10 Best Body Pillows UK 2024 | Perfect for Pregnancy, GERDs and Sleep Posture

When you wake up in the morning, you should feel refreshed and relaxed; but if you find that you have aches and pains all along your spinal area, chances are your sleeping posture may have a part to play.

For those that have this issue, a body pillow that can be placed between your knees and under your head to help straighten out and relieve pressure on your spine can really improve your quality of sleep. But even if you're not a slide sleeper, a body pillow can also be placed in such a way that it supports the lumbar area to reduce stress on your lower back, too. 

As your bump starts to grow, you may find that your options for safe sleep positions become limited. Sleeping on your stomach will be about as comfortable as sleeping on a beach ball and sleeping on you back can compress the vein that supplies blood to your baby, which leaves side sleeping as your only option.

Much like for poor posture, using a body pillow will help to maintain proper alignment and relieve spinal pressure; while also providing support to particular parts of your body like, some for your back, others for your knees but most vitally, your belly.  

For the ultimate comfort while pregnant, you might also want to rest up under a Weighted Blanket, a guide to which you'll find here.  

While a body pillow is by no means a cure for any medical condition, they may help to relieve the symptoms that tend to creep up on you during the night. 

Sleep apnea and GERD sufferers can also benefit from body pillows as they can elevate the upper body, head and neck area to possibly relieve symptoms related to these conditions. For sleep apnea sufferers, it can promote side-sleeping and for those with GERDs it can prevent the backwash of acid into the esophagus.

If you want a low maintenance and fairly cheap pillow, then looking for a polyester filling is definitely your best bet. These types of pillows will be very easy to clean and give you a respectable medium firmness to rest yourself upon. 

Unfortunately, low-quality polyester-filled pillows have a notoriously short life span that once you've washed it you'll start to notice the fill inside clumping together and lose its elasticity. Therfore, you should make sure to look for a tightly packed hollow fibre pillow to ensure this doesn't happen. However, for those that will only be using them occasionally, this is a well-priced option to consider. 

Unlike polyester, shredded memory foam won't clump and doesn't need to be fluffed and definitely offers a good amount of prolonged medium-firm support. But while it is more breathable than solid memory foam, it will still retain a sum of body heat making it less comfortable in hotter weather and for those who run hot.

Also be aware that body pillows filled with memory foam are prone to "off-gassing", which is that pungent smell from the leftover chemicals in the pillow from manufacturing. The odour tends to dissipate after a few days but if you're concerned by the potentially harmful toxins in these pillows, it would be advised to avoid any synthetic filling and opt for natural materials like cotton.

Cotton filled body pillows sit nicely between polyester and shredded memory foam in terms of comfort and longevity. They are completely safe from harmful toxins, so odour-free and more comfortable and breathable than many other types of pillows.

Its only let down is that, much like low quality polyester, body pillows with a cotton fill have a tendency to clump and flatten over time. Thus, may lack the height and support that its synthetic siblings can provide.  

Probably the most popular out of all the body pillows for its space-saving shape. These are a great option for anybody, but perhaps more so for side-sleepers as this is designed to be hugged to support and align your spine from head to toe. However, if you're prone to being a back-sleeper you may prefer the following type of pillow below for more secured support.

You can use this sans regular pillow or put together for the extra head and neck support too, especially for sleep apnea and GERD sufferers where head elevation is key to helping reduce nightly symptoms.  

The C or U shaped pillow is the largest and space-consuming of the lot, but will arguably give you the most support. These pillows will curve around your body to provide support not only to your head, neck, stomach and legs, but also support your back as well.

They are suitable for all the previously mentioned nocturnal concerns, but a perfect match for anyone who finds themselves tossing and turning during the night and need the 360° support for their spinal region. 

If you find that you need more upper body support, then opting for a v-shaped pillow is your best option. Because of its shape, the v part of the pillow provide the needed support to your neck while the two sides will cradle the back or chest to maintain spinal alignment.

As these types of pillows focus on upper body support, we don't recommend them for pregnant women as the support doesn't quite reach the stomach; however, we highly recommend them to those who suffer from sleep apnea and GERDs as they provide the much-needed elevation to reduce nightly symptoms. They're also quite easy to fold and store away, too!