Build it tall
Buckwheat Pillow
Build it up to fill the gap out to your shoulder, and the hulls lock at that height, so your head never drops through the night.
Best for a firm pillow at a tall height
From $89.00
Natural pillows for side sleepers
The pillow that keeps your neck straight on your side.
Lying on your side opens a gap between your shoulder and your head, and a thin or soft pillow lets your head drop into it, bending your neck toward the mattress all night. These fills give you the height to fill that gap and hold it.
Handmade in New Jersey since 198160-night sleep trialFree shippingYou set the height
The short answer
Side sleepers need more pillow than almost anyone expects, usually four to six inches, because your shoulder lifts your head that far off the mattress. The fill matters less than the height and whether the pillow keeps that height all night. Buckwheat is the top pick, because you build it to your exact shoulder and the hulls lock there. Broad shoulders often want a refill bag on top of what the pillow ships with.
- Height you need
- Usually 4 to 6 inches, more if your shoulders are broad
- First choice
- Buckwheat, built up and locked at your height
- If you want softer
- Dense organic cotton, or latex for spring
- The test
- Head level with your spine, not tipped up or dropped
- Sore shoulder
- Almost always a pillow that is too thin, not too firm
- Between the knees
- A body pillow takes the twist out of your lower back
Six natural fills, handmade in New Jersey.
Each card says how the pillow holds you on your side and who it suits. Every one opens at a full-length zipper, so you can build it to the exact height your shoulder needs and leave it there.
Two heights
Buckwool Hybrid Pillow
A firm buckwheat side you can build tall, plus a softer wool side, each set to the exact height your shoulder needs.
Best for setting each side separately
From $99.00
Holds its height
Organic Cotton Pillow
Our most tightly packed fiber, packed full enough to hold a tall pillow for years instead of collapsing under your head.
Best for height that stays put with no upkeep
From $89.00
Springy
Tree-Tapped Latex Pillow
Springy enough to stay tall and push back as you move, so your head stays up rather than sinking as the night goes on.
Best for height with a softer feel
From $89.00
Cushioned
Organic Wool Pillow
Add wool to reach the height your shoulder needs, with a springy give that cushions your ear and your cheek.
Best for an adjustable, cushioned pillow
From $99.00
Between the knees
Body Pillow
Full length, in your choice of cotton, wool, kapok or latex. Between the knees it stops the top leg dragging your hips out of line.
Best for side sleepers whose lower back aches
From $249.00
Why your shoulder and neck ache
On your side, a thin pillow bends your neck all night.
Side sleeping is the most common position and the hardest on a pillow. Your shoulder lifts your body off the mattress and leaves a gap of several inches between the bed and your head.
1
Your shoulder makes a gap
Lying on your side, the widest part of you is now between your head and the mattress. That space has to be filled by something.
2
A thin pillow lets you drop
Your head sinks into the gap and your neck bends down toward the bed rather than running straight out from your spine.
3
The shoulder takes the load
Your neck kinks at one end and your shoulder carries weight at an angle it was not built to hold for hours.
4
You wake up sore in both
People blame the mattress or the shoulder itself. It is usually the two inches of pillow that were never there.
Fill the gap with enough firm height and your head sits level with your spine all night. The neck holds its neutral line, the shoulder carries its normal weight, and the soreness usually eases inside the first week or two.
Get the height right first
Most side sleepers are on half the pillow they need.
Measure it roughly with your hand. Lie on your side against the pillow you own and have someone look at you from the front. If your head is tipped down toward the mattress, you need more. If your chin is pushed up toward the ceiling, you need less. Level is the whole target.
For most side sleepers level lands somewhere between four and six inches, and broad shoulders need the top of that range or above it. Every Circadian pillow arrives full so you can take it down, and a refill bag builds it up past where it shipped if your shoulders need more.
4 to 6 inwhere most side sleepers land
3 nightson a height before you change it again
Then make it hold
A tall pillow that flattens is a thin pillow by the small hours.
Height at bedtime is easy. Nearly anything is tall when you first lie down. The question is whether it is still tall four hours later, with your head pressing on the same spot, and that is where soft fiber pillows fail side sleepers.
Buckwheat locks and does not move. Dense organic cotton settles so slowly that you measure the change in years. Latex pushes back every time you shift. Those three are the ones that give you the same height in the morning that you set at night.
3 to 5 yearsbefore buckwheat wants refreshing
The other half of side sleeping
Your knees pull your back out of line too.
Side sleepers get the head right and then leave the bottom half alone. Your top leg slides forward and down over the bottom one, which rotates your pelvis and twists your lower spine for the rest of the night.
A body pillow between the knees keeps your hips stacked and the twist never happens. Ours comes with the same fills as the pillows, so you can match the feel, and the kapok one is light enough to move around easily in the night.
Which fill holds a tall pillow best.
Side sleeping asks a pillow for height and then asks it to keep that height for eight hours. Not every fill can do the second part.
| Fill | How it behaves at a tall height | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Buckwheat | Build it up and the hulls lock there for the night | Broad shoulders and the firmest hold |
| Organic Cotton | Dense enough to hold a tall pillow for years | Height with no upkeep at all |
| Tree-Tapped Latex | Springs back all night, add pieces to go taller | Movers, and people leaving foam |
| Buckwool Hybrid | Both sides set separately, so you get two heights | Anyone undecided between firm and soft |
| Organic Wool | Holds a medium height with a cushioned surface | Warm sleepers who want give |
| Wild-Harvested Kapok | Needs keeping well packed and a shake every few days | Side sleepers who want a soft surface and will fluff it |
| Standard down or poly | Tall at bedtime, flat under your head by the small hours | The pillow most people on this page are replacing |
Find yours by shoulder and feel.
