Everyone needs different types of pillow depending on their individual sleeping experience. For example, a side sleeper will need an entirely different type of pillow from a stomach sleeper.
This difference occurs because the primary purpose of a pillow is to ensure your neck and spine are perfectly aligned. However, depending on your sleeping position, you need different types of pillows to ensure that spinal alignment.
In this article, we look at the kind of pillows you need if you’re a back sleeper or if you’re a stomach sleeper. Please continue reading for a detailed discussion of what is the best back pillow and stomach pillow in 2021.
Best Pillows for Back Sleepers
Back sleepers generally need a medium or low loft pillow depending on the size of their neck. The best way to ensure neck and spine alignment is to use a pillow that keeps your neck in a neutral position. Your neck, spine, and hips should be in a single straight line. If your neck props up or cranes down, you may wake up with a stiff neck and neck pain. The following are some of the best medium-loft and low-loft pillows for back sleepers.
Elite Rest Contour Sleeper — Memory Foam Pillow
Elite Rest Contour Sleeper is the best memory foam pillow for back sleepers. This is a contoured pillow in which the side contours are 4 inches high and the central contour only measures 2.75 inches. As such, the crook of your neck rests on the 4” gusset or neck roll, making sure that your spine and neck remain in alignment. The memory foam material also conforms to the shape of your body, further ensuring that you have proper spinal alignment. This pillow also comes with breathable 100% cotton cover that facilitates air circulation to keep you cool.
In Style Furnishings Luxury Pillows — Great Choice for Luxury
In Style Furnishings Luxury Pillows is a great choice for luxury pillow seekers. In fact, this is the type of pillow often used in luxury hotels. This is a set of two fluffy pillows filled with 7D virgin grade 700g poly fiber. This ensures that the pillow is extremely fluffy and soft while still having a high loft that makes it perfect for neck and spine alignment. This pillow comes with a 233 thread-count highly-breathable 100% cotton cover. This pillow is also allergen free and hypoallergenic.
Best Pillows for Stomach Sleepers
Stomach sleepers should generally avoid using pillows altogether because they can raise your neck upwards in an awkward angle. However, most people can’t sleep without a pillow. If you must use a pillow, then you should opt for an extremely thin or flat pillow that keeps your neck and spine aligned. Stomach sleepers should also consider placing thin pillows under their abdomen to facilitate spinal alignment.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper — Ultra Slim Pillow
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is the best ultra slim or flat pillow with a loft height of only 2.5 inches, which makes it one of the best pillows for stomach sleepers. As a memory foam pillow, it conforms to the shape of your neck and offers spinal support. It also has ergonomically rounded edges and a curved top that follows the curve of your neck, thus increasing spinal support. The flat bottom of the pillow increases the stability to make sure the pillow doesn’t move around, keeping your neck and spine stable.
Perform Thin Profile Pillow — Neck and Spine Support Pillow
Perform Thin Profile Pillow is the best neck and spine support pillow for stomach sleepers. This is one of the few low profile contour pillows with a loft height ranging from 3.5 inches at the top to 2.25 inches at the bottom. While this pillow can also be used by back sleepers, it is most suitable for stomach sleepers. It comes with a 100% breathable bamboo cover as well.
Best Pillow for Combination Sleepers — Coop Home Goods
Combination sleepers are those who toss and turn in their sleep, thus switching sleeping positions constantly. Combination sleepers generally sleep on their backs, stomachs, and sides throughout a single night. The best pillows for combination sleepers are adjustable pillows with a shredded filling that can be re-fluffed and shifted around inside the pillow. As such, whenever you change your sleep position, you can shift the filling to the desired location for optimal comfort.
Coop Home Goods is the best pillow for combination sleepers who toss and turn in their sleep because it’s a shredded memory foam pillow. As such, you can add or remove the memory foam filling to increase or decrease the loft height according to your sleeping preference. The shredded memory foam filling can also be moved around and shifted within the pillow so you can adjust the loft height depending on your position even while sleeping.
Verdict
Back sleepers and stomach sleepers generally need different types of pillows to ensure neck and spine alignment. The best back and stomach pillow should ideally have a medium or low loft height that can keep your neck and spine in a stable and neutral position. Some pillows for back sleepers also come with a gusset or contoured design that can further help provide neck support and relieve neck pain. Elite Rest Contour Sleeper is the best memory foam pillow for back sleepers because it has a contoured loft ranging from 2.75 inches to 4 inches. Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is the best memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers because it has an extremely low loft height of only 2.5 inches.
