What is the Best Cervical Memory Foam Pillow? Advice from a Doctor
If you’re suffering from neck and shoulder pain, you must get a cervical memory foam pillow with contoured sides or inbuilt neck rolls that support your neck and ensure spinal alignment. Besides supporting your neck, it should also be the right size for your sleeping position, whether you’re a side sleeper, back sleeper, or stomach sleeper. This article provides a detailed review of some of the best memory foam pillows for side sleepers and people with neck and shoulder pain.
Contour Memory Foam Pillow By Elite Rest is widely considered the best memory foam pillow for side sleepers because of its ideal loft height and ergonomic design. It has contoured sides that function as inbuilt neck rolls to follow your cervical curvature, keeping your neck stable. The loft height is perfect, ranging from 4” at the sides to 2.75” at the center, which provides the perfect slope for your neck and head, especially while sleeping on your sides or back. This pillow also comes with a machine-washable cotton cover that ensures breathability and air circulation.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is the ideal cervical memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers. As an ultra-thin pillow, it has a loft height of only 2.5”, making it perfect for stomach sleepers because it doesn’t elevate your neck at an awkward angle. Furthermore, it has an ergonomic design with a flat bottom and contoured top, allowing you to rest your neck on the contour while ensuring stability. It comes with a hypoallergenic and machine-washable cotton cover as well.
Coisum Cervical Orthopedic Memory Foam Pillow is one of the most unique orthopedic pillows for side sleepers and back sleepers. This orthopedic pillow has unique cutouts specifically designed to ensure greater comfort. While sleeping on your side, you can slide your arms under one of the cutouts, while keeping the pillow stable. The contoured surface also conforms to your body’s shape brilliantly. The memory foam is high-quality, made of 60-density foam, and it comes with a temperature-sensing feature for optimal support and temperature regulation.
EPABO Contour Memory Foam Pillow is an orthopedic pillow available in three sizes, making it suitable for different people. The standard size memory foam pillow has a 3.9” loft height, and the queen size memory foam pillow has a 4.6” or 4.8” loft height. The pillow’s center has a slight depression or contour, ergonomically designed to follow your neck’s curvature, offering optimal neck support. This contoured memory foam pillow also comes with a hypoallergenic rayon/polyester pillowcase.
Mediflow Fiber isn’t a memory foam pillow, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s one of the world’s best cervical or orthopedic pillows. Water pillows have been clinically tested to relieve neck and shoulder pain because water doesn’t compress, allowing it to maintain the same firm support level. If you’re suffering from neck and shoulder pain, then a water pillow is a great option, at least until you recover completely. You can also adjust the water pillow’s loft height and firmness by adjusting the insulated pouch’s water level. The Mediflow Fiber water pillow also comes with a machine-washable and hypoallergenic pillowcase.
Cervical Memory Foam Pillow FAQs
What’s an orthopedic pillow?
Lots of pillows online are labeled “orthopedic pillow.” But most people don’t really know what that means or if it means anything at all. There’s no specific legal definition for an “orthopedic pillow,” but it generally indicates clinical studies have been conducted to create an ergonomic design that supports your neck, relieving pain and pressure. However, you shouldn’t blindly follow the tag “orthopedic pillow” because anyone can claim their pillow is orthopedic. Instead, you must carefully go through the pillow’s features to determine if it has a suitable shape, size, material, filling, and loft height to relieve neck and shoulder pain.
What are the benefits of a memory foam pillow?
Memory foam pillows are widely considered some of the best pillows for neck and shoulder pain relief. The following are some of the specific benefits of a memory foam pillow:
- Memory foam conforms to your body’s shape, offering greater support to your pressure points.
- The warmth from your body makes the foam reshape itself to ensure optimal loft height for spinal alignment.
- Memory foam pillows hold their shape and don’t flatten like traditional pillows.
- Memory foam pillows are also hypoallergenic, so you don’t need to worry about allergic reactions.
What’s the standard size and shape for side sleepers?
Side sleeping is one of the most common sleeping positions, and it can have some great health benefits. However, without the correct pillow that supports your neck, side sleepers can also risk neck and shoulder pain. Side sleepers need sleeping pillows covering the distance between the mattress and the neck, so they should get a standard size pillow with a loft height above 4 inches. Side sleepers should also get an orthopedic pillow with curved sides or elevated contours that support your neck and facilitate alignment.
Summary
There are various health benefits to using a cervical memory foam pillow, especially because it can help you avoid or minimize neck and shoulder pain. Cervical memory foam pillows support your neck to ensure spinal alignment, relieving stress from the pressure points. Contour Memory Foam Pillow By Elite Rest is considered the best memory foam pillow because it has a contoured and ergonomic design with a loft height perfect for side sleepers. Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper, meanwhile, is a great memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers.