Do you suffer from neck pain? Do you often wake up with a stiff neck? If so, you may be using a pillow that’s either not suitable for your sleep position or one that may be too thick.
Our necks are extremely delicate. They’re made of vertebrae, muscles, ligaments, and cartilages, and you can end up with neck pain if you damage any of these components. When you sleep, your neck and spine should be perfectly aligned. Your neck should be in a neutral position — in line with your spine and back.
However, if you use a thick or fluffy pillow — as most people prefer — your neck may elevate past the neutral position. This isn’t usually an issue for side sleepers because the pillow has to cover a high distance between the mattress and the head. However, this is a big issue if you’re a back or stomach sleepers.
Back and stomach sleepers should generally sleep with thin pillows or at least medium-loft pillows. This ensures that you have plenty of head and neck support without any spinal misalignment.
In this article, we’ll review some of the best thin pillows for neck pain in 2021 according to a physician’s advice.
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper — Best Neck Pillow for Stomach Sleepers
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper is a natural latex foam pillow with a loft height of 2.75 inches. In addition to a low loft height, this neck pillow also has ergonomically rounded sides, which ensures that you can rest your neck on it comfortably. This pillow is ideal for stomach sleepers and back sleepers. This pillow is designed with pinhole technology to increase ventilation and air circulation, thus improving the breathability and keeping you cool in the hottest nights. This pillow also comes with a 100% machine washable and removable cotton cover. It’s available in a standard size of 24×16 inches.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper — Thinnest Head and Neck Support Pillow
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is one of the thinnest head and neck support pillows on the market. This ultra-slim pillow has an extremely low loft size of only 2.5 inches and it has ergonomic sides for maximum comfort. Because of the extremely low loft, it should only be used by stomach sleepers. It’s made of high-quality memory foam, which means it conforms to the shape of your body. As such, even if you toss and turn in your sleep, this pillow will offer optimal head and neck support to improve neck and shoulder pain. This pillow is also available in a standard size of 24×16 inches and it comes with a 100% cotton machine washable cover.
Perform Pillow — Best Contour Neck Pillow
Contour pillows are generally meant for side sleepers and back sleepers because they have a high loft. However, Perform Pillow is one of the few contour neck pillows with a low loft size. This neck pillow is contoured — the lower contour measures only 2.25 inches and the higher contour measures 3.5 inches. As such, this thin pillow is suitable for people with small necks and for stomach and back sleepers. The sides are also contoured according to the natural slope of one’s neck to increase the head and neck support. This pillow also comes with a bamboo cover made of 56% polyester and 43% bamboo — this cover is highly breathable and machine washable.
Coop Home Goods Premium — Best Adjustable Neck Pillow
Coop Home Goods Premium is the best adjustable neck pillow on the market. This pillow is made of shredded memory foam and it comes with a Lulltra machine washable bamboo-derived rayon cover. As a shredded memory foam pillow, you can easily adjust its loft height according to your sleep position. You can remove the memory foam filling to lower the loft height if you’re a stomach sleeper. And you can add some memory foam filling to increase the loft height if you’re a back sleeper. As such, this pillow is suitable for combination sleepers. You can also shift the memory foam filling around inside the pillow to adjust the loft in the middle of the night if you change your sleep position.
Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury — Best Body Pillow to Support your Neck
Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury is a large shredded memory foam body pillow that measures 20 inches by 54 inches. As such, this pillow is large enough to support your neck and all other pressure points on your body as well. You can add or remove the memory foam filling to increase or decrease the loft height according to your sleep position. You can also shift them around inside the pillow to flatted some parts and thicken other parts of the pillow. As such, you can use this pillow for variable support to different parts of your body.
Bluewave Bedding Ultra Slim Pillow — Best Machine Washable Neck Pillow
Bluewave Bedding Ultra Slim Pillow is an extremely thin pillow with a loft measuring less than 3 inches in height. It’s made of gel-infused memory foam that provides optimal support to all your pressure points and also keeps you cool throughout the night. It comes with a machine washable pillow cover made of 60% polyester and 40% bamboo-derived rayon. This pillow is ideal for stomach sleepers and hot sleepers.
Belly Sleep Gel Infused Pillow — Best Head and Neck Support Pillow
Belly Sleep Gel Infused Pillow is yet another gel-infused memory foam pillow with a low loft height of only 2.5 inches. While regular memory foam can trap your body heat and lead to night sweats, this pillow comes with cooling gel particles that keep the temperature low and regulate your body temperature. This pillow also comes with a bamboo-polyester machine washable cover with moisture-wicking capabilities.