If you love sleeping on your stomach but hate waking up to a stiff neck, back pains, and a congested nose — you’re not alone.
Though only a small number of Americans favor the stomach sleeping position, their most common complaint is neck and back pain. Sleeping on your stomach curves your spine awkwardly, and turning your head to one side stresses your neck.
However, if this is your most comfortable sleeping position, the best you can do is find the right pillow for comfort and proper spine alignment.
Here’s our list of the best pillows for stomach sleepers, and we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of what makes them awesome down below.
- Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow
- Layla Kapok Pillow
- Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper Memory Foam Pillow
- Belly Sleep Belly Sleeper Pillow
- Brooklinen Down Alternative Pillow
But before we get on with our list, let’s take a look at what to look for in the right pillow.
How to Choose the Best Pillow for Stomach Sleepers
Loft and Height
The ideal pillow should be thin and low-lofted (less than 3 inches thick) to provide a sleep free from neck pain.
A high pillow will raise your head and neck awkwardly and may give you a forward head posture, causing you unbearable muscle pain.
Density and Firmness
The pillow should be soft with minimal resistance to your weight. Your head should sink quickly, bringing alignment to your neck and spine.
It should be noted, pillow fillings made from shredded memory foam will give you firm support while conforming to your body. That’s why all of our featured pillows are made with blended memory foam.
Cooling and Breathability
The pillow filling or cover fabric should have some cooling effect to give you sweat-free nights.
For example, pillows infused with cooling gel particles such as the Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow and Belly Sleep Belly Sleeper Pillow conduct heat from your body, making you cooler.
For ideal alignment, your head should be positioned face down on your pillow.
A breathable fabric made from cotton or bamboo will allow you to sleep this way comfortably.
Materials
The type of material used in filling and weaving the pillow cover will determine the shape, moldability, breathability, cooling, and ultimately the pillow’s comfort level.
Look out for pillow fillings made from:
- Quality memory foam
- Microfiber
- Down
- Down alternatives
Memory foam is the silver bullet in stomach sleeper pillows. Pillow makers have found unique ways of blending it with other materials to create supportive and comfortable pillows.
Now let’s dig deeper into our best pillows for stomach sleeping.
The Top Pillows for Stomach Sleepers
Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow — Best Overall
If you’re looking for a fantastic all-around pillow, the Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow has you covered. This pillow is adjustable, cooling, breathable, and hypoallergenic.
The pillow’s cover comes with a well-hidden zipper that allows you to remove excess fill and customize it to your liking.
If you’re a combination sleeper wanting a firmer loft, the pillow comes with an extra half-pound of filling, too.
You also don’t have to worry about an unsightly shape when you remove excess fill because the pillow has a stretchable polyester liner that keeps everything in place.
Unlike your regular pillow, the Eden pillow has a gusset all around it that provides extra support and shape all night long.
Its super soft pillow cover is made from Coop’s Lulltra signature fabric using sustainable bamboo and polyester and is resistant to dust mites and other allergens.
Hot sleepers will love the pillow’s fill — made from gel-infused shredded memory foam mixed with microfiber to absorb heat from your body and make you cooler.
The memory foam is also hypoallergenic, making it impossible for moisture, dust mites, and mold to thrive in your pillow and providing an allergen-free sleep.
The pillow is machine washable, although Coop recommends you only wash it once a year to maintain structural integrity.
Before washing the pillow, use safety pins to secure the inner cover shut to avoid the fill from spilling out. After washing, completely dry the pillow as the memory foam can degrade when kept wet for long.
What’s more, you’re sure to find a size that fits your bed as the Eden pillow comes in standard, queen, and king-size dimensions. Plus, you get free shipping within the US.
And after all that, if you still don’t like the Eden pillow, you can return it within 100 days for a full refund.
It also comes with a generous 5-year warranty that covers material damage or manufacturer defects.
Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow
With Coop, you can customize your pillow to achieve your ideal loft and density for deep, restful sleep and energized mornings.
Layla Kapok Pillow — Best for Allergies
No one enjoys waking up to a stuffed nose, sneezing, or coughing fits, crowned with a stiff neck.
The unique filling and cover that come with the Layla Kapok pillow will ensure you sleep and wake up feeling rejuvenated.
The pillow’s clever blend of Kapok fiber and reactive memory foam makes it super comfortable for stomach sleepers with neck pains.
While the Kapok fiber makes the pillow soft, lightweight, and airy, the memory foam is moldable and conforms to your body to support your head, neck, and shoulders.
