Orthopedic pillow: how to choose the right height for your sleeping position and mattress
· updated
The most important thing about an orthopedic pillow is its height, not its material or price. A pillow fills the gap between your head and the mattress so that your neck stays in line with your spine. That gap depends on three things: your sleeping position, the width of your shoulders and the firmness of your mattress. Side sleepers need a higher pillow, back sleepers a lower one, and stomach sleepers the lowest one or none at all. On a soft mattress the shoulder sinks in, so the pillow needs to be lower than on a firm one.
The material answers a second question — how the pillow behaves under your head: latex springs back and regains its shape at once, while memory foam slowly moulds to your contour. Below is how to choose by each of these parameters, using the pillows in our catalogue as examples.
Why height matters most
If the pillow is too high, the head tilts towards the chest or up; if it is too low, the head drops. Either way the neck stays at an angle all night, and you feel it in the morning. The right height is the one at which the head lies as a continuation of the spine rather than at an angle to it.
You can check it in the shop or at home: lie down in your usual position and ask someone to look from the side or from behind. The line from the back of your head through the neck to the back should be straight — no bend up or down.
Side, back or stomach: what height you need
Side sleeping needs the highest pillow: it has to fill the distance from your ear to the mattress, which is roughly the width of your shoulder. A useful guide is the distance from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder. The broader the shoulders, the higher the pillow.
Back sleeping needs a lower pillow. It should support the natural curve of the neck without pushing the chin towards the chest. A pillow with a neck roll works better here than a flat one: the roll fills the curve and the head lies lower.
Stomach sleeping needs the lowest pillow or none at all. A high pillow in this position twists the neck upwards and sideways at the same time.
If you fall asleep in one position and wake up in another, go by the one you spend more time in. Usually that is the position you wake up in.
Why mattress firmness changes the pillow height you need
This is rarely mentioned when choosing a pillow, although the difference is significant.
On a soft mattress the shoulder sinks deeper and the distance from ear to surface shrinks, so the pillow needs to be lower. On a firm mattress the shoulder barely sinks, so the pillow needs to be higher. That is why a pillow that was perfect on your old mattress may turn out too high or too low on a new one — especially if you moved from soft to firm or the other way round.
The practical conclusion: it makes sense to choose a pillow after the mattress, not before. And if you switch to a noticeably firmer or softer mattress, check your pillow too. How mattress firmness is matched to body weight is covered separately: how to choose a mattress.
A pillow with two rolls: which side to use
Contoured orthopedic pillows often have two rolls of different height — not for decoration, but so you can choose the height by turning the pillow over.
Two models in our catalogue are made this way (sizes and roll heights as given in the technical specifications on the product page):
| Pillow | Size | Rolls | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latex «Kontur» | 60×38 cm | 8.5 and 11 cm | 18,000 ₸ |
| Ergofoam Neck Supported Visco | 46×29.5 cm | 9.5 and 7.5 cm | 18,900 ₸ |
How to use it: start with the lower roll under your neck. If your head drops noticeably towards the mattress when you lie on your side, turn the pillow to the higher roll. Two weeks on each side tell you more than a single night: the neck does not get used to a new pillow straight away.
A difference of 2–2.5 cm between the rolls sounds small, but the neck feels it. That is why a pillow with two heights is a sensible choice if you are not sure what you need: it is harder to get wrong than a pillow with a single height.
Latex or memory foam
Both materials hold their shape and do not clump the way down or polyester fibre does. The difference is in how they respond to pressure.
Latex is resilient: it springs back under the head and regains its shape as soon as you turn. It suits people who change position often during the night and do not like the feeling of sinking in.
Memory foam (viscoelastic foam) slowly adapts to the contour of the head and neck and just as slowly returns to its shape. It gives an enveloping feel. A known property of the material is that it holds warmth, which is why some pillows have air channels for ventilation.
In our catalogue, the memory-foam pillows are made by the Turkish manufacturer Ergofoam:
- Ergofoam Air Therapy (blue and purple) — 60×40 cm, viscoelastic foam with air channels, Micro Spandex cover, 25,900 ₸;
- Ergofoam Neck Supported Visco — 46×29.5 cm, rolls 9.5 and 7.5 cm, 18,900 ₸.
The latex pillows are the two «Kontur» models, both 18,000 ₸: one with two rolls (8.5 and 11 cm), the other a classic shape with no rolls, 9–10 cm high. It suits people used to sleeping on an ordinary pillow.
Size: standard or compact
60×40 cm for Air Therapy and 60×38 cm for the latex «Kontur» is the familiar size that takes a standard pillowcase. It gives freedom of movement: you can turn your head without sliding off the pillow.
46×29.5 cm is a compact neck pillow. It suits people who sleep mostly on their back and in one position, and it is handy for travel. For those who toss and turn a lot it may be too small.
What a pillow will not do
An orthopedic pillow is a way to support the neck properly during sleep, not a treatment. If your neck or head hurts regularly, or your arms go numb, see a doctor first. A pillow is chosen after that consultation, not instead of it. No pillow, ours included, treats osteochondrosis or a herniated disc, and promising otherwise would be dishonest.
In short
- Height matters more than material. The neck should lie as a continuation of the spine.
- On your side — higher (guide: from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder), on your back — lower, on your stomach — the lowest.
- The softer the mattress, the lower the pillow. Choose the pillow after the mattress.
- A pillow with two rolls (for example 8.5 and 11 cm, or 9.5 and 7.5 cm) lets you choose the height by turning it over. Try each side for two weeks.
- Latex springs back at once; memory foam slowly moulds to your contour.
- If the pain is regular, see a doctor rather than buying a new pillow.
You can browse and compare pillows in the pillows section. If you are unsure about height, tell a manager how you sleep and what mattress you have — that is enough to narrow the choice down to one or two models.