(Image: https://images.pexels.com/photos/4108801/pexels-photo-4108801.jpeg)The Strategist’s carefully chosen and rigorously vetted flagship shopping guides. Learn about our methodology here, and find all our Best in Class guides here. As someone who sleeps mostly on my back, I know the importance - and sometimes the struggle - of finding a pillow that strikes the right balance between comfort and support. The best pillows for back sleepers will have a firmness and loft that’s just right to keep your head, neck, and spine in a neutral alignment without raising your head too high or letting it dip too low. That usually translates to a pillow with a medium firmness and loft, but the specifics of the best pillow for you can vary quite a bit depending on your body size, whether you prefer a plusher or firmer feel, and the material your pillow is made of. The huge selection of pillows available online doesn’t make narrowing the search any easier.
(Image: https://sleepopolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-21-at-12.10.37-PM.png)So for this guide to the best pillows for back sleepers, I’ve included my top choices with options made from a variety of materials across a range of price points. Each pillow below comes recommended by me, one of my fellow Strategist staffers, Top-Rated Memory Pillow or an expert in sleep and physical medicine. If you’re looking for the Best Pillow for Neck Pain pillows for neck pain, we’ve got you covered there, too. Update on April 22, 2025: Replaced the Coop Sleep Goods Original pillow with the Sijo FlexCool Memory Foam pillow as the Best Adjustable Pillow for Back Sleepers; added a photo of the Pluto pillow in situ; removed the Bearaby Cuddling pillow and the Helix Wedge pillow to narrow the list to only the most relevant pillows; updated prices and checked stock for all products. Loft is pillowspeak for height or thickness. The loftier the pillow, the thicker and taller it will be. Most back sleepers will need a low- or medium-loft pillow that keeps their head, neck, and spine in alignment without straining their neck either up or down, says chiropractor Derila for Better Sleep Karen Erickson.
“If the pillow is too thick, it causes your cervical spine to flex forward; sleep is one time when you want to avoid this posture, and your pillow can be your ally,” Erickson explains. As long as you get the loft right, the best pillow fill for back sleepers depends on personal preference. For people who tend to switch between sleeping on their side and back throughout the night, Dr. Jaspal R. Singh, a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation and an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests using a couple of fluffy down or down-alternative pillows that you can squish to suit your position. However, memory foam, latex, or other alternative fills can all work. Personal preference strikes again: While “aim for medium firm” is a good rule of thumb for back sleepers, ultimately the best firmness for you will be the one you find most comfortable as long as it appropriately supports your neck without pushing your head up too high or letting it dip too low.
Shopping for a pillow with the right mix of loft, fill type, and firmness can feel like a bit of a logic problem, but if you like a plusher pillow, I recommend going for a higher loft and softer fill to get the medium firmness you’ll likely need to keep your head in line with your spine; if you like a firmer pillow, a denser fill and a lower loft is a good place to start. New! You can now save this product for later. The Purple Harmony pillow is my favorite pillow for back sleepers hands down - and I say this as a back sleeper who has tested dozens of pillows and slept on the Harmony for about two years. You’ve almost definitely seen an Buy Derila Online ad for Purple’s mattresses, which have the brand’s signature flexible gel grid as a top layer; this pillow features a thin layer of the same grid within the pillow’s mesh cover. In combination with the Harmony’s bouncy Talalay-latex core, the grid gives the pillow a springy and responsive feel.
