Pillow for a Waterbed: What Matters With Neck Pain

With neck pain on a waterbed, the question is the same as on any mattress: are your head and cervical spine in line, and does your shoulder have room? The pillow height you need depends on your body measurements, your sleeping position and your mattress. A pillow is no substitute for a medical assessment.

Why does the pillow play a special role on a waterbed?

A waterbed feels different from a foam or innerspring mattress. It gives way and adapts to your body. How much depends on the individual bed.

This matters for your neck. How deeply your shoulder sinks in changes the distance between your head and the mattress. And that is exactly the gap the pillow fills.

That is why we can't tell you across the board whether you need a higher or a lower pillow on a waterbed. Any such statement would be a guess. It is better to work out the height from your own measurements.

What does the right pillow height depend on?

Three things determine how high a pillow should be: your body measurements, your sleeping position and your mattress.

Body measurements are different for everyone. Pillowise works with three measuring points:

Then there is your sleeping position: back, side or stomach. If you sleep on your side, you need room for your shoulder. You can read more in our article The Right Pillow for Side Sleepers.

The third factor is the mattress. At Pillowise, we distinguish between soft, medium and firm. Depending on how far you sink in, the height the pillow has to make up for shifts. This is exactly where the uncertainty lies with a waterbed. More on that in the section further down.

We explain how to estimate the height in general in Calculating Pillow Height.

How do I know if the pillow is part of the problem?

If you regularly wake up with a stiff or sore neck, pillow height may play a role. It doesn't have to, though. Neck pain has many possible causes.

You will find tips on what to look out for in Pillow Too High or Too Low? How to Tell. For an overview of pillows and neck tension, see the article Which Pillow for Neck Pain?

Can the right pillow fix neck pain?

No. The right pillow is not a cure. It can help keep your head and cervical spine in line through the night and give your shoulder room. It promises nothing more than that.

As a physiotherapist, I have seen many people with neck complaints. The pillow was often only one piece of the puzzle. If your pain persists, gets worse or spreads into your arms or head, please have the cause assessed by a doctor. That applies no matter what kind of bed you sleep on.

How does Pillowise approach choosing a pillow?

Pillowise is a made-to-measure pillow that I developed as a physiotherapist together with United Comfort Industries. The starting point was simple: I couldn't recommend a suitable pillow to my patients with neck complaints. So I developed a measuring method that determines the right pillow with three measurements.

Here is how it works:

1. Measure. Shoulder width, neck circumference and neck length are measured.
2. Enter your sleeping position. Back, side or stomach.
3. Enter your mattress. Soft, medium or firm.
4. Get your size. An algorithm uses this information to choose the best-fitting pillow.

There are six sizes, each with its own colour: pink, orange, green, blue, red and purple. The pillow measures 55 x 35 cm and has a core of 100% memory foam, made in the Netherlands. You can read about how this material behaves in Memory Foam Pillows: Effects, Pros and Cons. The cover has a moisture-regulating top layer made of Tencel and can be machine washed at 40 °C. The materials are certified to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX. We give a five-year warranty on every pillow; you can find the terms under Warranty Terms.

For an overview of the pillow, see The Pillow.

Where can I get measured, and what should I keep in mind with a waterbed?

There are two ways. You can get measured at a Pillowise retail location using the Pillowise measuring tape. Or you can work out your size yourself with PillowScan at scan.pillowise.com, on your mobile phone or via a QR code. Retail locations include physiotherapy and chiropractic clinics, sleep specialists, wellness clinics and specialty retailers. There is no consumer web shop on pillowise.com.

With a waterbed, what matters is the mattress information you provide. We don't know your bed. Whether you would rate it as soft, medium or firm depends on how you lie on it. If in doubt, get measured at a retail location and discuss the rating there.

Retail locations have a display with all six pillows. There you can try your size and, for comparison, another size. Keep in mind that in the store you are not lying on your own waterbed. How the pillow feels at home can only be judged there.

We compare pillows and materials in general, honestly, in Which Pillow Is the Best?

So: do you need a different pillow because of your waterbed?

If you wake up without complaints and sleep well, you don't need to change anything. Your pillow evidently suits your bed.

If, on the other hand, you often wake up with neck pain, it makes sense to check the pillow height rather than buy another pillow on a hunch. The waterbed doesn't make estimating any easier, because you sink in differently. So start from your own measurements. If the pain persists, the cause belongs in a doctor's hands.

Work out your size yourself or get measured. Find your pillow size here, or find a retail location near you.

Thijs van der Hilst, physiotherapist (non-practising)
Inventor of Pillowise