The Insider Pick:
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Sleep is important, and pillows are one of the key ingredients for getting a good night’s rest. There are a ton of memory foam pillows out there, but the Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow is the best one you can buy because it suits all sleepers and adjusts to fit your needs.
When you think of upgrading your bed, you probably think about getting a new mattress or maybe a new sheet set. The humble pillow, however, plays a seriously important role in getting a good night’s sleep. Having a good pillow can be the difference between waking up unable to move your head, and waking up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
Of course, there are plenty of pillows to choose from. We’ve already highlighted the best pillows overall, but these days, many people prefer to go for a memory foam pillow over any other kind of pillow — and for good reason. Memory foam pillows are better at contouring to your specific needs and keeping your spine aligned, which is much better for your neck in the long run.
There are, however, a number of things to consider before you pull the trigger on a memory foam pillow. For starters, you’ll want to think about the position that you most often sleep in – on your back, your side, your stomach, or all three. Your sleeping position will help inform the thickness and shape of the memory foam pillow that’s best for you.
You’ll also want to think about the type of memory foam that you want to have inside your pillow. Options include a slab of memory foam contoured to your head and neck or shredded memory foam that will adapt to whatever you need it to feel like.
The best memory foam pillow overall
Coop Home Goods
Why you’ll love it: The Coop Home Goods Memory Foam Pillow is fully customizable to your needs because you can take out some of the shredded memory foam to reach the perfect level of comfort.
The Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow is largely considered to be the most versatile and comfortable pillow you can buy — period. It’s filled with shredded memory foam that you can take out or put into the pillow to adjust the thickness and firmness, so it’s totally customizable to your needs. It’s also our top pillow pick overall in our pillow buying guide.
Inside the pillow, you’ll find Coop Home Goods’ propriety mix of shredded visco elastic memory foam which you can add or remove depending on your needs. The pillow comes with plenty of foam, too, so even those who prefer really thick pillows should be fine with what the Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow has to offer.
Thanks to the fact that the pillow has shredded foam, it is also quite a bit more breathable than most memory foam pillows, so those of you who tend to get hot at night should be all right.
The pillow is also hypoallergenic, comes with a five-year warranty, and is machine washable. It’s not perfect, though. While Sleepopolis gave the pillow a hefty 4.6/5 in its review, it did note that there is a slight smell to the pillow for the first few days, though that smell will eventually go away. Still, that’s a small thing to keep in mind.
Perhaps the best thing about the pillow is that it offers excellent value for money. A queen-sized memory foam pillow costs $ 54.99, and you can save $ 5 for a so-called “standard” size or pay an extra $ 5 for a “king size” pillow.
Pros: Adjustable, breathable, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Gives off slight smell for first few days of use
Buy the Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow on Amazon for $ 49.99 – $ 59.99 (price varies by size)
The best memory foam pillow for side sleepers
Brookstone
Why you’ll love it: The Brookstone BioSense Luxe is nice and soft with its memory foam and down combination filling that’s thick enough for most side-sleepers to get a good night’s sleep.
If you’re uniquely a side-sleeper and want something that will best suit your favorite sleeping position, then the Brookstone BioSense Luxe pillow from Bed Bath & Beyond is the one for you.
The pillow was specifically designed with side sleepers in mind. It’s a little thicker than some other memory foam pillows, so it should keep your neck aligned properly when you sleep. That, in turn, should help prevent waking up with a sore neck or doing any damage to your neck over time. Just because the pillow is thick doesn’t mean that it’s uncomfortable. The Brookstone pillow is still pretty soft and it makes use of BioSense’s memory foam core, coupled with down filling to ensure maximum comfort.
The cover of the pillow is also machine washable and offers temperature control so that your pillow stays nice and cool through the night.
There are some downsides to consider, of course. This really isn’t the best pillow for those who aren’t side-sleepers or who sleep in multiple different positions. It’s also a little pricey, coming in at $ 89.99 for the queen size pillow.
Pros: Nice thickness for side-sleepers, memory foam and down mix ensures softness
Cons: A little expensive, not great for non side-sleepers
Buy the Brookstone BioSense Luxe Pillow from Bed Bath & Beyond for $ 89.99
The best memory foam pillow for stomach sleepers
Elite Rest/Business Insider
Why you’ll love it: If you’re a stomach sleeper, you need a thin pillow to prevent doing damage to your neck and back muscles — The Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper Pillow measures only 2.5-inches.
If you use a thick pillow and sleep on your stomach, you could be doing all kinds of damage to your back and neck because tyour neck is arched, causing the muscles to constrict. The Elite Labs Ultra Slim Sleeper Pillow aims to prevent neck contortions, and as the name suggests, it’s ultra slim. In fact, it’s only 2.5-inches thick.
Even though it’s super thin, the pillow is much more comfortable than you’d expect. Thanks to its memory foam construction, it should offer plenty of support and it will contour to your needs during the night. It’s also designed so that it doesn’t move around too much at night.
If you worry a lot about hygiene or have allergies, the Elite Rest Pillow is a good purchase because the pillow cover is hypoallergenic, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and bed bug resistant. Reviews on Amazon are pretty positive, too. It has a 4.4-star rating average, with 70 percent of the reviews giving it 5 stars. Luckily, the pillow isn’t too expensive, either, coming in at $ 59.99.
There are a few downsides, but for stomach-sleepers, the pros will far outweigh the cons. Like some other memory foam pillows, it will smell a little when you immediately get it, but airing it out should help prevent that.
Pros: Extremely thin for stomach-sleepers, not overly expensive, flat side prevents movement at night, very hygiene-conscious
Cons: Might smell a little initially
Buy the Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper Memory Foam Pillow on Amazon for $ 59.99
READ MORE: Looking For Best Pillows for Your Needs? Here’s How To Choose One.