Best pillow for side sleepers 2024: Sleep in comfort with our favourite memory foam and hollowfibre pillows
Discover the best ergonomic pillows for sleeping on your side and waking up in comfort
Having a great mattress is one thing but you shouldn’t forget about giving your head the proper support it needs: arguably, finding the best pillow for you should be next on your list when bedroom shopping. The best pillows for side sleepers help to keep your head in a neutral and comfortable position with enough ‘loft’ (or height).
In this article, you’ll find five different pillows for side sleepers from some of the top brands in the sleep business with a range of shapes, sizes, firmness levels and more. Prices start at just £15 for a value for money pillow while a more premium option will cost around £100.
We’ve brought these recommendations to you with comprehensive market research including scouring manufacturer websites, spec sheets and user reviews. Below you’ll find our top picks, covering all the information you need such as materials, dimensions and washing instructions, so you can find the best model for your needs and tastes. Below this, you’ll find a buying guide with expert comments so you know how to choose the best pillow.
Best pillow for side sleepers: At a glance
| Best soft pillow | Kally Sleep The Ultimate Side Sleeper Pillow | From £24 | Check price at Kally Sleep |
| Best memory foam pillow | Otty Deluxe Pure Pillow | £70 | Check price at Otty |
| Best value soft pillow | Silentnight Side Sleeper | £15 | Check price at Habitat |
The best pillows for side sleepers you can buy in 2024
1. Kally Sleep The Ultimate Side Sleeper Pillow: Best soft pillow for side sleepers
Price when reviewed: From £24 | Check price at Kally Sleep
- Great for… simultaneous support and softness
- Not so great for… those put off by the unusual shape
This hollowfibre pillow from sleep specialists Kally manages to be soft and supportive at the same time, thanks to an innovative box design that will have other pillow makers wishing they would thought of it first.
The Kally Side Sleeper pillow has that wonderful hotel-quality softness, but its walled shape is more supportive for your shoulder and neck than a standard soft pillow, making it comfy to fall asleep on and great for preventing joint pain. It has a really luxurious feel thanks to its bouncy hollowfibre filling, which is treated to protect against allergens and bacteria, and it doesn’t get clammy.
Despite being an unusual shape the pillow is a standard size, so you can adorn it with your favourite pillowcase. It comes with a removable cover made from breathable poly-cotton. Like the cover, the pillow itself can be machine washed at 40˚C, so you can potentially use it for years longer than a cheap standard pillow and the structured design helps ensure it doesn’t lose its supportive shape. Kally also offers a 14-night “sleep trial” on selected products, to customers ordering direct from its online store. During this time, you can return your pillow if you’re not happy with it.
Key features – Filling: Hollowfibre; Cover: Cotton (machine washable 40˚C); Size (WDH): 70 x 40 x 15cm
2. Silentnight Side Sleeper: Best value soft pillow for side sleepers
Price when reviewed: £15 | Check price at Argos
- Great for… hotel-style comfort on a budget, hypoallergenic cover
- Not so great for… anyone needing a firm pillow
Silentnight’s Side Sleeper pillow is advertised as medium/firm, but buyers report that it’s actually quite soft and may not provide enough support for some. It does, however, deliver that lovely hotel-style puffy-pillow feeling for a great price. The hollowfibre filling is bouncy and comfy, the microfibre cover is breathable and hypoallergenic, and you can stick the whole thing in the washing machine and tumble dryer for top-notch hygiene.
Key features – Filling: Hollowfibre; Cover: Microfibre (machine washable); Size (WD): 69 x 46cm
3. Otty Deluxe Pure Pillow: Best memory foam pillow for side sleepers
Price when reviewed: £70 | Check price at Otty
- Great for… balanced comfort and support
- Not so great for… tight budgets
Memory foam pillows can be a bit of a mixed bag: they can be comfortable and supportive, but not everyone gets on with the feeling of foam and it’s notorious for getting warm as it retains body heat. That said, of all the pillows I’ve reviewed, Otty’s Deluxe Pure Pillow is one of the best overall.
Don’t let its boxy shape fool you; the Deluxe Pure is comfortable while still providing the right amount of support for your head and neck. My sleeping position alternates between my side and my back, and Otty’s pillow provides consistent comfort and support regardless of how I’m lying. It’s also made from bamboo and infused with charcoal, materials that are lauded for their antibacterial and moisture-wicking properties, and I’ve never felt too hot during the night while using one. You can also remove the pillow’s cover and wash it at up to 40°C.
It’s not the cheapest option, but Otty gives you 14 days to try it out, with the promise of a hassle-free return and refund (though you’ll need to pay the delivery charges). As with many bed-in-a-box brands, Otty also regularly offers promotional discounts on its website.
