A pillow typically comes after you’ve already picked a mattress, sheets, and comforter, but it should never be an afterthought. The best pillows for side sleepers, stomach sleepers, and back sleepers vary greatly, so making an informed decision is crucial to getting the best sleep possible.

This pillow buying guide will help you home in on a head-bed that matches your needs by walking you through fill materials, as well as how to wash pillows and even how to target specific sleep problems with specialized options (such as maternity pillows).

What Type of Fill Material Should You Choose?

A pillow’s softness and support are determined by its fill materials, so knowing the different types of fill is the first step to finding a pillow that suits your needs:

Fill Power and Fill Weight

Down pillows are rated by their fill power and fill weight:

• Fill power measures down’s loft and fluffiness. High fill power, from 500 up to a luxurious 800, means that the individual down clusters take up more space—larger clusters are softer and retain their loft and firmness for a longer period of time.
• Fill weight measures the weight of down in ounces. A heavier pillow has more down stuffed into the shell, making it firmer and more supportive.

What is Your Sleeping Position?

Pillows for Back Sleepers

If you sleep on your back, the most important thing to do is keep your head and neck aligned throughout the night. Choose a thick, firm pillow (500 fill power or higher) or a contoured memory-foam pillow that directly supports the back of the neck.

SHOP: MEMORY-FOAM PILLOWS

Pillows for Side Sleepers

Side sleeping creates a gap between your head and the mattress, so you should choose a pillow to fill that space. We recommend down pillows, since they can be bunched up. Otherwise, stack a couple of standard fiber-fill pillows on top of each other.

SHOP: DOWN PILLOWS AND FIBER-FILL PILLOWS

Pillows for Stomach Sleepers

Slumbering on your stomach with the wrong type of pillow is one of the most common causes of neck pain. To prevent your head from being pushed backward at an awkward angle, use a malleable down pillow or thin fiber-fill pillow to keep the head and neck aligned.

SHOP: DOWN PILLOWS AND FIBER-FILL PILLOWS

Do You Suffer from Sleep Problems?

You’ve zeroed in on a pillow type that matches your sleep position, but why stop there? Pillows can also be used to alleviate common sources of discomfort that affect sleep. Here’s how:

Snoring

With all-over support for the head, arms, and legs, body pillows keep sleepers on their sides to help improve airflow and stop snoring.

SHOP: BODY PILLOWS 

Back, Neck, and Joint Pain

Contour pillows cradle the head and neck to keep the spine naturally aligned, relieving back pain. If your knees painfully rub against each other, pad them with a throw pillow.

SHOP: CONTOUR PILLOWS AND THROW PILLOWS

Allergies

It's not a pillow's materials that cause allergies; it's the dust that collects in them. Down-alternative pillows are typically recommended for alleviating allergies, but even they require regular cleaning and a tightly woven casing to be fully effective. No matter what type of pillow you choose, the best remedy for allergies is to wash your pillows in hot water at least twice a year.

SHOP: DOWN-ALTERNATIVE PILLOWS 

Pregnancy

Body pillows and specially designed maternity pillows hug the body to support baby bumps and slip between the knees to keep legs comfy.

SHOP: MATERNITY PILLOWS 

Acid Reflux

In addition to making it easier to read or watch TV at night, a wedge pillow keeps your torso elevated to help ease acid reflux.

SHOP: WEDGE PILLOWS

Sleep Apnea

As with acid reflux, a foam wedge pillow is one of your best options.

SHOP: FOAM-WEDGE PILLOWS

How to Care for Your Pillow

Once you’ve found and purchased the right pillow, these simple tips will help make it last:

How to Wash Pillows

Most pillows can be machine-washed on the gentle cycle, but you should always check the tag beforehand. Make sure the pillow is completely dry after washing to prevent the growth of allergenic molds. It's recommended that you wash pillows at least twice a year.

How to Keep Pillows Fluffy

Periodically fluff down pillows and buckwheat pillows to maintain their shape and loft. Dryer-safe pillows should be accompanied by a tennis ball, which bounces around to increase the pillow’s fluffiness.

When to Replace Pillows

• If you fold a fiber-fill pillow in half and it doesn’t spring back to its flat shape, it’s time for a replacement. The same goes for memory foam pillows: if your handprint doesn’t disappear after a moment, it’s lost its cradling abilities.
• Even if you wash your pillows regularly, consider buying new ones every couple of years. Dead skin and dust mites can build up during that time. These allergens can clog up your nose, affecting sleep quality.
• Your pillow needs will change throughout your life, so it’s worth revisiting what works for you periodically.

How Many Pillows Do You Need?

Do you want a clean, minimalist bed or a towering fluff mountain? Here are the bare minimums for each mattress size:

• Twin: one standard pillow will do, but you can add another if you want extra support and comfort
• Double or queen: two standard or queen-size pillows will span the width of the bed
• King or California king: king pillows are wider to accommodate the luxurious breadth of large beds; two of those will do the trick

SHOP: STANDARD PILLOWS AND KING PILLOWS

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