Pillow recommendations - stiff neck

[RockaLock]

Sometimes I wake up with a stiff neck/shoulder, and it’s painful when I turn my head for maybe 7-10 days.

Except this latest time, when it’s stayed stiff and sore for the last 3 weeks. It’s bad when I wake up, then eases throughout the day to the point where it’s not too bad at all and I think it’s on its way out.

And then I wake up the next morning and I’m back to square one.

My sleep is disturbed because I wake up during the night feeling uncomfortable, and I’m so tired during the daytime because of that.

So, I was after pillow recommendations for a good neck support pillow. I mainly side or front sleep. Please can anyone recommend one for me?

---

MNHQ Update
Searching for the perfect place to rest your head? Our guide to the best pillows is up to date with a wide range of options tried and tested pillows. We hope it’s helpful!

The trouble with a lot of neck pillows if you are a side sleeper is that the contour between the shoulder and the neck can be all wrong. It's hard to describe, but the cutaway slope as in the picture I've added is more comfortable than other shapes as your shoulder can sit in a natural position. I had neck surgery 20 years ago and my pillow is my most precious possession!

Hope you've found your dream pillow OP.

I was about to suggest a shaped pillow but I noticed you got one from Amazon. I got one from Jysk (skaget memory foam) that has side cut outs and I love it. The best pillow I have tried

I ordered this for my husband. Expensive but it’s helped
https://pillowworld.com/products/dunlopillo-super-comfort?variant=48851877232966&currency=GBP&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAqtE5tpo6FgozfpiJBF4QTNr_rniR&gclid=CjwKCAjwwe2_BhBEEiwAM1I7sTCxO2_E4964xUg8ajV8qRex9o-EQEz6yUnrTLBRKAGpMlmhnKFPehoC0YMQAvD_BwE

I have to admit to not being overly hopeful about this one, but I am prepared to try a few different pillows until I find one that works for me. I am also not really a huge fan of memory foam, but I suppose needs must, and I may yet be convinced.

That shape was actually the next on my list to try @Puttinginthemiles, if this one didn’t work, so it’s good to know that it works for you.

There were all sorts of weird and wonderful shaped pillows on Amazon, with spaces to put your arms and all sorts (sometimes these days I wake up with a completely numb arm, and have to shake it and slap and rub it until I get feeling back, which is fun ) but they look fugly, and I am not convinced that fancier = better. And besides, I like my silk pillowcase, so I wasn’t going to buy a weird shaped one that would only fit in the weird shaped pillowcase that comes with it!

Our pillows are made of real eiderdown. Nothing like a good feather pillow!

Many, many years ago when DH and I were courting and very poor we would go to jumble sales and buy eiderdown quilts which we made into a huge sleeping bag for secret camping weekends away from parents. 😁This was rather a long time ago.

Anyway, when we got married I emptied all the quilts and had the feathers cleaned and made into pillows. They have occasionally been washed and given new covers. You can just plump them into shape and are always perfect.

(BTW, having slept a week on an old fashioned feather bed I would NOT recommend that!)

Just looked... a new eiderdown pillow costs £1000. EEEK!! It's probably possible to buy vintage quilts still and repurpose them?

I got a shredded memory foam one and just removed foam until it was comfortable for me.

When lying on my side, I find it helpful to squash the pillow into the gap my head/shoulder leaves between my neck and the bed, so that my neck is supported. I used to experience the same and have had far less issues this way.

As soon as I saw your comment I knew I needed to buy this, it’s been ordered 😂

Simba hybrid! Absolute game changer.

OP- when you try the pillow you've bought give it at least a week to work. When I first slept on a pillow this shape it felt weird and kinda wrong because I was so used to squishy pillows. However, I will never ever go back to a normal shaped pillow now as its so comfy

I've been the same as OP and PP. Don't even want to think about the money spent on pillows 🫣. My neck usually so sore, through the night and worse in the morning to the point of terrible headaches. Found this one and it's brilliant! Especially if your a side sleeper. I use 2 some nights but one is really all you need, only thing is they don't fit great in normal pillow cases.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/dorma-dream-pillow-1000171671?defaultSkuId=30692647&branchCode=0300&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=QandP_Duvets_%5BGOO-LIA+PSB-QANDP-QUILTS%5D&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5PK_BhBBEiwAL7GTPYzUr6qFfV81DLVESDb40slxEWgOpWfcHZnWNaIYhyUoKfIsWQFSthoCTNIQAvD_BwE

@elm26 Please let me know how you get on with this squishy pillow, I am very close to ordering it too lol.