Read our full Otty Deluxe Pure pillow review
Key features – Filling: Memory foam; Cover: Polyester (machine washable at 40°C); Size (WDH): 60 x 40 x 12cm
4. Woolroom Natural British Wool Pillow: Best eco-friendly cooling pillow for side sleepers
Price when reviewed: £40 | Check price at Woolroom
- Great for… breathable wool, 30-night sleep trial
- Not so great for… vegans
British bedding specialist Woolroom uses voluminous balls of ethically-sourced wool to fill its pillows, creating a luxurious alternative to goose down. These pillows aren’t vegan – wool is an animal product, after all – but they’re a great cruelty-free, naturally hypoallergenic and wonderfully cooling alternative to feathers and down.
This pillow is quite lofty (15cm) and it’s packed tightly enough with wool to give medium/firm support, so despite its cosy feel it will keep your head, neck and shoulders well-supported. It’s also extremely breathable, thanks to its 100% natural materials and quilted cotton percale cover, which helps to wick moisture away from your body and stop you getting clammy. The main downside is it needs to be dry cleaned, although the cover is machine-washable.
Key features – Filling: Wool (dry-clean only); Cover: Cotton (machine washable); Size (WDH): 74 x 48 x 15cm
5. Simba Body Pillow: Best body pillow
Price when reviewed: £87 | Check price at Simba
- Great for… pregnant users
- Not so great for… smaller budgets or those who find larger pillows invasive
Body pillows won’t be for everyone. However, if you like something to cradle during the night, Simba’s body pillow is a very good choice. Its cover is soft and cool, and its gently curved shape is supportive, particularly for pregnant users – often the target demographic for this sort of pillow.
One downside I found was that the cover’s cube grid-like patterning isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing. Since it doesn’t fit into a standard pillow case, it would be nice if Simba made some prettier cases it could sell alongside it but, at the end of the day, comfort is much more important than looks and it is very comfortable.
It’s also very expensive. However, like the Otty pillow featured above, you can often find it heavily discounted.
Key features – Filling: Combed polyester fibre; Cover: Cotton (machine washable at 40°C); Size (LD): 120 x 35cm
How to choose the best pillow for you
What type of pillow is best for side-sleepers?
“We would normally recommend a higher pillow or even two pillows for side sleepers rather than one, for more support,” explains Gary Jones, physiotherapist at Physio 206. Don’t just dig out an extra old pillow from the loft and chuck it on top, though. A healthy pillow is a new pillow. “Think about how many hours you sleep each week,” said Jones. “Your car has an annual MOT, but how often do you do an MOT of your pillow? It’s literally: let’s wait until it’s gone threadbare.”
Sleeping on your side is popular for good reason: it’s comfortable. It naturally maintains healthy spinal alignment and reduces pressure points all over your body. However, if you don’t choose a pillow with enough depth to fill the space beneath your head and neck, that comfy foetal position could still leave you waking up with a crick in your neck. Here are a few pointers to remember…
Moulded support pillows are ideal for side sleepers because their high raised section provides support for your neck and room for your shoulder without pushing your head up high too. “A moulded pillow with a high bit for your neck lets your body rest in a more natural and healthy position,” said Jones. “This is especially important if you’re on the phone a lot during the day because you will need to counteract that compression to your neck and open up your spine.”
Memory foam pillows might feel unfamiliar to those who are used to pillows with microfibre or down fillings. But once you get used to the sensation, they can be a very supportive option. This is because memory foam moulds to the contours of the body, cradling your head and neck to help keep your spine aligned. It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that memory foam retains heat, so it might not be the best choice for those who get uncomfortably hot at night.
Natural latex also feels buoyant and supportive, and is a more sustainable option than memory foam. Its eco credentials can push the price up – especially if you go for organic and other certifications. However, given how many hours you spend sleeping on your pillow, it’s worth investing in a good one.
Feather and down pillows are soft and naturally cooling, but they quickly lose their “loft” and fail to give consistent support.
Wool is another great natural material that maintains its shape better than down, and we’ve included a wool pillow in our roundup above.
Bear in mind, however, that neither down feather nor wool is vegan-friendly.
Two pillows may be better than one if you sleep on your side. A pillow that’s too flat on its own can lead to the dreaded “shoulder crunch”, stressing and straining the muscles in your neck as you sleep. So you could go for a firm contoured pillow as a base and a relatively squishy pillow on top for softness.
How often should you replace your pillow?
A good memory foam or latex pillow will last a few years before it loses its firmness. Some sleep experts reckon you should replace soft fluffy pillows as often as once a year, but that’s excessive (not to mention wasteful). Instead, we would recommend investing in a well-made pillow that you can put in the washing machine on at least 40˚C. Wash your pillow every month or two to remove dust mites, dead skin cells and other allergens you would probably rather not know about, let alone sleep on.
