Back to sleep
February 11, 2020 1:56 PM Subscribe
You sleep on your back. You love your pillow. What is your pillow? Why do you love it?
I've been a kind of all over the place sleeper all my life and I find that lately I really prefer to sleep on my back. I need a new pillow. Please help me choose one. I don't really have $100 to spend on the pillow that the wirecutter recommends as best for back sleepers but I can save for it if that's the consensus.
I've been a kind of all over the place sleeper all my life and I find that lately I really prefer to sleep on my back. I need a new pillow. Please help me choose one. I don't really have $100 to spend on the pillow that the wirecutter recommends as best for back sleepers but I can save for it if that's the consensus.
Back sleeper and I love the McRoskey Wool Pillow. (A local small-business!)
posted by phliar at 2:19 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by phliar at 2:19 PM on February 11, 2020
No pillow but raise the head of the bed a few inches so you sleep slightly uphill
posted by fshgrl at 2:20 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by fshgrl at 2:20 PM on February 11, 2020
I'm a back sleeper and really like my Sleep Innovations Contour Memory Foam Pillow. One side is a little taller than the other, so you can pick which side supports your neck. They make a coll foam one if you prefer that.
posted by advicepig at 2:22 PM on February 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by advicepig at 2:22 PM on February 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
Amazon.com: buckwheat pillow: Home & Kitchen
Just a Buckwheat Pillow in general. There are thin ones, there are fat ones. They are heavy. They are hard. You go to bed and arrange it just so and it sorta locks into place. And it just stays there. It doesn't get hot, you don't need to turn it over to find a cool spot, it isn't cool.
The thicker ones may be over-filled (like mine), but you just bash your head into it until it's comfortable and it stays there all night. It's like a beanbag that molds however you want but then locks into place once you wiggle around until it's comfortable. The thick ones are also thick enough so sorta cradle your head and keep it from turning.
You can ride high on it almost like a wedge. You can also side-sleep on your arm without it going to sleep because the pillow is stiff enough to keep the pressure off of your arm.
Really like that sort of pillow.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:28 PM on February 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Just a Buckwheat Pillow in general. There are thin ones, there are fat ones. They are heavy. They are hard. You go to bed and arrange it just so and it sorta locks into place. And it just stays there. It doesn't get hot, you don't need to turn it over to find a cool spot, it isn't cool.
The thicker ones may be over-filled (like mine), but you just bash your head into it until it's comfortable and it stays there all night. It's like a beanbag that molds however you want but then locks into place once you wiggle around until it's comfortable. The thick ones are also thick enough so sorta cradle your head and keep it from turning.
You can ride high on it almost like a wedge. You can also side-sleep on your arm without it going to sleep because the pillow is stiff enough to keep the pressure off of your arm.
Really like that sort of pillow.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:28 PM on February 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Side note: If you ever watch anime and see a pillow fight and some one gets WONKED with a thrown pillow. It's because it's not a soft and fluffy pillow, it's heavier than you think it is.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:34 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by zengargoyle at 2:34 PM on February 11, 2020
I sleep on a Jordrok from IKEA. It’s comfortable, it’s cheap.
posted by rodlymight at 2:43 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by rodlymight at 2:43 PM on February 11, 2020
This will be remarkably unhelpful to you, but I use a pillow that my parents bought c. 1984 from Gold Circle, covered in a pillowcase that I bought from Sears in 1998 as part of the sheet set I took to my freshman year of college.
posted by kevinbelt at 3:02 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 3:02 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seconding the vote for buckwheat pillow, it was life changing for me. I can dig sort of hole in the middle it so it's really flat under my skull while supporting my neck and it just melts all the tension. And so cool- there is air flow through the hulls.
Also recommend a zippered pillowcase to go with it, the pillow is so amorphous it slides right out of everything else I've tried.
posted by buildmyworld at 3:25 PM on February 11, 2020
Also recommend a zippered pillowcase to go with it, the pillow is so amorphous it slides right out of everything else I've tried.
posted by buildmyworld at 3:25 PM on February 11, 2020
I have one, not sure exactly which model but it's a "contour pillow" like this and I LOVE it. It's so great. You know how if you're on your back, a regular pillow can either 1. move behind you, esp if there's no headboard to hold it still or 2. push your chin into your neck? This prevents both of those. Cradles head in exactly correct, spine-aligned position; does not move; and miraculously also supports head in good position if you do spend some time on your side.
Is not good for tummy sleeping.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:26 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Is not good for tummy sleeping.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:26 PM on February 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am a back- and side-sleeper and find IKEA's Rolleka memory foam contour pillow to be the bee's knees.
posted by mumkin at 3:40 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by mumkin at 3:40 PM on February 11, 2020
I do use a pillow and sleep on my back mostly (sometimes side, never stomach), and it took me 30ish years to realize that having a taller pillow is more comfortable for me.