Your shoulders are broad.
Buckwheat, and consider adding a bag of hulls. Broad shoulders often need more height than any pillow ships with, and this is the one you can build up without it going soft.
Buckwheat Pillow ›You want the height without the hard surface.
Dense organic cotton holds a tall pillow for years and stays quiet and soft against your face.
Organic Cotton Pillow ›You switch between your side and your back.
The Buckwool Hybrid, with the two sides set to different heights. Firm and tall for your side, lower and softer for your back.
Buckwool Hybrid Pillow ›Your lower back aches in the morning.
Put a body pillow between your knees. It keeps your hips stacked so your lower spine stops twisting overnight.
Body Pillow ›The ones we hear most.
What loft do side sleepers need?
Enough to keep your head level with your spine, which for most side sleepers is a taller pillow than they expect, often four to six inches. The wider your shoulders, the more you need. Every Circadian pillow opens so you can build it to your height and stop there.
What is the best pillow for side sleepers?
A firm pillow you can set tall and that holds that height. Buckwheat is the top pick, because you build it to your exact shoulder and the hulls lock there all night. If you want the same height with a softer surface, dense organic cotton is the one.
Why do I wake up with a sore shoulder?
Usually because your pillow is too thin. When your head drops into the gap between your shoulder and the mattress, your neck bends and your shoulder carries the strain all night. A taller pillow that holds its height is the fix far more often than a softer one.
Are soft pillows bad for side sleeping?
Soft is fine as long as it is tall enough and keeps its height. The trouble with most soft pillows is that they flatten under your head, so the height is gone halfway through the night. Kapok and wool both work on your side as long as you keep them well packed.
Can I adjust the height?
Yes, and that is the point. Every Circadian pillow has a full-length zipper and arrives fuller than most people keep it, so you take material out until your head sits level on your side. Keep what you remove, because you may want it back.
Should my shoulder be on the pillow?
No. Your shoulder stays on the mattress and the pillow fills the space above it. Sliding the pillow under your shoulder pushes your head forward and puts the bend straight back into your neck.
Do side sleepers need a body pillow?
Not need, but it solves the half of side sleeping a head pillow cannot reach. Your top leg slides forward and rotates your pelvis, which twists your lower back for hours. A body pillow between the knees keeps your hips stacked.
I switch sides all night. Does that matter?
Not for the pillow height, since both shoulders are about the same. It matters for the fill. Buckwheat and latex both re-shape as you land, where a soft fiber pillow keeps the dent from the last position for a while after you have moved.
My arm goes numb when I side sleep.
That is usually the shoulder taking too much load because the pillow is too low, so more height often helps. If it persists, or the numbness carries on after you get up, see a clinician rather than working through pillows.
What size pillow is best for side sleeping?
Standard suits most people. Go to king if you move around a great deal in the night and keep sliding off the end of a standard, because falling off the pillow at three in the morning undoes every bit of height you set.
Build it to your shoulder, and it stays there.
Set the height on the first night, sleep on it three nights before you change it again, and give it a few weeks before you decide. Sixty nights in total.
See the pillows183 verified reviews
The pillow people keep.
If you've sent more pillows back than you've kept, you're our customer.
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“I have owned more pillows than I have owned houses and I have owned 12 houses.” This is by far the only pillow to use if you don’t want to wake up with sore shoulders or neck. I have replaced all the pillows in my house with this pillow.
I have compressed discs in my neck, and I have spent hundreds of dollars over the past 6 months trying to find one that will help me sleep. Every pillow I bought caused me to wake up in even more pain than the night before!! The buckwheat pillow is life-changing!! I have slept through the night and wake up with no pain!!
I was leery to try another expensive pillow without some sort of trial period after being very let down by a different company's natural fiber pillow… I don't hear anything at all with the buckwheat! It does stay fresh and cool as well, but most importantly it actually holds my head/neck up and in place. Which allows me to actually get rest instead of always adjusting.
I've been a buckwheat pillow customer for the last 7 years and I can say that Circadian has the highest standards of quality paired with incredible customer service. Very very impressed and would not hesitate to send anyone their way.
I have spent years searching for a pillow that feels supportive and comfortable all night. I have finally found it. I absolutely love the Buckwool pillow. I removed a bit of the material to get it to exactly how I want it… I rarely wake up with neck pain now.
I find myself switching between the two and loving the feel of both. I haven't woken up with a sweaty head with either and that's an amazing feeling especially in the AZ summer. The buckwheat side is a lot quieter and more comfy/soft than others I've tried in the past.
I have tried at least 10 different pillows in the last 3 years. Nothing has worked out except for this wool pillow. I have chronic neck pain which has been greatly reduced. I am very happy with my new pillow.
I have pretty bad chemical sensitivity (housebound most of the time)… I try to only buy totally safe, non-toxic products. I found this pillow to be very safe and non-toxic, and the packaging was fragrance free which is always a huge plus.
I ordered this pillow to replace my very old (but beloved) down pillow and I'm so glad I did. It is heavenly!… I advise you to heed the recommendation given by the quiz. I ordered cotton initially despite the quiz giving me kapok as a result… the quiz was right.
The quality craftsmanship and materials is evident… when I asked if extra stuffing were available for the second one I'm using as a knee pillow, they not only pointed me to the right place on their site, but also created a new, smaller 1-lb. refill size based on my request.
The three-star ones are in there too. Read all of them
