypoallergenic pillow adapts to the weight of your head and encourages airflow for restful, comfortable sleep. It’s easy to keep fresh too - just sling it into the machine when it starts to smell a bit musty.
Buy now £7.50, The White Company
Fogarty Soft Touch Continental Square Pillow
Made for back sleepers, Fogarty's pillow is packed with polyester hollowfibre and covered with a microfibre cover that's soft to the touch. Feeling cool and breathable, the fact its filled with recycled fibres makes it ideal for allergy sufferers. It offers a medium level of support.
Buy now £16.00, Dunelm
Ethical Bedding Sleepyhead Silk Pillow (Bamboo Filling)
Available in regular, superking and square sizes, this pillow is filled with antimicrobial bamboo fibres and material made from recycled bottles, making it a great choice for allergy sufferers. While it’s on the soft side, there’s support there too to help keep your spine and neck aligned.
The cover is dust, mite and mould-resistant too, made from Oeko-Tex certified, earth-friendly eucalyptus tencel fibre.
Buy now £69.00, Ethical Bedding
Best hard pillows
Adam Home Pillows 2 Pack
Amazon customers are raving about this pack of two pillows, which feel overstuffed but don’t lose their bounce even after repeated use. That said, they’re comfortable enough to slide an arm under when settling down to bed and the cover is highly breathable, so you won’t wake up a hot mess.
Buy now £13.99, Amazon
Slumberdown Support Firm Pillow - 2 Pack
Ideal for side sleepers, the pillow has a firm core block in its centre, offering a stable foundation for tired heads. The pillows offer good firm support even after continued use.
Buy now £16.00, Argos
Snuggledown of Norway Side Sleeper Pillow
Ticking both the firm and side sleeper boxes, this box wall construction pillow lends support to the head, neck and shoulder when it’s time for lights out. It boasts a polyester fill inside a 100 per cent cotton cover, making sure everything stays breathable. It offers a firm level of support.
Buy now £19.00, Very
Best luxury down-filled pillows
DUSK Pair of Supreme Goose Down Pillow Collection
Made from a mix of goose down and feather from the bird, DUSK offers these pillow in soft, medium and firm, so you needn’t compromise on the luxury, whatever level of support you need (it comes in soft, medium and firm). Available in standard as well as super king sizes.
Buy now £70.00, DUSK
Cuddledown Siberian Goose Down Pillow
Available in soft and medium firmness, this luxe pillow is filled with Siberian goose down for ultimate plushness. It’s covered in a soft cotton casing which is not only moisture-wicking but will allow air to flow through easily. Available in standard, king, european, square and large square sizes.
Buy now £91.00, Cuddledown
Best synthetic pillows for allergy sufferers
Dorma Full Forever Anti Allergy Medium-Support Pillow Pair
There’s nothing more frustrating when the filling in your pillow starts bunching or collecting on one side. The spiral fibre anti-allergy polyester filling in Dorma’s pillow can help ward this off, staying fuller for longer under its 100 per cent cotton cover. Offers medium-support.
Buy now £24.00, Dunelm
Silentnight Luxury Hotel Collection Med/Soft Pillow - 2 Pack
Hotels spend thousands on procuring the perfect pillows for their guests and now you can get the five-star feel at home with Silentnight’s Luxury Hotel Collection. You’ll get two pillows in this pack, each offering soft-to-medium levels of support. Polyester filling ensures this is a sound purchase for anyone who wakes up sneezing in the morning, and they’re machine washable and tumble dryable too. Comes with a two year guarantee.
Buy now £24.00, Argos
Aeyla The Dual Pillow
Known for its range of anxiety-reducing weighted blankets, Aeyla also offers this osteo-approved pillow filled with an Oeko-Tex certified polyester microfiber that’s as fine as an eyelash. The pillow is actually a combination of two pillows, one sitting inside the other offering the plushness of soft with the support of a firmer pillow.
Buy now £69.00, Aeyla
Best pillows for side sleepers
Mammoth Ultimate Deep Pillow
If you have broad shoulders a high pillow is necessary in order to keep your neck and spine in a straight line when you’re sleeping. This one is 19cm tall and made from Medical Grade Foam so will contour to your face and neck easily. The soft-touch cover, made from cool-touch Tencel, can be machine washed at 40 degrees.
Buy now £99.00, Amazon
Kally Sleep The Ultimate Side Sleeper Pillow
This British-made pillow is a great all-rounder and at the price we’d say “ultimate” is a fair claim. Its hollowfibre filling doesn’t quite replicate the dreaminess of a mountain of goose down, but is plump, springy and moulds happily into the neck, plugging the gap between shoulder and ear to support you. It also holds its shape perfectly, stays cool throughout the night and is great for allergy sufferers. If you haven’t got cash to burn, this might be the best slice of luxury and function out there.
Buy now £24.47, Kally Sleep
Best anti-snore pillows
Silentnight Luxury Quilted Anti-Snore Pillow
Best for: an ergonomic design to open the airways
When it comes to snoring, it’s not so much the perpetrator, but more the person laying beside them who suffers: research by Silentnight and the University of Leeds revealed that 40 per cent of Brits can’t sleep because of their partner’s snoring. That’s why the sleep expert has devised this anti-snore pillow, made to give the gift of decent shut-eye - for everyone.
Tested by the British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association (who discovered that the design reduced snoring frequency and volume by approximately 50 per cent), the pillow boasts an ergonomic foam layer to aid the airways and help breathing with DuPont fibres making up the rest of the filling.
What’s more, it’s hypoallergenic and so there’s nothing in the construction to trigger allergies. A soft quilted cover keeps everything feeling and looking dreamy.
Buy now £22.99, Amazon
Kally Sleep The Anti-Snore pillow
Best for: extra neck and head support for better breathing
Found to lower snoring frequency and volume by approximately 60 per cent by the British Sleep Apnoea Association, Kally Sleep’s anti-snoring pillow uses an S-shaped layer of foam in the core to support the head and neck in a way that encourages better breathing.
It’s a medium level of firmness and the fibres used in its creation are anti-allergy to help ward off bacteria. One for side and back sleepers.
Buy now £22.97, Kally Sleep
