Pillows: How to Choose a Bed Pillow

What the pillows section covers

This section is about the pillow under your head and the ones around it. Bed pillows by fill and firmness. Pillows shaped for a sleep position. Body, pregnancy, knee and wedge pillows. Reading and lumbar pillows. Travel pillows. Kids' and toddler pillows. Each type has its own page with a table, and this page explains how to choose between them and how to read those tables.

Here's the rule I'd give a neighbor at Thursday soup. Pick for your sleep position first, your fill second, everything else third. The loft and firmness fields tell you more than the word "supportive" on a box ever will. (I have nothing against the word "supportive". It's just never told me a single number.)

Buy a pillow for your sleep position first

At the hotel, the front desk kept a pillow menu for guests. I kept notes on what people actually asked for, mostly because I like notes. The surprise was that very few requests were for softer or firmer. Most were for higher or flatter. People knew their pillow was wrong. They just didn't have the word for what was wrong, and the word was height.

That height is called loft: how tall the pillow stands. The Better Sleep Council says higher loft suits side sleepers and lower loft suits back and stomach sleepers. Its general test is that your pillow should keep your neck and spine in line, as if you were standing with good posture.

• Side sleepers. The tallest pillow, because it fills the space between your ear and your shoulder. See pillows for side sleepers.
• Back sleepers. A medium loft that supports the neck without pushing your chin toward your chest. See pillows for back sleepers.
• Stomach sleepers. A very soft, thin pillow or none at all, the Better Sleep Council says, so your neck isn't bent at an awkward angle. See thin pillows and pillows for stomach sleepers.
• Combination sleepers. Something in the middle, or a fill you can adjust. See pillows for back and side sleepers.

If you aren't sure which one you are, the guide to the best sleeping positions walks through each, and the pillow quiz asks a few questions and points you to a type.

The fill decides feel, weight and care

Fill is what's inside the pillow. It decides how the pillow feels, how it holds its height, how heavy it is and how you clean it. The Better Sleep Council notes that down and feather pillows need fluffing, while foam holds its shape longer.

• Memory foam. Dense foam that slowly takes your shape. Usually one solid piece, so the loft is fixed.
• Shredded memory foam. Small foam pieces in a zippered cover. If the maker says the fill is removable, you can take some out to lower it.
• Latex. Springier than memory foam, and it pushes back faster.
• Down and feather. Light and squashable. They need fluffing to get their height back.
• Down alternative. Polyester fiber made to feel like down.
• Buckwheat. Hulls that shift under your head. Firm and heavy, and some makers let you take hulls out.
• Others. Wool, kapok, water and gel pillows each have their own page.

One label to read slowly: "bamboo". The FTC says a product can be called bamboo only if it's made directly from bamboo fiber. Rayon made from bamboo has to say rayon. On a bamboo pillow, "bamboo" often describes the cover, so check the fill field and the cover fabric field separately.

Adjustable fill is the honest answer when you don't know your height

This is my one strong opinion on pillows, and you can check it against the listing. If you don't know what loft you need, buy a pillow whose maker says the fill can be added or removed. Then you find your height at home, a handful at a time, instead of guessing from a photo. Our tables have an "Adjustable height / loft" field, and it's marked only when the maker says so. Solid foam can't do this. See adjustable pillows.

Loft and firmness are two different numbers

People mix these up all the time, and so do pillow boxes. Loft is how tall the pillow is. Firmness is how much it gives when you press on it. A tall pillow can be soft, and a thin one can be firm.

• Firm pillows. Give little when you press down. Firm and tall aren't the same thing either, so check the loft.
• Soft pillows. Give more under your head. Soft and thin aren't the same thing, so check the loft here too.

The Better Sleep Council puts the trade-off plainly: a pillow too limp won't support you, and one too dense can be uncomfortable. Firmness has no national scale. One maker's "medium" is another maker's "firm", so our tables print the maker's own word and leave it at that.

Shaped pillows are types, not treatments

Some pillows are built for a job instead of a bed. These names describe a shape. They aren't health claims, and we don't write them that way.

