A U-shaped pillow, for sleepers who turn from side to side
Your answers point to a U-shaped body pillow, which holds your front and back at once so you can turn over without moving it.
Updated .
In short: a U shape with arms that match your height, a fill you can adjust, a washable cover, and a queen or king bed wide enough to hold it.
The fit
| Part | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Shape | The shape is a U. It has two long arms with the sleeper lying between them, and a curve at the top supports the head (size guide). |
| Length | Each arm should reach from your shoulder past your knee. Published lengths include 54 in (maker page) and 63 in per arm (maker page). |
| Fill | Kapok, alone or with latex, in an inner pillow you can open to adjust the firmness (seller listing). One maker lists the kapok and latex version at 13 lb, against a lighter polyester version (maker page). |
| Cover and washing | The cover zips off for the machine, and the inner pillow is spot-cleaned (seller listing). Washing a wool-filled pillow whole calls for a large commercial washer (care guide). |
| Where it goes in the bed | It sits on one half of a queen or a king. One U is listed at 31.5 in wide (maker page), so measure your half of the bed against that. |
Lengths and fills come from published maker dimensions and the sources cited on this site; this site measured nothing and gives no medical advice.
Reading your answers back
You said you turn from side to side through the night. A straight pillow has to be lifted across the bed at every turn, and a U removes that step. One arm is already in front of you whichever way you face, and the other is already behind you. For anyone who mainly wanted something to hold, the front arm does that job, with room to tuck a leg over it. The cost is bed space.
If you are pregnant, the shape does a second job. A pooled analysis of stillbirth studies estimated that late stillbirth could fall by 5.8% if every woman from 28 weeks of pregnancy settled to sleep on her side. Its authors say either side will do. A U keeps a support on both sides, so a turn in the night still lands on a supported side. Anything beyond comfort is a question for your midwife. Our guide to using a pregnancy pillow shows where each part of the U sits.
If your situation changes
Height sets the arm length. Each arm should run from your shoulder to past your knee, so compare the published arm length with your own measurement. If you are under 163 cm, a shorter arm stops the curve bunching at the feet. If you are over 178 cm, look for the long end of the range in the table.
Feel changes the fill. For a firm feel, one seller describes its kapok fill as meant for people who like firmer support (seller listing). For soft and mouldable, an insert that opens allows fill to be taken out until it gives.
Washing changes how much weight is practical. The kapok and latex fill in the table is a lot to lift into a machine, so a cover that zips off matters more than it looks. Bed size can change the shape itself. On a bed smaller than a queen, a U can crowd you, and our comparison of a U against a long straight pillow covers that case.
Trying the fit in your own bed
Start with the mattress. Measure the width of your half of it. Then lay out a folded sheet at the pillow's published width and see how much space is left for you. In a shared bed, check that the outer arm stays out of the other half. Lie down between the arms. Your head should rest on the curve with your knees still on the lower arm. Then turn over once, and both arms should stay where they were. Last, read the care label for the inner pillow before the first wash, not after. To compare curved shapes more widely, see the pregnancy pillow timing guide and pillows for side sleepers.
Other body pillow guides
- How does a U-shaped body pillow differ from a long straight one?
- How do you use a pregnancy pillow?
- How does a body pillow keep a side sleeper's hips and shoulders in line?
Back to which shape and length
Sources
Gathered here, the outside pages this body pillow guide quotes, each beside the part of the guide that needed it.
- size guide (sleepjunkie.com), needed in “The fit”.
- maker page (bedgear.com), needed in “The fit”.
- maker page (minicampshop.com), needed in “The fit”.
- seller listing (amazon.com), needed in “The fit”; “If your situation changes”.
- care guide (myorganicsleep.com), needed in “The fit”.
- pooled analysis of stillbirth studies (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), needed in “Reading your answers back”.