Neck Support Pillows

Neck support pillows are manufactured specifically to provide cervical (neck) support and help keep the neck aligned correctly with the spine so as to reduce stresses and strains and also help reduce headaches.

Neck support pillows come as two main types - those used in the bed as an alternative to a regular pillow and those designed to be used in a seated position (e.g. travel or couch pillow). The seated design tend to be 'U' shaped and wraps around the shoulders.

The design of orthopaedic neck support pillows for sleeping can be quite sophisticated and you will find manufacturers design different pillows for people who sleep on their back, for people who sleep on their side and for people who sleep on their front. The reason for this is that in order to keep the neck correctly aligned the head will need to be held at a different height depending on whether you are sleeping on your back, side or front.

For example, if sleeping face down the pillow will be rather flat so it doesn't push the head back too much, but if sleeping on the side the pillow will need to effectively fill a gap equivalent to the distance between the side of the head and end of the shoulder. This helps maintain a correct horizontal line through the spine and the neck.

Neck support pillows are made from a range of materials including cotton or polyester fibers, dense foam rubber and also NASA-invented memory foam. Some pillows are constructed from more than one type of material - with one manufacturer even making one that has a water-filled chamber so that the firmness can be adjusted to the user's own taste simply by adding or removing water.

Neck support pillows typically cost more money than regular pillows but, with people spending so much of their lifetime in bed, these pillows represent good value for the relief they can provide.

One of the spin-off benefits attributed to neck support pillows is that they help keep the airways open, which in turn might reduce snoring.