Why stomach sleeping is the opposite problem
On your side, a pillow has to fill the whole gap between your shoulder and your ear. On your stomach, there is almost no gap at all. Your head is already close to the mattress, so anything tall pushes your neck up and back for the whole night. That is why most stomach sleepers go through pillow after pillow and end up with a flat old one, or none at all.
The usual advice is a thin pillow. The trouble is that thin is a fixed height someone else chose. What works better is a pillow you can take fill out of until it sits where you want it.
Why kapok works for it
Kapok is a silky plant fiber from the seed pods of the ceiba tree. Each fiber is hollow, which makes the fill light, soft and springy (more in What Is Kapok?). Two things about it matter for stomach sleepers:
- You control how much there is. Our pillow ships full and opens with a hidden zipper. Take out a few handfuls and it drops to a low, soft loft that a block of foam can never reach. Most stomach sleepers settle around half the fill.
- It moves with you. Loose fill flattens under your cheek and leaves the rest of the pillow low and soft, instead of holding one shape all night. If you tuck an arm under the pillow, the fill shifts around it.
How to set it up
- Fluff it hard. Kapok compresses in the box. Give it a minute of squeezing and shaking when it arrives.
- Take out about a third right away. Stomach sleepers almost never want it full. Work over the bed, pull the fill out in whole clumps, and bag what you remove.
- Sleep one night on it. Lying on your stomach, your head should rest low and close to level, not tilted back.
- Keep going a handful at a time. If your neck still feels bent back, take out more. It is easier to take more out than to wish you had not.
- Keep what you remove. Kapok settles over months, and that bag is how you top it off later. If you ever want it taller, add refill.
My loft guide covers the details for every sleeping position, and the long version is in The Best Pillow for Stomach Sleepers.
Which size to choose
Size changes how wide the pillow is, not how tall it sits. Height comes from the fill, so choose size by the bed and how much you move. Many stomach sleepers like Queen or King because there is room to slide an arm underneath without running off the edge.
| Size | Dimensions | Price | Good fit if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 20 × 26 in | $129 | You sleep in one spot and use a standard pillowcase |
| Queen | 20 × 30 in | $149 | You want room to slide a hand or arm under the pillow |
| King | 20 × 36 in | $169 | You move around a lot, or you're dressing a king bed |
Try it in your own bed
A pillow you can set to your own height beats a thin one built around somebody else's neck. The real test is your bed, so every MAREA pillow comes with a 100 day sleep trial, used pillows included, with a free return label in the contiguous US.
Anthony
Founder, MAREA Sleep