The Best Body Pillows for Side Sleepers
Being a side sleeper can be challenging. You have to constantly flip and flop for the right position and often use several pillows to support your body’s pressure points. Body pillows are the most obvious solution, long enough to cuddle fully while still supporting your limbs.
I chose body pillows in a range of shapes and styles, from traditional, long, rectangular body pillows to pregnancy pillows in a variety shapes to see which style worked best for a strict side-only sleeper like me. I tested each of the pillows for a week while sleeping and lounging to see how the fill changed and moved over time and which pillow worked best for a side sleeper’s unique needs. There are tons of choices—including different fill, firmness, and shape—but these are our picks.
Check out our many other sleep-related guides, including Best Mattresses, Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers, Best Organic Mattresses, and Favorite Pillows.
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What to Look For
As a side sleeper, you’ll want a pillow that’s long enough to provide support between your arms and pressure points like between the knees. While firmness and softness are a matter of personal preference, you often want a body pillow that strikes the right balance, to provide support without being too heavy or firm for the limbs that rest underneath the pillow. If you’re just looking for a pillow to hug while you sleep, something lighter and softer is best. But if you have joint or spinal pain, something a bit more firm with more support is best. You’ll also want to think about which pillow shape will support which part of your body best, depending on your needs. I’m a strict side sleeper, but I toss and turn between both sides, so pillows with support on either side were tested too. I also tend to curl into a more fetal position, so I wanted something that had enough width to fully wrap my legs and arms around.
While many head pillows and mattresses favor memory foam, depending on the foam's denseness, it can feel too heavy for a side sleeper whose limbs go underneath the pillow. Polyester or other synthetic filling is often the most plush and malleable but may not provide enough support. Many have a mixture of both or shredded memory foam, which can provide structure while still being soft enough to sink into. This depends on personal preference and need, but fill type is something to be aware of when looking for the perfect side-sleeper body pillow.
A standard body pillow that's long enough to provide full-length support for the body is ideal, giving enough room to stretch out or cuddle in various positions. Body pillows in U or C shapes can provide more overall support and are ideal for pregnant people or those with back or leg issues, but can often make the sleeper run hot because of all of the surrounding material. But ultimately, the preferred shape is largely dependent on what parts of the body you want most supported in the side-sleeping position.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best for Most People
Sleep Number Cool Comfortfit Body PillowSleep Number’s body pillow touts itself first as cooling, and the giant 54-inch-long, 18-inch-wide pillow is filled with 25 percent polyester and 75 percent foam. Unlike some of the other body pillows tested, the Sleep Number didn’t feel too big or too dense in the bed. The filling is soft and not too compactly tight, so the pillow can more easily contort to body shape. The cooling pillow cover is made of 35 percent polyethylene and 65 percent polyester, meaning it's moisture wicking and breathable, which helps with the cooling effect. The pillow also comes with a 100 percent polyester cover that zips easily on and off if the pillow needs to be cleaned. The pillow is made in the US (although it uses imported materials) from CertiPUR-US certified foams, a certification that shows contemporary standards are met, including those of emissions and durability. The pillow has a one-year limited warranty, 100-day trial, and free shipping.
Overall, this pillow was my favorite and I think it would work best for most side sleepers’ needs—it’s soft enough to cuddle closely and contorted between my arms and legs while still providing support. I slept comfortably and coolly every night during the week I tested, and it’s the pillow I’ve kept coming back to.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Firmest Option
Tempur-Pedic BodyPillowThis highly rated, pricey Tempur-Pedic body pillow touts itself as especially designed for side sleepers and expectant mothers. It's one of the most expensive on the list, with a five-year warranty (only covering manufacturer’s defects) and free shipping. The body pillow features trademarked TEMPUR-Material filled with shapeable “microcushions”—essentially it's packed with Tempur-Pedic’s super-dense memory foam. It’s a behemoth: 4 feet by 2 feet and weighing nearly 9 pounds but feels heavier because of its density. It has the feel and weight of a bag of sand. It’s a medium-firm pillow, according to Tempur-Pedic, rating a 2 out of 5 from firm to soft. Although the foam does very slowly sink and contort to your body’s shape, it feels quite hard when you first cuddle it. The pillow comes in the box folded in half, which makes the long body pillow feel more like two pillows separated rather than a long memory foam pillow, and it didn’t fully come together as one cohesive pillow until around my fifth night of sleeping with it.
Many people online said they placed this pillow horizontally along the headboard for support because of its density, which I did too when I wasn’t sleeping, and it worked excellently for that. A lot of online reviewers with back, hip, or shoulder pain really appreciated the density of the pillow, since it cradled and supported them without the insides moving too much while keeping their spine aligned. However, the pillow didn’t have enough give for my personal taste.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best Budget
Utopia Bedding Full Body PillowThis 20- by 54-inch body pillow by Utopia Bedding is one of the most rated on Amazon and is a cheap option for its relatively large size. It’s filled with a plush fiber filling of “100% virgin polyester”—which means it’s created using fossil fuels, whereas recycled polyester is made from postconsumer plastic. The polyester filling feels like the typical stuffing associated with pillows and is very plush and malleable—it’s soft enough that it can be contorted into many shapes and isn’t overstuffed, making it super easy to wrap your arms and legs around. The pillow refills back to shape without the filling getting bunched in one area or just going flat after a few weeks like some cheaper body pillows. I really liked this super-soft pillow but could see people having issues with it if they are bigger or want a pillow with more structure or firmness.
