I have an Emma Original Pillow that I’ve had for three years and the support is basically non-existent now, so I wake up in the night and end up with neck and shoulder pain.
I’ve tried a Panda Hybrid pillow and a Simba Hybrid firm pillow but neither were any good to me. The Panda was too low for sleeping on my back and the Simba didn’t have the support I needed. If I was purely a side sleeper it would be probably be okay, but of course I have to be awkward.
I generally prefer memory foam pillows, but it’s been so long since I’ve had a good night’s sleep, I’m willing to try anything.
I switched to a buckwheat hull pillow . It’s ideal for me. I can adjust the shape, then it locks up as soon as I put my head down. I can sleep on my side or back on it, but I often prefer a small rice-filled neck pillow when I’m on my back. I don’t use a pillow when I lay on my belly.
I am confident I can solve your pillow problem! I had the same issues, and tons of neck pain for years. Now I use a Mediflow Water Pillow. They’re not cheap - like eighty bucks - but they last forever. One side is memory foam, so you have that comfort and support. The other side is a chamber you fill up with water. Hear me out - you can add as much or as little as you want, so you can make it entirely specific and exact to how you like to sleep. Side, back, both, you can add or take water out until it’s perfect! After a few nights of fussing with the water amount, I’ve not had to touch it for years. Seriously, this is the pillow!
Make sure to follow directions for sealing it, too, and then you won’t hear or have any sloshing sensations when you lay on the foam side. It also doesn’t get super hot at night because the water absorbs a lot of heat. I’ve never had it leak or be problematic at all. My only issue ever is how heavy the pillow is! Water weighs a lot, who would have thought. But that also means the pillow doesn’t wander around the bed at night, in case that was ever an issue.
I hope you try it out! Or find another perfect pillow for your needs. :)
Might not be useful, but what worked for me was to switch to a folded blanket. Being able to modify the thickness by folding it in infinite ways allowed me try and figure out the right thickness to support my head/neck properly regardless if I was sleeping on my back or on my side.
For example, I folded it in a way that the sides were thicker than the middle. That way, my head isn’t too high when laying on my back. Then when I roll to my side, the blanket gets thicker so it keeps my neck aligned.
I have a pillow from Sutera that solved my neck and shoulder pain. It also works well with my CPAP.
