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Choosing The Right Pillow
To select the right pillow, you must consider your sleeping positions and your mattress.
Compatible with your sleeping positions
Whether you sleep on your back, side, stomach, or somewhere in between, the ideal neck (orthopedic or cervical) pillow should comfortably support your natural spinal curves.
People who sleep on their backs should have a pillow of low to medium thickness / loft. This level will maintain a neutral neck position, while anything too low or too high will cause the neck to be out of alignment with the spine and will probably be uncomfortable.
Those who sleep on their sides should have a pillow of medium to high thickness / loft to maintain neutral neck position. Again, it's important to avoid a pillow that's too high or low.
People who sleep on their stomachs usually do best with a thin pillow or no pillow at all. The common mistake to avoid here is having too high of a pillow, which will result in a crooked neck.
If you sleep in different positions throughout the night, such as both on your back and side, it may be a good idea to have different pillow types on your bed to accommodate the different positions.
Compatible with your mattress
The firmness of a mattress has much to do with how a pillow performs. A firm mattress needs a thicker pillow. This is because your body will lie higher and not sink far into a firm mattress and, consequently, your pillow will need to have more loft or thickness. By contrast, a soft mattress needs a thinner pillow because you will sleep lower by sinking into the bed and will consequently not need much pillow height. If the firmness of your mattress is between firm and soft, you'll likely need a pillow of medium thickness.