- Photograph: Target
Best Cooling
Snuggle-Pedic Body PillowThis 20- by 54-inch Snuggle-Pedic body pillow is another one of the most rated on Amazon and strikes the right balance between soft and supportive. It’s made with shredded memory foam, which helps provide support without rigid structure, and is comfortable to snuggle because the material easily contorts. Like others on the list, this pillow is CertiPUR-US and Oeko-Tex certified, meaning that the foam and textiles used were tested for potentially harmful chemicals, plus it's US-made. Because of the shredded foam and breathable cover, the pillow really does feel cooling while snuggling. The Snuggle-Pedic claims to be developed by a chiropractor for optimal support and alignment. While we can’t verify who this chiropractor was, the pillow does strike a good balance between structure and plushness.
The only con I have for this pillow is that the memory foam didn’t really spring up after the 24 hours of waiting, so I followed the directions to fluff it in the dryer to expedite the process. The pillow’s shredded memory foam got bunched inside and wasn’t as smooth and uniform throughout as I would’ve liked. After sleeping with it for several nights and trying to even out the batting inside, it was still a little lumpy. Other users have complained the pillow is thinner and not as stuffed as previous models, and I agree that it could’ve been more stuffed. I wonder if it will thin out with continued use. Despite its flaws, this body pillow is still super comfortable and cooling, and I have continued to sleep with it.
- Photograph: Milliard
Best for Exclusive Side Sleepers
Milliard U-Shaped Total Body Support PillowThis Milliard U-shaped pillow is great for overall body support. It’s ideal for pregnant people or those with back issues or leg swelling. For a side sleeper, it’s a dream—you don’t really have room to move far; no matter which way you turn, the pillow is there to hold and put between your legs (also perfect for pregnant bellies to rest on). The pillow is also massive—28 by 54 inches. It has a removable, washable velour cover, a zippered inner cover, and a shredded memory foam fill, some of which can be taken out depending on the sleepers’ plush preference. The fill is super comfortable; plush enough to sink and contort to pressure but full enough to keep limbs supported. The head pillow in the back can be propped against a headboard for support while sitting upright. The pillow took over 12 hours to puff up to full size, and even after, there was a separation between the fill of the long legs on either side and the top pillow, which sometimes made an uncomfortable gap for your head while sleeping.
My biggest con for this pillow was that it was a bit too dense and didn’t contort enough for my head, so I woke up with a sore neck toward the end of the week of testing. The case is also made of velour, which really traps heat and doesn’t react well to liquids. There was no cooling sensation with this pillow, which might be a problem for already warm or pregnant people.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best for Pregnant People
Momcozy Huggable U-Shaped Maternity Body PillowThis 57-inch Momcozy pregnancy body pillow provides total support for the body in any side-sleeping position. The Momcozy pillow combines popular body and pregnancy pillow U and C shapes for a unique shape that provides all-around support to your back and stomach, no matter which side you're lying on. It’s like having three pillows in one: conforming to both sides—back and belly—while supporting the head, and the bottom part is long enough to support the legs, knees, and hip joints. This unique shape even curls for ankle support, ensuring that no joint goes unsupported. The body pillow is filled with polyester, but unlike some on the list it strikes a perfect balance between softness and support, and throughout the week of testing it retained its shape without too much fill movement. Although this pillow is marketed as being for pregnancy, Momcozy claims it also helps those with pain like sciatica, fibromyalgia, and more.
While I’m not pregnant, this was my favorite of the uniquely shaped body pillows—I always felt cozy and supported. The bonus is that it comes in multiple cover types, so you can opt for a lighter cotton fabric cover if you sleep hot.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Most Versatile
Leachco SnoogleThis Snoogle versatile body pillow from Leachco is marketed for pregnant people because of its versatility and belly, hip, and knee support; due to its unique shape it can be contorted into many figures. With a removable cover made of a polyester/cotton blend and a polyester filling, this pillow is a lot more breathable than similar large body pillows on the list. It can be shifted into a myriad of shapes for all kinds of sleepers. The longer side can cradle the back or belly, but it can also be twisted to swirl around the belly when sitting upright, or curled into itself as a back or neck rest. Because of its unique shape for many positions, the pillow isn’t overstuffed, and I found that the fill tended to sink to the lower foot portion of the pillow when sleeping on it. I prefer to use a regular pillow for my head and found that the head portion of the pillow wasn’t as supportive as I’d like (partly because the fill moved downward). This pillow is breathable and extremely customizable in shape, although I would’ve preferred something with a little more filling.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
A Body Pillow to Avoid
Bearaby CuddlerBearaby is best known for its weighted blankets, eye masks, and stuffed animals, but it makes other sleep products like heated pads and throw blankets, as well as its body pillow, the Cuddler. At 75 inches long and 8 inches in diameter, and with a filling of plant-based Melofoam, the Bearaby sticks out on this list, but not for the best reasons. The Melofoam, an all-natural foam made from rubber-tree sap, is unlike any other pillow fill I’ve slept on. It's heavier than a stuffed pillow but lighter than memory foam and has a rubbery, bouncy quality. Its springy fill and skinny body made for an awkward, if not uncomfortable, side sleep. It claims to support joints, neck, and back to relieve pressure, but it wasn’t thick enough or dense enough to provide any real support. And its extraordinary length made it fit awkwardly on the bed; I was never sure of how to contort it to best fit my sleeping body. I think this one may be best used knotted up or contorted as a wrap for sitting support rather than sleep.
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