The pillow cover fabric is woven with CuTEC — a copper-infused yarn with antimicrobial properties to fight germs, remove odor, and keep your pillow clean. It also has cooling effects to regulate your body temperature.
The latest design has a zipper so you can remove the excess filling and adjust the pillow to a low loft ideal for stomach sleepers.
The pillow comes in queen and king-sized dimensions.
You get free shipping to the US, and if the pillow doesn’t give you a good night’s sleep, you can return within 120 days for a full refund. It also comes with a generous 5-year warranty that covers natural material damage.
Layla Kapok Pillow
Premium memory foam that’s CertiPUR-US® Certified, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. It’s soft yet supportive and the Copper fibers in the cover helps to dissipate body heat, keeping your head chill.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper Memory Foam — Best Pillow for Neck Pain
If you love the stomach sleeping position but often wake up with a stiff neck, tense shoulders, and a bad mood, the Ultra Slim Sleeper Memory Foam Pillow is for you.
At only 2.5 inches tall, this pillow is so thin that you may underestimate its comfort. But the hypoallergenic memory foam filling gives it firm support while conforming to your head and neck. Its unique dual shape also adds to its stability with a flat bottom and a round top.
It has a soft cotton cover that absorbs moisture from your skin, giving you cooler nights. The pillow cover is also removable and machine-washable.
The pillow comes in one standard size only, and if you are in the contiguous US, you’ll get free delivery. However, the trial period only spans 30 days, so if you don’t like the pillow, you must return it and claim your full refund within that window.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper Memory Foam
Consumers praise how flat this pillow really is without sacrificing comfort or support, and find it to be a firm pillow with proper contouring to fit their head and neck.
Belly Sleep Belly Sleeper Pillow — Best for Cooling
We love that the Belly Sleep Belly Sleeper Pillow is designed exclusively for tummy sleepers who snore and sweat at night.
The pillow is pretty flat at 2.5 inches tall and is filled with polyurethane memory foam — making it supportive and moldable to your head and neck while preventing snoring.
The memory form is also infused with cooling gel particles to absorb heat and regulate your body temperature as you sleep.
The removable pillow cover is made from a mix of polyester and bamboo to ensure it’s breathable, odor-free, and absorbs moisture away from your skin. Although the pillow cover is machine washable, the pillow should only be spot-cleaned to keep the memory foam intact.
The pillow comes in one size with free delivery to the US. If it doesn’t suit your needs, return it within 30 days to get a full refund. Belly Sleep confidently provides a lifetime warranty (or a 100% quality guarantee) on every pillow.
Belly Sleep Belly Sleeper Pillow
Belly Sleep is the first company to focus solely on stomach sleepers…and The Belly Sleeper Pillow is where it all starts!
Brooklinen Down Alternative Pillow — Best Value
Down pillows made from animal products such as goose feathers are soft and plush. But they are also quite expensive and can give you allergies, especially if you sleep face down.
Luckily, value-minded, vegan, and allergy-prone stomach sleepers can rest easy with this Brooklinen Down Alternative pillow.
The pillow is filled with shaved microfiber fill, giving it a soft feel reminiscent of down materials. You can choose from three firmness levels: plush, mid-plush, and firm.
The plush pillow works best for stomach sleepers as it’s soft and conforms to your head and neck. The pillow edges are double-stitched so the filling stays in shape, even when you toss and turn.
You can comfortably sleep face down as the pillow cover is made from sateen that is breathable and absorbs moisture. The pillow cover is also removable, so you can clean it frequently to keep it fresh.
However, only spot-clean the pillow to maintain its quality.
The pillow comes in standard and king-sized dimensions.
With free shipping within the US, a generous 365-days trial period, and a lifetime warranty, you’ve no reason not to try out this plush pillow.
Brooklinen Down Alternative Pillow
The award-winning Down Alternative Pillow is the best non-Down option on the market and is the softest and fluffiest pillow in the Brooklinen lineup.
Verdict: Best Pillow for Stomach Sleepers
A stomach sleeper can sleep flat without a pillow, but getting the right pillow will lift your head and neck in alignment with your spine for unmatched comfort. While our review will point you in the right direction, remember to combine your stomach sleeper pillow with the perfect mattress type to get the best sleeping experience.
Are you a stomach, back, side, or combination sleeper?
At Sleep Reviews, we love to dig into all sleeping products and give you researched, tested, and unbiased reviews to help you make an informed decision on your next purchase.
