A firm-to-extra-firm pillow is best for side sleepers, because it ensures your spine is supported properly at a consistent height.
Firmness: All of our experts agreed that medium-firm pillows tend to be the best option for people sleeping on their side. While there is room for personal preference here, a medium-firm pillow helps your head stay in the right position without sinking while you sleep.
Firm Support — Pillows with a medium firm or firm level of support will serve to keep your head and neck in line with your spine throughout the night. If your pillow is too soft, your head will gradually sink down over the course of your 40 winks, throwing your spine out of neutral alignment (hello, stiff neck).
If you're a side sleeper your pillow needs to fill in the space between that shoulder, to the curve of your neck and all the way to the top of your head.
For side sleepers, Tal recommends a medium to soft fill that allows the head, neck and shoulder to fall gracefully into the pillow, with enough balance to keep the head and spine neutral. Good fill materials to achieve this include memory foam, down and down alternatives.
Side sleepers generally need thicker pillows to fill the space beneath their head and neck. Pillows that are too thin do not provide enough cushioning, while excessively thick pillows can interfere with spinal alignment and lead to more pressure points.
The position you tend to sleep in will also affect your comfort on beds of various firmness levels. Back and stomach sleepers tend to prefer firmer mattresses, while side sleepers prefer a softer feel. These preferences are not universal, of course, but it's a good starting point to consider.
Other Ways to Support the Neck and Spine
For side sleepers, it is recommended that people sleep with one pillow under their head and one pillow in between their knees. Back sleepers may want to place a pillow under their knees.
Sleeping like a “log” is the way Dr. Idzikowski describes lying on your side with your arms at your sides. If this is your favorite sleeping position, then you're probably easy-going, social, and relatively trusting of strangers, he told the BBC. That said, you may also be a bit gullible.
Hotel pillows are often more comfortable than the pillows people have on their beds at home because they are replaced more often, use more expensive and longer lasting materials, and they support the head in different places than the pillows that people have at home.
If you sleep with a pillow that is too firm or too soft, it often leads to a restless night accompanied by a stiff neck, or shoulder pain. People who sleep with the wrong pillow may also experience numbness in their hands. If you experience those symptoms, try switching your pillow.
The notch above the sternum is called the suprasternal notch. These two areas should be level when lying on your side. If the philtrum is lying higher than the suprasternal notch then your pillow is too high. If the philtrum is lying lower than the suprasternal notch then your pillow is too low.
Your shoulders should not be on the pillow. Not So Great: On your side, with your legs curled up towards the chest. This does not provide spine alignment for the shoulders and neck. It also does not evenly distribute weight throughout your body and can lead you to waking up in the morning with back pain.
Softer mattresses are generally better for those who sleep on their side, as they better cushion the shoulders and hips. On the side, a softer mattress better aligns the spine, too.
Better sleep posture can help. As the University of Rochester explains, for side sleepers, placing a pillow between your legs can help you keep your body naturally aligned and stay kind to your spine each night.
Solid Memory Foam: Solid memory foam is one of the best fill materials for side sleepers because it provides substantial support and structure. A memory foam pillow will maintain its shape well, so your neck and spine will remain in alignment even under the weight of your head.
Check out this handy breakdown fromPRNewswire: Overall, more Americans sleep on the right side of the bed than the left (while lying down), with more men than women preferring this side (58% vs. 50%)
First, make sure that your arms are down by your side. Sleeping with your arms overhead, perhaps around your pillow, can pinch your lower shoulder. Instead, sleep with your arms down by your side. You can also try sleeping with a pillow between your legs.
The worst sleep position: On your stomach
“This position puts the most pressure on your spine's muscles and joints because it flattens the natural curve of your spine,” he says. “Sleeping on your stomach also forces you to turn your neck, which can cause neck and upper back pain.”
Side Sleepers – If you sleep on your side, you can expect sweet dreams when using a medium-density pillow between five and seven inches in height. These are considered mid or high loft pillows. Side sleepers require the highest pillows to maintain a neutral spine.
Side sleepers generally benefit from a medium-firm pillow. A too soft or too hard pillow will strain joints and make it hard to wake up feeling completely refreshed. Here, memory foam can help. The intuitive nature of memory foam can offer the right amount of firmness, support, and comfort.
Out of all the sleep positions, side sleepers need the thickest pillow because the goal is to find one that fills the empty space between your neck and shoulders. For adult side sleepers, the recommended pillow height is between 5 inches and 7 inches.
Side sleeping can cause or exacerbate shoulder and neck pain, and contribute to muscle imbalance. Therefore, side sleepers need to be aware of their neck and shoulder alignment to avoid waking up with body aches.
We recommend side sleeping since it offers more health benefits, such as reducing pressure on the heart. Side sleeping can also reduce snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, and acid reflux symptoms. Back sleeping tends to aggravate these conditions thanks to the effects of gravity.