Best Pillows For Back Sleepers

A good night’s rest has much to do with the choice you make surrounding sleep comfort. In particular, your sleep position is highly influential on an uninterrupted sleep, and the opportunity to cycle through your sleep stages and wake feeling refreshed. You may think your mattress purchase is all you need to worry about when looking or a supportive product, but what many forget to pay attention to is the pillow they choose as well.

Our Best Back Pillow Picks

The best pillow for back sleepers is a thin, supportive one. Below, The Sleep Judge Review Team has listed their personally reviewed, top rated, back sleeper pillow reviews to showcase the many different styles and fills available to you.

Head and Neck Alignment

The muscles and other soft tissues of your neck help protect and house the cervical spine, the gateway of your central nervous system. Through your neck runs the connection between your brain and the rest of your body, making it a very important part of your body to keep well supported. As you sleep at night it is your head and neck you want to pay particular attention to in relation to the rest of your spinal alignment. When this support is lacking, you run the risk of waking, at a minimum, with aches and pains, and feeling more tired than when you fell asleep. But overtime, with a lack of protection and added strain to the area, it can lend itself to disease, migraines, and memory fog- to name a few. Pay particular attention to the support lent to your head and neck, and choose sleep products that will better allow a true rest of those connective tissues and muscles that so strongly hold you cervical spine in place. Back sleeping is considered a healthy positional choice, as it more naturally allows the spine to lay straight, and provide a true relaxation.

Sleep Position and Pillow Comfort

Stomach sleepers almost always compromise their spinal alignment due to the fact they have to turn their heads upon the surface they sleep upon. Side sleepers need a giving surface for the heavier areas of the body, such in the hips and shoulders, and can struggle to find the perfect balance between conforming surfaces and firm support. But back sleepers often have the healthiest position: one that even lends itself well to laying on a floor. The spine naturally aligns when you lay on your back, and a thin pillow, one that allows your head to rest at shoulder height, is usually the best pick. It also needs to provide support to the gap created under the neck so the tissues can relax. Unfortunately, most pillows are too lofty, and lift the head above the level of the shoulders, or let it drop too far back- both scenarios that create tension on the back and neck, and create comfortable sleep positions.

Other Helpful Uses for Back Sleepers

Although back sleeping helps align and relax the spine, it can cause stress to the lower back depending on body shape and type, as well as mattress choice. This strain if often caused by the heaviness of the hip area, and result in sore, tight muscles through the lumbar region. Luckily, this discomfort is often easily remedied by placing a thin, soft pillow beneath the knees to help take some of the weight off the lower back and lift the lower spine into place.

Thin Pillow Types

There are many thin pillow types that provide plenty of fill for your neck to rest upon. Soft pillows, such as down and feather, or down alternative polyfills are very popular, as are adjustable shredded foam picks that help create a more customized feel overall. Memory foam and contoured pillows are also top picks that help create a pressure point reduction to the back of the head, and allow for the neck to have a more stable surface. It is often difficult to find a thin pillow in many stores as side sleepers seem to dominate the sleep position world, and stores cater to the most top picked products. Also, many back sleepers are unaware that they need a thinner choice over the lofty, thick pillow they are considering. Before purchasing a pillow, be sure to do you research to help you get a better night’s rest.

What to Consider When Choosing a Pillow for Back Sleeping

Obviously the above information probably gives you a decent guideline from which to choose a back sleeping pillow from, but there are a few other details you may want to pay attention to prior to a final investment.

Are you considered a combination sleepers?

Many people move through the night naturally and shift their positions. Sometimes this is a subconscious movement due to discomfort, but other times is just part of the normal sleep process, and those who change from one sleep position to the next need to look for a pillow that supports them in both positions.

Do you snore?

Most people who snore do so because of poor airway support, causing soft tissues and the tongue to relax and create a blockage. Choosing the correct pillow can help alleviate snoring of there are not any underlying medical issues but helping the airways stay open. Back sleepers in [articular often have this issue due to the forces of gravity. If all the pillows you have tried have not helped with snoring, and you have ruled out Sleep Apnea (if not, please do so), you may want to consider a wedge pillow.

Do you sleep warm?

Sleeping warm is a real issue that creates an uncomfortable nighttime experience. If you sleep warm, look for pillows that use natural fibers in their casing, such as bamboo and cotton. Also, gel infused or layered pillows can help alleviate heat retention and draw heat and moisture from your body.

As mentioned in the introduction, the following pillows have been personally reviewed and commented upon by our own The Sleep Judge Review Team. Although we have rated many pillows, these help represent some of the best we can recommend for back sleepers.

Conclusion

The best pillow for sleeping on your back may not be the same as anyone else’s, and so always look to your own needs, comforts, and sleep preferences when making a choice just for you. Back sleepers do need a thinner, responsive pillow, and a proper support for the neck. The above selection of pillows cover a wide range of design and fill types, and are available for many different body shapes and sizes. For a more detailed account of each pillow, be sure to check out our own detailed experiences.