If you spend most of your day working on a laptop, scrolling through your phone, or gaming, your neck might be taking a beating. Forward head posture, or “tech neck,” sets in when you incline your head forward to look at a screen. This position adds to the stress on your cervical spine, which is located in your neck and supports your head and neck movement. It can vary widely, but some popular measures put the load at 60 pounds that must be borne at certain positions of the head, depending on the degree of head tilt.
Repeatedly adopting this position can leave you with a neck that’s uncomfortable, stiff, and tense from shoulder to shoulder. Which is why you might want to think about whether your sleep setup includes a supportive ergonomic pillow that can help keep your head and neck in a more naturally aligned position. That won’t fix your posture for good, but it can potentially help your strained muscles relax. Here’s how to find a neck pillow that can make a useful complement to other neck-saving measures, such as better screen placement and regular physical activity.
What to Look for in Neck Support
A good neck pillow should be designed to cater to different kinds of sleepers while helping to maintain optimal neck alignment. Look for contoured designs that cradle the head and high-density memory foam that perfectly conforms to the head and neck. Some pillows are firmer and more responsive than others, so it’s a good idea to focus on fit first, materials second.
5 Ergonomic Pillows to Consider
Derila Ergo Pillow: Best for a Posture Reset
The Derila Ergo Pillow is named for its butterfly contour design. This design has shaped wings, a deep center recessed area for the head, and a trough to support the neck. The whole point is to cradle your head and help support your neck.
The deep recess in the front of the pillow may be especially nice for people who sleep on their backs. Of course, side sleepers should also make sure the pillow is a good height to accommodate your shoulder sinking into it all night. The pillow uses memory foam to cushion the head and contour to the user.
It might sound like the perfect thing to do after a day spent craning over a screen or trapped in meetings. Do beware that this isn’t going to magically reverse forward head position while you slumber, but it is designed to offer support and comfort, and some people believe those clipped wings can help.
Zamat Home Ergonomic Pillow: A Contoured Option
Zamat Home offers shaped pillows for people who like a headrest that hugs them. You can look at each one’s loft, firmness, and depth of neck support. Some are higher or steeper-sided than others.
The design tilts the forehead and chin upward.
Cervical Roll Pillow: Neck Room
The roll supports the neck without cradling the entire top of your head like a butterfly. Consider how wide and how firm it is. If it’s too dense and high, it can feel like a lump under you.
The edges fall gently away from the base of the skull.
Standard Contour Memory Foam Pillow: The Semi-Rolled Pillow
This intermediate pillow elevates your head a bit by dipping the crown, raising the sides, and ramping back up. The effect is strong enough to shape your head a little for more natural sleep, but not enough to reposition the heavy part of your head to make you snore.
The pillow dips slightly on either side, ramping up at each end.
Adjustable-Fill Pillow: Change Your Loft
Add or remove as much fill as you like to change how thick your pillow is. You might like this if the other options are sometimes too low or too high.
Quick Comparison
|
Pillow |
Support approach |
Listed price (USD) |
|
Derila Ergo |
Butterfly contour and neck trough |
$133.30 |
|
Zamat Home Butterfly Pillow |
Contoured memory foam |
$65.99 |
|
Cervical roll pillow |
Focused neck support |
|
|
Standard contoured memory foam pillow |
Shaped head and neck support |
|
|
Adjustable-fill pillow |
Customizable height |
|
Fit and sleeping position affect support. Check current listings for prices.
Make Your Pillow Part of the Solution
The Derila Ergo Pillow could be the right pick if you’d like a pronounced butterfly contour, a neck crevice, and memory foam in a single pillow. The deciding factor should be your sleep style and what is most comfortable for you.
Think about pairing a supportive pillow with breaks from screens, setting your laptop to eye level (or your monitor to a comfortable height), and moving throughout the day. This will let you address daytime stress while your pillow is waiting to help support a pain-free night of sleep.