I am working on a pre-university project which aims to answer the question: what pillow shape and material combination would be most suitable to optimize neck posture during sleep to preserve physical health?

I was hoping you could share some insight on how the level of neck support affects the neck on a musculoskeletal and biomechanical level and which pillow shapes and materials are the most recommended. I have to select a limited number of pillows to test and was hoping you could explain why I should focus on testing the recommended pillow types (as I have to justify why I am only testing a limited set of pillows due to time and word count constraints). I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for reading.

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Hi.

There isn’t any real hard and fast rule that I’m aware of because this is all so subjective. I always tell my patients to try a few different pillows until they find what they are most comfortable with. Luckily, most manufacturers of good quality pillows have a pretty good returns policy if you aren’t getting on with their pillow.

I personally prefer some sort of memory foam pillow like Otty or one of the Tempurpedic offerings but some people like feather pillows.

Most find simple foam pillows to be sub-par.

It’s also not just the materials they are made of that’s of consideration. Pillow thickness is really important as well. Too thick or thin and it’s no good either. That can also be dependant on how hard or soft the mattress is.

I’ve probably raised more questions than I’ve answered. Sorry!

Kris