A couple of years ago I bought these Coop Home Goods pillows on Amazon and have been happy with them, though I did remove a fair amount of stuffing. Adjustable (i.e., stuffing removable) might be a good choice as you figure out your head's happy place. For me, the one solid slab of foam was too stiff and heavy; I like one that still feels like it has stuffing in it (in this case, pieces of foam, but still). Sometimes I stack the pillow linked above on top of an old flatty but I stack the foam-stuffed pillow further back (toward headboard) and the flat one a little further down (more towards my shoulders) to create sorta wedge elevation (like fshgrl's suggestion of sleeping uphill). I haven't tried an actual wedge pillow.
posted by kochenta at 3:41 PM on February 11, 2020
A couple of years ago I bought these Coop Home Goods pillows on Amazon and have been happy with them, though I did remove a fair amount of stuffing. Adjustable (i.e., stuffing removable) might be a good choice as you figure out your head's happy place. For me, the one solid slab of foam was too stiff and heavy; I like one that still feels like it has stuffing in it (in this case, pieces of foam, but still). Sometimes I stack the pillow linked above on top of an old flatty but I stack the foam-stuffed pillow further back (toward headboard) and the flat one a little further down (more towards my shoulders) to create sorta wedge elevation (like fshgrl's suggestion of sleeping uphill). I haven't tried an actual wedge pillow.
posted by kochenta at 3:41 PM on February 11, 2020
I am a back sleeper and I have a "cervical pillow" that looks like fingersandtoes pillow above. I have it specifically because I have neck muscle issues, but I've always been a back sleeper and liked a flat pillow that I could ball up under my neck anyway.
posted by Gray Duck at 3:51 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by Gray Duck at 3:51 PM on February 11, 2020
This pillow is the best. It is cheap. It is full of feathers. You can kind of pack it firm or fluff it up. I love it. I sleep on my back like a vampire with it under my head.
posted by Dmenet at 4:07 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by Dmenet at 4:07 PM on February 11, 2020
I am a truly horrible sleeper, and this wedge-shaped pillow is one of the best things I have ever owned.
It's supposed to be for people with acid reflux, and I don't think the shape would work for sleeping on your stomach, but in any other position it is incredible.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 4:17 PM on February 11, 2020
It's supposed to be for people with acid reflux, and I don't think the shape would work for sleeping on your stomach, but in any other position it is incredible.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 4:17 PM on February 11, 2020
I use Pacific Coast Bedding's Double Downaround pillow. It has (for me) an appropriate thickness and firmness (from the feather insert) and fluffiness as well.
It's the first pillow that I liked enough to re-buy, rather than trying something else after a year.
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 4:18 PM on February 11, 2020
It's the first pillow that I liked enough to re-buy, rather than trying something else after a year.
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 4:18 PM on February 11, 2020
I got one of these and I would buy again and I feel like I never wake up with any stiffness around my neck and shoulders anymore and wish I bought one years ago when I first started having pain. The height of the pillow does seem important and I am not a very standard size human so the fact that you can choose smaller sizes drew me to this one; most other contour memory foam pillows are one size which works if you are a median adult, not so much if you are very tall/broad shouldered or very petite with a proportionally longer/shorter neck so the curve doesn't hit in the right place.
posted by slow graffiti at 4:37 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by slow graffiti at 4:37 PM on February 11, 2020
I've recently started sleeping on my back at least part of the night for annoying medical reasons
I position my large, semi-flattish pillow vertically, such that it goes down my back, and so that my neck is positioned right at the top edge. The back of my head is actually not on a pillow at all, but rather kind of dangling off the top of the pillow so that my head is tilted back a little and my skull is resting on the bed itself while the pillow supports my shoulder blades and spine.
This is the only way I can seem to get to sleep on my back, and can be done with any long, soft, not-too-thick pillow that's mostly uniform foam rather than stuffing.
(This becomes more difficult when I have to prop myself up due to e.g. a cold, but it seems like head tilted slightly backward is really the key for me to be comfortable on my back in any case.)
I don't know if other people would enjoy sleeping this way or if I'm some kind of aberration, but just in case, there you go.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 6:04 PM on February 11, 2020
I position my large, semi-flattish pillow vertically, such that it goes down my back, and so that my neck is positioned right at the top edge. The back of my head is actually not on a pillow at all, but rather kind of dangling off the top of the pillow so that my head is tilted back a little and my skull is resting on the bed itself while the pillow supports my shoulder blades and spine.
This is the only way I can seem to get to sleep on my back, and can be done with any long, soft, not-too-thick pillow that's mostly uniform foam rather than stuffing.
(This becomes more difficult when I have to prop myself up due to e.g. a cold, but it seems like head tilted slightly backward is really the key for me to be comfortable on my back in any case.)
I don't know if other people would enjoy sleeping this way or if I'm some kind of aberration, but just in case, there you go.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 6:04 PM on February 11, 2020
I am also Team Buckwheat Pillow. You can make a little nest for the back of your head, and it supports your neck. It's never too hot. If you want to sleep on your side, you can push the hulls into a lump to support your head and neck.
If you need additional hulls for your pillow, you can buy them at a natural foods supplier, I bought mine from Mountain Rose Herbs.
posted by Lycaste at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2020
If you need additional hulls for your pillow, you can buy them at a natural foods supplier, I bought mine from Mountain Rose Herbs.
posted by Lycaste at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2020
I have slept on my back for 50+ years. I have sought the best pillow continuously over that time. This is my current favorite. I really like it A LOT. It is a Keetsa "good nite" pillow
posted by AugustWest at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2020
posted by AugustWest at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2020
It's a totally gross company, but I have a My Pillow that I really love (their "yellow" fill level pillow). It's a pretty under-stuffed pillow filled with torn up memory foam, so it's low profile, very re-arrangable, and much less hot than foam usually is.
posted by snaw at 6:03 AM on February 12, 2020
posted by snaw at 6:03 AM on February 12, 2020
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posted by crush at 2:00 PM on February 11, 2020