Most people buy their pillow by feel. Yet it is possible to describe fairly precisely what a pillow has to do — and that depends above all on one thing: how you lie.
It is about a distance
A pillow has a simple job. It fills the space between your head and the mattress so that your neck remains the extension of your spine and does not bend. How large that space is depends on your position — and the difference is bigger than you might think.
On your side: the greatest distance
Side sleepers have the hardest time of it. Between the ear and the mattress lies the whole width of the shoulder — ten to fifteen centimetres, depending on build. If the pillow is too flat, the head sinks down. If it is too high, the head is pushed up. Both end in the same misalignment, only in the other direction.
Then there is the arm. Many side sleepers push it under the pillow or under their head — and unintentionally raise the head even further. A pillow that leaves room for the arm at the side solves this problem without you having to change your habits.
On your back: considerably less
Lying on your back, the distance is much smaller — the back of the head rests almost directly. Here you need less height, but support exactly under the neck so that the head does not tip to the side. A pillow built for the side position often tips the head too far forward when you lie on your back.
On your front: almost none
Front sleepers need the least height. The head lies turned to the side, the distance to the mattress is minimal. Any excess height here increases the rotation in the neck. That is why many front sleepers intuitively push their pillow aside — a good sign that it is too high.
And if you change position?
Most people do not stay in one position all night. That is exactly why we developed the SleepFit with several zones: a side recess with an arm rest for the side position, a supportive middle section for the back and a flatter zone for the front position. You change position — not the pillow.
That is a description of the construction, not a promise of healing. What a pillow can and cannot do, we have written up in a separate article on the state of the research.
The most honest test
Stand sideways in front of a mirror, the way you sleep. Does your neck form a straight line with your spine? Then the height is right. If it bends up or down, the height is wrong — regardless of how comfortable the pillow feels when you lie on it.
And because you can never fully judge this while standing: with us you have 30 nights to find out in your own bed.
