Getting into the right sleep position involves a lot of tossing and turning, especially if your chosen pillow doesn’t support your neck and spine.
Choosing the right sleep position or pillow is especially difficult for stomach sleepers. According to research, stomach sleepers are far more likely to suffer from neck pain — this happens because most pillows have a thick cushion that crane your neck upwards. This blocks your air passage and twists your neck to the side, which can lead to serious neck pain.
If you’re a stomach sleeper, you should look for a thin pillow — one that’s less than 3 inches in thickness. A thin pillow will align your neck and spine by keeping your neck in a neutral position.
Stomach sleepers should also consider opting for a firm memory foam pillow or natural latex foam pillow — these materials conform to the shape of your body and they’re firm enough that they don’t sink at night. This is important to ensure that your neck and spine stay neutral.
Since your face will be pressed against the pillow, a high quality sleep pillow for stomach sleepers should also be breathable. You should look for a pillow with a ventilated design, cooling gel infusion, or even one with a breathable cover that can increase air circulation and keep you cool. Otherwise, the memory foam pillow may just absorb your body heat and lead to night sweats.
To further increase alignment, you can also place a low-loft pillow under your abdomen. By sleeping with pillow under your stomach, you provide support to your lower back and facilitate neck and spine alignment.
Now that you understand some of the qualities of the best sleep pillow for stomach sleepers, read on for a detailed review of the best pillow for stomach sleepers.
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper — Best Thin Pillow for Stomach Sleepers
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper is the best thin pillow for back and stomach sleepers. This is a natural latex foam pillow with a loft height of only 2.75 inches. As such, you can rest your head on it and rest assured that it will stay in a neutral position for neck and spine alignment. Natural latex foam is also quite firm so your head will remain stable without sinking. This pillow also has a ventilated design for air circulation and breathability.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper — Best Memory Foam Pillow for Stomach Sleepers
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is the best memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers and back sleepers. This is a memory foam pillow with a loft height of only 2.5 inches, making it an extremely thin pillow. It has an ergonomically contoured design — the top has a rounded contour and the bottom is flat. The rounded contour follows the natural curvature of the neck and spine. Stomach sleepers can rest their face on it while maintaining neck and spine alignment. Back sleepers can use this as a lumbar pillow for spinal alignment.
Elite Rest Shredded Memory Foam Pillow — Best Adjustable Sleep Pillow for Tossing and Turning
Elite Rest Shredded Memory Foam Pillow is the best sleep pillow for those who are prone to tossing and turning in their sleep. This is a shredded memory foam pillow, which means you can adjust the loft height by adding or removing the filling. It comes with a 6” loft height but you can remove the filling to flatten it out. At night, while tossing and turning, you can also shift the memory foam filling around according to your preference for optimal comfort and spinal alignment.
Perform Pillow — Best Contour Memory Foam Pillow
Perform Pillow is the best contour memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers. It has a contoured and ergonomic design with a loft height ranging from 2.25 inches at the lower end to 3.5 inches at the higher end. The memory foam also conforms to the shape of your body and offers great support. It also comes with a highly-breathable bamboo cover that facilitates air circulation and keeps you cool all night.
Bluewave Bedding Ultra Slim Pillow — Best High Quality Pillow for Hot Sleepers
Bluewave Bedding Ultra Slim Pillow is the best high-quality pillow for hot sleepers because it’s made of gel infused memory foam. In several cases, memory foam pillow has a tendency to trap heat and cause night sweats. This pillow comes with a gel infused foam layer that absorbs the heat and regulates temperature to keep the pillow cool all night long so you have a comfortable sleep. It’s also a thin pillow with a loft height of only 2.5 inches.
Pancake Pillow — Best Sleep Pillow for Stomach and Side Sleepers
Pancake Pillow is the best pillow for stomach, back, and side sleepers. This is a unique concept in which a single large cotton cover accommodates up to 6 slices of thin pillows. Each thin pillow has a loft height of around 1.3 inches for a total loft height of 8 inches. As such, you can add or remove layers from the “pancake” according to your preference.
TruContour Lumbar Pillow for Sleeping — Best Thin Pillow for Neck and Spine Alignment
TruContour Lumbar Pillow for Sleeping is an extremely thin pillow with a loft height of only 2 inches. This is generally used as lumbar support but you can also use it as a stomach sleep pillow. You can also place this pillow under your stomach while sleeping for spinal alignment. This pillow has a minimum of two foam pads but you can add another foam pad to increase the loft height as well. The top pad is curved according to the natural curves of your neck and spine.
Belly Sleep Memory Foam Pillow — Best Memory Foam Sleep Pillow
Belly Sleep Memory Foam Pillow is a memory foam pillow with a loft height of only 2.5 inches. This pillow is perfect for stomach sleepers and this pillow also has a cooling gel layer to regulate temperature and keep you cool at night. It also comes with a moisture-wicking cover made of bamboo and polyester for enhanced breathability.