• Cervical and contour pillows. A shaped pillow with a raised edge for the neck. There's a guide on how to use a cervical pillow.
• Body pillows and pregnancy pillows. Long pillows you hug or lie along. U-shaped and C-shaped ones wrap around you.
• Knee pillows. A small pillow that sits between the knees for side sleepers.
• Wedge pillows. A triangle that raises the upper body or the legs.
• Reading pillows and lumbar support pillows. For sitting up in bed or in a chair.
• Neck pillows and ergonomic pillows. Shapes sold for neck position, described in the maker's words.

When a listing makes a health promise, we quote the maker or describe the shape plainly. A pillow can make lying down more comfortable. It can't diagnose or fix anything. If neck or back pain is what sent you shopping, start with how to sleep with neck pain and a talk with your doctor.

Pillow sizes: match the pillow and the case

The federal labeling rule published by NIST uses a standard pillow of 20 x 26 inches, with a standard pillowcase of 20 x 30 inches, as its example. Beyond standard, sizes vary by maker. A queen size pillow is longer than a standard one and a king size pillow longer still, but the exact inches are whatever the label says.

Two habits save trouble. Read the pillow's finished size on its label, then buy a pillowcase whose label names that pillow size. Pillowcase labels state the size of pillow they're made for. Bigger isn't automatically better, either. A king pillow on a full bed hangs off both sides, and every morning it looks like the bed is wearing a hat. See standard size pillows and the bedding size guide.

Care, washing and when to replace a pillow

First, read the care tag. Federal textile labeling covers pillows, so the label has to name the fibers, the country of origin and the maker or its registered number. The care instructions are the maker's, and they differ a lot by fill.

The Better Sleep Council says memory foam pillows aren't washing machine or dryer friendly, latex shouldn't be soaked or wrung, and down and feather pillows can usually go through a gentle cycle and a low dryer. It still tells you to check the instructions that came with the pillow. If you want a pillow you can throw in the washer, make that your filter before you fall for a fill. Our guide on how to wash pillows goes step by step.

On replacing: the Better Sleep Council says its research points to a new pillow about every 2.8 years. Down alternative pillows tend to last about 1 to 2 years, it says, and polyester pillows 6 months to 2 years. The signs are easier to remember than the numbers. Sagging, lumps that won't fluff out and yellowing all mean it's time. (Dev asked whether a pillow counts as "sagging" if it was flat when he bought it. It does.)

How to read the pillow tables on this site

Every type page has a table. Here's how it works, so a blank cell doesn't fool you.

• Fields appear only when the maker states them. Fill, loft, firmness, sleep position, size and cover fabric come from the maker first, then the listing.
• Loft comes from the maker. Amazon's "thickness" row is often wrong on pillows, so we don't import it.
• Claims need the maker's words. "Cooling" shows only when the maker explains how: the fabric, a gel or a phase-change material. CertiPUR-US and OEKO-TEX show only when the maker states them for that model.
• Safety fields always show. On kids' and pregnancy pillows, the age guidance, safety warning and pregnancy wording fields say "Not stated by the maker" when the maker is silent. A blank there is information too.

What those two certifications mean, briefly. CertiPUR-US certifies the foam inside a product: made without formaldehyde, mercury, lead and other heavy metals, with low VOC emissions under 0.5 parts per million. It covers the foam, not the cover. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 means the textile was tested for harmful substances, and you can check a certificate number on its Label Check.

No price appears in any table. Prices change too often, so every row has a "Check price" button instead.

Travel and kids' pillows

Travel pillows are their own small world: U-shaped neck pillows in memory foam or inflatable versions, judged by weight, packed size and whether a carry bag comes along. Those fields show when the maker states them.

Kids' pillows and toddler pillows are a different matter, and I'll keep it plain. The American Academy of Pediatrics says pillows and other soft bedding don't belong in a baby's sleep space, and its safe-sleep advice covers babies up to 1 year. For an older child, follow the maker's stated minimum age. Our tables list a kids' pillow only when the maker states an age, and show "Not stated by the maker" for any warning the maker leaves out.

Where to go next

• Not sure of your position? The best sleeping positions.
• Want a starting point? The pillow quiz.
• Ready to compare? The best pillows list, built on a stated rule.
• Cleaning day? How to wash pillows.
• Curious about hulls? Buckwheat pillow benefits.

Fluff it, check the tag, and give the old one a proper retirement.