The outer shell can be washed separately from the inner core-and as the core is already buffered by the outer layer, it may need less washing. Youtube can also machine-wash the entire pillow, though the company notes you should remove the core from the outer section even if you run both pieces in the same load. Flip the upholstered piece over, remove the staples around the edges of the bottom covering fabric. It’s made with one big piece of memory foam, which gives it more structure than all our other top picks, and it’s ideal especially for back sleepers, who dread the idea of their heads sinking through moveable fills overnight. For back sleepers, this is less of a concern, though too-lightly-packed down may displace overnight and leave their heads with no support come morning. The feathers are less structured than foam and shredded foam fills, which can leave side sleepers’ head and neck unsupported.

The fabric cover, a soft polyester-lycra blend, is removable and can be laundered, but the foam itself is spot-clean only. The Nectar Foam Pillow has a "gusset," or rectangular panel of fabric sewn around the perimeter, that provides more loft for side sleepers. Memory foam technology is great for stomach sleeper pillows. Down pillows also frequently fall on the pricier side. She tested them for heat retention with temperature sensors and a heated blanket; weighted them down overnight to check how well the material responded and sprung back the next day; and washed them (if machine-washable, and per label instructions), to see if they lost shape or loft, shrunk, or the filling clumped. Down fill has long dominated the pillow industry as it can lend a plush surface that is responsive to pressure. Your pillow is unlikely to be the sole source for your neck pain. This may not cure your neck problems, but it can be a helpful short term solution.

What’s more, the foam may lend the pillow greater longevity because it won’t compress or become unevenly distributed over time. Low-loft pillows will generally work for mattresses that sink deeply below the sleeper’s body, such as memory foam and latex models, because there is less space between the head/neck and the sleep surface. You will encounter two pillows, natural and synthetic latex (or a blend of these two). Granucci and Mustang are two of the better known manufacturers for Honda motorcycle seats, and they make a variety of different styles that you can choose from, in a number of different price ranges. Side sleepers need “firm” pillows, which are taller and denser to prevent their neck from drooping down, but they shouldn’t be so thick and dense that they push the neck and head up. These pillows are often marked as “plush.” Back sleepers need something in the middle ground, to cradle their neck and head without letting it loll back or causing their chin to jut forward. In addition, most stomach sleepers will find the pillow too thick (an issue in general with foam pillows and this sleep position).

This mattress is latex-free with foam around coiled innersprings and has inverted seams for greater comfort. Because different fillings trap air in different ways and this affects its comfort. For your comfort throughout the night and in your waking hours, there’s one thing that should be front of mind when shopping for a pillow: spinal alignment. Most pillows that one ends up buying turn out to be too soft for support or too hard for comfort. For several months we had a rotating cast of pillows in and out of our homes and bedrooms-occasionally the same one, encased in a protective cover for hygiene, should the manufacturer claim it suited for more than one sleep position. While we sleep, the position of our head and neck can put our spine out of alignment, which prevents muscles from relaxing and recovering overnight. Engage in Physical Therapy: From daily habits to more serious regimens, there are plenty of exercises you can do to relax your neck muscles and relieve strain on the neck, shoulders, and upper back. But of course, we couldn’t neglect back sleepers, so we recruited Sarah Hagman, an editor here at Reviewed and self-proclaimed “reformed side sleeper,” to test our picks for back sleeping.