What is the best pillow for a face-sleeper?

March 15, 2018 5:00 PM

What is the best pillow for a face-sleeper - potentially one with foam and cooling technology?

I have a Brooklyn apartment which skews very hot in the wintertime and my bed is right next to the heater (long story but I can't control any of this beyond opening a window).

Also, I have a lot of anxiety, get up to go to the bathroom a lot, and experience flushing of the face throughout the day and evening.

Suffice it to say, I'm having extreme problems sleeping. I fall asleep okay around midnight, but at 4am every night I sit up like a shot in bed, really really hot and wide awake. Getting back to sleep is a struggle. My generic store-bought pillows feel to lumpy and the only way I can sleep is bury my face in them. This leads to both a very hot face but also acne (possibly demodex mite related).

Anyhow - what is the best pillow for someone in my situation? The cooling technology pillows are really nice but I was told they were mostly for side sleepers. Thanks.

posted by critzer to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

I literally just today found out that the U or Circle you put your head on at the end of a message table is called a "face cradle" and things called "face cradle pillows" exist.

I'm googling now them for myself because sleeping on my stomach is killing my neck, but it's by far the easiest position for me to fall asleep in.
posted by mrmurbles at 5:24 PM on March 15, 2018

I'm a stomach sleeper and sometimes the best pillow is... no pillow. It's weird at first but it saves my neck. I also sometimes use a really, really flat pillow that actually normally serves as a sham, in an IKEA linen sham case - the linen would help keep you cool too. I'm pretty sure the pillow is the cheapest, flattest thing they sell at Target or Walmart.
posted by raspberrE at 5:51 PM on March 15, 2018 [6 favorites]

A bamboo pillowcase is great for breathability. (Any very thin pillow will do.)
posted by Phssthpok at 7:49 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

I adore this pillow from Amazon. It's one of the thinnest I've found that still feels like you have a pillow under your head.
posted by lilies.lilies at 8:03 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

I don't know about pillow shape but last summer I switched to silk pillow cases and a gel cooling pad slipped inside and it's the best thing ever.
posted by lollusc at 11:19 PM on March 15, 2018

I'm a stomach sleeper and for a very long time I bought small, very firm pillows like you'd buy for a couch. Put just my head on it and wrapped my arms around it and it was pretty comfy. About a year ago I discovered the Rolleka pillow from IKEA and I love it so much that I went back and bought a backup. It's amazing for neck support and pleasantly firm. I use the higher side.
posted by possibilityleft at 3:40 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]