The Best Pillows for Neck Pain Make for Better Mornings

When I wake up with even a slight twinge in my neck, my mood nose dives—so I’ve been on the hunt for the best pillows for neck pain for most of my adult life. If you tend to feel sore, achy, or tight through your neck, shoulders, and upper back in the morning, you should probably join me in my search.

Everyone’s pillow preferences are different, but there are some general criteria you should follow to find bedding that helps you get better sleep. “The goal is to ensure that your neck and head are aligned straight over your shoulders when sleeping,” Srikant Kondapaneni, MD, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist in New Jersey, tells SELF. Your whole body (including your neck) should feel fully relaxed as you drift off, he says. To make that happen, you’ll need to find a pillow with a height and firmness that suits your preferred sleeping position.

Below, we used experts’s guidance and SELF staffer recommendations to find the right pillows for all types of sleepers seeking neck pain relief.

(But first, a gentle reminder: If you try switching up your pillow and you’re still waking up at night, fighting a stiff neck in the morning, or noticing that your pain is radiating from your neck to your arm, check in with a doctor to see if there are other factors that could be causing your chronic neck pain.)

Our top picks

Shop the best pillows for neck pain

Whether you sleep like a pill bug or a starfish, you don’t have to spend your mornings feeling stiff as a board. Read on to find the supportive pillow of your (literal) dreams.

Best Overall: Coop Home Goods Eden Adjustable Pillow

SELF’s director of fitness and food admits that Coop’s bestselling Eden pillow is a little splurge-y, but says it’s so high-quality that it’s well worth the investment. “It made such a difference” for her and her partner, who purchased their Edens four or five years ago, she says.

This is particularly impressive because, while she sleeps on her back, her partner is a side sleeper. Side sleepers generally need a taller pillow than back sleepers in order to align their head, neck, and shoulders, which usually means bedmates should opt for two different pillows. But the Eden is adjustable—you can add or remove as much of the filling as you like, so you can find the exact height that works for you. Plus, the fill is made of cooling, gel-infused foam that won’t let you sink down too much or overheat in the middle of the night.

Best Budget Pick: Clara Clark Memory Foam Pillow

This was the first pillow I ever tried that got me close to that fully relaxed, neutral position that Dr. Kondapaneni describes. With all of its shredded memory foam filling inside, it stands pretty tall, which is great for a side sleeper like me who needs lots of space between the bed and her head—where else would my bottom shoulder go?

Back and stomach sleepers can remove some of the fill to lower the pillow’s height. Either way, it’ll feel firm and supportive. Considering its price point, its filling is impressively dense and heavy-duty—I’ve definitely dealt with some sinkage from time to time, but it always bounces back the next day.

Best for Side Sleepers: Pillow Cube Side Cube

Unless I some day have a pillow custom-made to fit the exact nook between my shoulder and head, I don’t think I’ll find a more perfect pillow than Pillow Cube’s comfy, supportive side sleeper pillow. It’s made of plush foam, but thanks to its rectangular structure, it doesn’t collapse under the weight of my head. Instead, it cradles me while providing enough room for my bottom shoulder to rest comfortably (rather than scrunch up under the rest of my body).