Best pillows for neck pain, tried and tested for support and comfort, from V-shaped to contoured

Before you choose a pillow on the Levitex website, you’re asked to identify what kind of position you sleep in (from a little diagram of sleeping people). Our tester recognised herself as a “heavy lifter” – a side sleeper with the top leg slung forward, and one arm under the pillow – before realising this was probably the source of her ongoing neck stiffness.

Next, you select your pillow depth from four sizes based on your height and build. The idea is that by having the correct depth to correctly align your neck while sleeping on your side – which is essential for this to work – and the correct level of support to keep it there, your neck pain will be no more.

While it did take a bit of getting used to – the foam pillow seems quite rigid at first, and (for side-sleepers) you need to sleep with your old pillow between your knees and ankles to get your sleep posture just right – it did indeed reduce some very long-term stiffness after just a couple of days. Granted, if you’re going to sleep in the same position you always have done, this probably isn’t for you. But if you’re after a long-term solution and prepared to make some tweaks to how you sleep, this could be an absolute game-changer.

We found the hybrid bamboo pillow from Panda both cool and comfortable, particularly if you prefer something that’s not too rock-solid. It’s filled with a squashy yet supportive orthopaedic-grade CharcoCell foam, which is essentially memory foam infused with active bamboo charcoal. The result is a pillow that’s naturally moisture-wicking and absorbent, which – along with channels in the foam to promote airflow – helps to keep the pillow fresh and cool as you sleep.

The pillow is wrapped in a hypoallergenic quilted cover made from 100 per cent bamboo, which itself has a breathable mesh panel to help aid temperature control. While we can’t vouch for its thermo-regulating qualities in the middle of winter, it certainly lived up to claims when it came to staying cool on a hot summer night. Plus, this one comes with a 10-year guarantee, and Panda will even help you to recycle your pillow responsibly when it reaches the end of its life.

If you’re looking for something to prop you up while you’re reading in bed, this V-shaped pillow from M&S is a good budget option at less than £20. The fibre filling offers good support for your head and neck when you don’t want to lie flat, but the medium support means it’s pleasantly comfy.

The pillow itself is machine-washable at 40C and you can tumble dry it on a low temperature, which makes keeping it clean and fresh nice and easy. We particularly like the fact it comes with a removable V-shaped white pillowcase, so there’s no need to buy one separately, although it would be great if M&S sold some more colourful options.

This contour pillow from Dunelm is designed with a dip in the middle to promote neutral spine alignment for side sleepers, and, at £22, it’s worth trying out if you’re after a budget option. While it’s described as firm, we’d say ours was closer to medium support after a few nights of testing, although it’s no less comfortable for it.

The contoured shape worked well for our larger male tester, but the one-size-fits-all design didn’t work as well for our more petite female tester, who found it a little too big to achieve a neutral spine alignment. Machine-washable and suitable for tumble drying on a cool setting, this is a value option that won’t break the bank and will work well for some – as long as you sleep on your side.

Fully committed to using a V-shaped pillow? This luxury version from Woolroom is a good investment. Filled with British wool and wrapped in an unbleached organic pillowcase, it has no synthetic materials and is naturally hypoallergenic. In fact, it’s certified by Allergy UK for resistance to triggers such as house dust mites and mould.

When it comes to support, the wool fibres are loose inside the quilted cover, so you can adjust the filling to find a plumpness to suit. The 200-thread-count cotton outer – which itself is padded with wool – gives this one a gorgeously soft, premium feel, and we were surprised to find the whole thing is machine-washable on a wool cycle. While it comes with a premium price tag, like most of the top-end pillows, there’s a 30-night sleep trial – so you can get your money back if it doesn’t do it for you.

If you’re after maximum support, Simba’s hybrid firm pillow was – as the name suggests – the firmest of the pillows we tested. Having said that, there’s a good degree of customisation, thanks to three internal layers that you can arrange in different configurations.

The firmest layer is made from foam-wrapped springs, then there are two softer fibre pillows that fit inside the cotton cover. Side-sleepers can configure all three layers to get different levels of support, from medium to firm, while back-sleepers only need to use two layers. We enjoyed playing around with the different configurations and were surprised at quite how much of a difference they made. We also tested the Simba hybrid pillow (£109, Simbasleep.com), which was another incredibly comfortable option, but loved the fact the firm pillow gives you so much scope to get the perfect level of support.

Aeyla’s foamo pillow is filled with memory foam, but it’s shredded rather than solid. It gives the pillow a much more flexible feel than a standard memory foam cushion and means it’s also fully adjustable. You can take some of the filling out if you want a bit more squish or leave it all in for a plumper pillow, which makes this a good option if you’ve previously dismissed memory foam for being too rigid, or you just want a customisable level of cushioning.

Our pillow arrived vacuum-packed and rolled, and we were amazed to watch it spring into life in a matter of seconds once we’d removed the wrapping. It hasn’t lost its shape since, and we love the silky feel of the bamboo-viscose pillowcase, which is removable and washable. Team it with Aeyla’s dreamer weighted blanket (£129, Aeyla.co.uk) and you’re on the path to some seriously sweet dreams.

It’s worth considering wool – which is inhospitable to dust mites – if you need a pillow that’s naturally antimicrobial, thermo-regulating and mould-resistant. All the sustainably sourced wool pillows from Floks are also 100 per cent biodegradable and free of chemicals, so they’re ideal if you’re seeking a natural alternative to foam.

We particularly like the fact the Floks pillow is available in a larger 50cm x 90cm size – which is great for big beds – as well as regular 50cm x 75cm and square 60cm x 60cm options. You can choose between soft and medium fillings – we’d recommend the medium for the best support – and match it with a wool duvet (from £160, Floks.co.uk) and a wool mattress topper (from £115, Floks.co.uk) if you’re going all-out.

Back-care specialists Back In Action stock a range of pillows designed to combat neck pain – many of which are made from orthopaedic memory foam. That includes the royal rest pillow, which is shaped to support your neck with two different sized contours, so you can choose a moderate or strong level of support.

Each contour is filled with a firm foam core, and if you can get your head around the slightly unconventional shape, it makes for a surprisingly comfortable sleep. We tested the memory foam version, but you can also choose a standard foam version. Just bear in mind this one is for back and side-sleepers only – Back In Action don’t recommend front sleeping, due to the position of the neck.

Always get a crick in your neck when you’re travelling? The Trtl travel neck pillow is designed to let you nod off comfortably while sitting up – whether you’re on a plane, a train or the Tube. So, while it’s not going to ease existing neck pain, it might just help you avoid developing it.

The pillow looks like a scarf, but when you open it up there’s a built-in neck support that tucks at the side or front of your neck.

It took us a few goes to find the right position and wrap the scarf just tight enough, but we were really impressed once we had. It’s far more comfortable than a U-shaped travel pillow, not to mention lighter and easier to pack. Plus, you’re much more likely to get some shut-eye on the move without dribbling on your neighbour’s shoulder.

Read our full Trtl travel pillow review