I will! ☺️

@superstar63hello! So first impressions, incredibly soft cover on it and packaged well, larger than your average pillow so needs a bigger pillowcase. I have slept on it for 3 nights and it’s very comfy but very very soft. I usually sleep with one pillow but I’ve put a pillow underneath as think my head would be more or less on the mattress with just the cloud one. I don’t know if it’s meant to be like it or if mine is faulty but you can feel the little balls/lumps of material with your hands, you know when you have an old pillow and the stuffing goes a bit lumpy? It’s still very comfortable and I can’t notice it whilst laying with it. @StarCourtI’m wondering if yours feels the same or if I should try and return and replace with a new one?

I have a memory foam pillow from Tempur. It’s reversible depending on whether you’re a side or back sleeper. I bought it in a Tempur shop where they let you try them out to make sure it’s right for you.

hi @elm26that sounds exactly how my pillow feels. I started off by putting it on top of another pillow as it felt so flat compared to what i was used to. But that adds hardness so i now only do that if im watching tv in bed. For sleeping i just use the Cloudmallow pillow on its own, im used to it now and its very comfy. I have a very thin low tog wool duvet too so no big puffy duvet looming above me. I worried about the ‘clumps’ too initially but cant feel them at all once using it and its easy to puff up. Im going away tomorrow for a week and im taking it with me.

Just in case anyone is interested, I’m two nights in on the water pillow now and I haven’t had sore neck for two days. I’m very happy with it. It’s the recommended one on Amazon. Was £40.

Try a small cheap bean bag. It moulds to your shape. It stopped my neck pain better than the orthopaedic pillows

@elm26 Thank you for reporting back. I like a soft pillow but is it so soft that when you side sleep in the middle the end comes up and touches your face?

Tempur pillows are the best, they’re well worth the money

Thanks for confirming @StarCourt!

@superstar63its very soft, I am a side sleeper (and back but at 20 weeks pregnant not allowed until baby born) and I don’t notice it touching my face. I personally love it!

Side sleeper here. I bought a Premier Inn firm pillow due to neck stiffness from my last pillow and it’s been brilliant. But I suspect, like a PP, I may have to buy another one as it is starting to compact now.

I’ve been using my new pillow for about 5 nights now (essentially it’s a shaped memory foam pillow).

It’s comfy, I don’t mind the firmness at all. And I am not waking up with a really stiff neck in the mornings any more, and any stiffness does pretty much wear off during the day. So that’s definitely an improvement.

It’s still not completely better yet, but then again whenever I’ve had a stiff neck before it’s taken a week or so to subside. So hopefully it’s on its way out.

So. I think the new pillow is helping. It’s comfy enough, and fits in a normal pillow case. So it’ll do me for now.

Thanks again for all the suggestions from everyone, and its interesting to hear about everyone else’s new pillows too!

I quite often sleep with my travel neck pillow which is really supportive
I like this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Travelon-Deluxe-Wrap-N-Rest-Pillow-Cobalt/dp/B01MQQTB51/ref=mp_s_a_1_47?crid=9R4Z2LQQKE2T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3XhEjLQbbtVrNwIQVq8gAQ-Kn82QJOrxIDSPUcerj2Ej4KhAIq7fBtuGAeWh5VcfOvQVXUUssgQ3lQL3_nTNH527BnG6XPOn_uM4PrQ9E-T9F_a0jPnCK7-9hTqov1Bj01wRiHwk-_cCh5A9SuF6QyplP7gqbIBSFvyIqcdFihNQzEPBemBOXNyN22W0PmQhL4-bUvYpGFB9GZp2Pqg0oYKw6D-LcTVfReY6xN5oO3zcxuUGq_xinVln3egcxq8bhaRRuvGXhyOuuZ85XDOoZvKd9MwfEcHTQZi-OyUc4pE.W0AXGPMAuvFasz9L5aeHLudHC4LhRIBtKOV5ADjO6wo&dib_tag=se&keywords=neck%2Bpillow%2Bfor%2Btravel&qid=1745094662&sprefix=neck%2Bpillow%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-47&xpid=RMm-nvSxzPXyb&th=1&psc=1

I struggle with this a lot, but recently it’s been so bad that I’ve started to suffer from cervicogenic headaches. The week before last I had a 5-day blinding headache on one side and could barely turn my neck.

I go to sleep on my side but wake up on my back, often with my head hanging half on / half off the pillow so it’s no wonder really. I can’t work out why though, or how to stop it. And once you get into the cycle of neck pain it’s difficult to get out of.