Best Firm Pillows
your pillow plays the biggest role in your comfort and support at night. A good pillow promotes good posture, blood circulation, and prevents pain and headaches.
Like mattresses, pillows come in a variety of firmnesses and thicknesses. Choosing the right pillow firmness comes down to your sleeping position and weight. We recommend firm pillows to side sleepers, back sleepers, and plus-sized individuals.
Who Should Use Firm Pillows?
Firm pillows aren’t for everyone. Your sleeping position mainly determines pillow firmness, followed by your body type. Your sleep style and size impact your posture and how much support you need to stay aligned at night.
Side Sleepers
Compared to all other people, side sleepers benefit the most from using firm pillows. When you sleep on your side, there’s a large gap between your head and your mattress. A firm and thick pillow for side sleeping is perfect for filling this space and supporting your head and neck.
Too soft of a pillow won’t support the weight of your head properly, throwing your spine out of alignment. Poor spinal alignment leads to stiffness, pain, poor circulation, headaches, and migraines. And being uncomfortable will just worsen your sleep.
Back Sleepers
Some, but not all back sleepers may prefer the support and sturdiness of a firm pillow. Firm pillows fill the gap between your head and shoulders, keeping your spine aligned.
Do you want a firm pillow for back sleeping? Then avoid overly thick options as they’ll lead to misalignment. The best pillows for back sleepers offer a slip feel that won’t push the cervical spine out of misalignment.
Back sleepers may also consider using a firm pillow under their knees at night. Placing a pillow under your knees relieves lower back pain and promotes good posture.
Plus-Sized People
As a larger person, you’ll place more weight onto your pillow, so soft pillows may not be supportive enough for you. Using a firm pillow minimizes sinkage and ensures you stay supported at nighttime. Petite people can use firm pillows if it suits their sleeping position. However, plus-sized people are comfortable on firm pillows regardless of their sleeping position.
Types of Firm Pillows
Deciding what type of pillow is the next step to finding the perfect one for you. Here are a few popular types of pillows you’ll come across when shopping. Here are a few popular types of pillows you’ll come across when shopping.
Memory Foam
Memory foam pillows are an excellent firm option if you’re looking for pain and pressure relief. The fill cushions your head and neck to soothe pressure build-up and align your spine.
We recommend memory foam pillows with cooling features because they can trap heat. This includes gel infusions, cooling cotton, knit, or bamboo fabric covers, or cooling channels.
You can find memory foam pillows in two forms: solid and shredded. Solid memory foam pillows contain a single block of foam and are firm, sturdy, and lofty. Conversely, shredded memory foam pillows feature ripped-up pieces of foam. They’re adjustable and breathable, but require occasional fluffing to maintain their loft.
Latex
Latex is a sustainable foam made from the sap of rubber trees. It’s highly durable, cooling, and responsive. Latex is a hypoallergenic material that is resistant to allergens and dust mites.
Latex is pressure-relieving but doesn’t have the same “hug-like” feel as memory foam. Instead, it tends to feel firmer and keeps your head lifted, which is great for some sleepers.
Just like memory foam pillows, latex pillows come in both shredded and solid forms. However, there are two types of latex you may come across: Dunlop and Talalay. Dunlop latex is durable and firm, while Talalay latex is soft and cushiony.
Feathers
Feather pillows are a natural pillow fill produced from the topcoats of ducks and geese. This durable material is lightweight, fluffy, and lofty.
Feather pillows aren’t the softest or most supportive. Feathers have quills, sharp ends that can poke through the pillow. The quills can scratch you and lead to the feathers falling out. Along with that, feather pillows need regular fluffing to prevent lumps.
Down
Down is another popular fill made from geese and ducks. Rather than the sharp feathers from their overcoats, down is the soft feathers from goose and duck underbellies. Down has the same fluff and loft as feathers without the spiky quills.
Although down pillows feel luxurious, they offer little to no support. Not only that but down pillows are tedious to maintain and may aggravate some allergies.
Down Alternative
Like the name suggests, down alternative is a synthetic version of down. Down alternative is a hypoallergenic fill made from polyester fibers. It’s cheap, easy to maintain, and won’t aggravate any allergies.
While down alternative is cheap, it’s not the best pillow fill out there. It traps heat, gets lumpy and flat easily, and isn’t supportive. You’ll end up having to replace a down alternative pillow often, costing you more money long-term.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a hypoallergenic, plant-based pillow fill popular throughout Asia. Buckwheat pillows contain firm and durable buckwheat hulls. Unlike other pillow fills, buckwheat biodegrades rapidly and doesn’t harm the environment.
Buckwheat offers excellent head and neck support, but it tends to feel slightly stiff. Also, the hulls crunch and scratch together when you move, which may be disruptive to your sleep.
Water
While they may sound odd, you may come across some water pillows when searching for a firm pillow. Water pillows are vinyl bags filled with water and wrapped in soft knit covers. Beyond being filled with water, these pillows are unique for their adjustability. Water pillows can be softer or firmer and thicker or thinner based on the amount of water you add.
The main issue with water pillows is the potential leaks. If your pillow has any tears or holes, it can soak both you and your mattress. Water damage to mattresses voids most warranties, meaning you’ll be responsible for repairs that would have been otherwise covered. Not only that, but water pillows are heavy and difficult to move, which is simply annoying to deal with.
