Most people sleep best on one or two pillows, and the right number is the one that keeps your head level with your spine. The Sleep Foundation says side sleepers need a pillow that fills the gap between head and mattress, back sleepers do well with a mid-height pillow, and front sleepers usually prefer a very thin pillow or none at all. A sleeping pillow is the pillow your head actually rests on at night, as opposed to the shams and cushions that dress a made bed. This guide covers the count for each sleeping position, whether two pillows are bad, what the 2 2 1 pillow rule means, how many pillows fit a king size bed, and how many to buy.
How many pillows should you sleep with for your position?
Side sleepers need one high pillow that fills the gap between head and mattress, back sleepers need one medium pillow, and front sleepers need one very thin pillow or none, the Sleep Foundation says.
A second pillow often goes somewhere other than under your head. The Sleep Foundation's medically reviewed guide to sleeping positions says many side sleepers put a thin pillow between their knees to keep the hips aligned, back sleepers with back pain can try a thin pillow under the knees, and front sleepers can put a thin pillow under the hips. The same guide estimates that more than 60% of adults sleep on their side, so side sleepers are the group most likely to end up with two pillows in the bed.
| Sleeping position | Under your head | Optional extra | From our range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side | 1 high pillow that fills the gap to the mattress | 1 thin pillow between the knees | Bounce Back Firm, Textured |
| Back | 1 medium pillow | 1 thin pillow under the knees | Hotel Quality, Bounce Back Medium |
| Front | 1 very thin pillow, or none | 1 thin pillow under the hips | Bounce Back Soft |
The Bounce Back listing puts it in the same order: "soft for stomach sleepers, medium for backs, firm for side sleepers who need their neck held level". Front sleepers weighing up no pillow at all can read our guide on whether it's better to sleep without a pillow.
Firmness decides how well a pillow holds its height through the night. Our guide on how to choose a pillow goes through height, filling and firmness in more detail.
Is sleeping with two pillows bad?
No, sleeping with two pillows isn't bad if the pair keeps your head in line with your spine. Two pillows become a problem when the stack tips your head forwards, backwards or to the side.
NHS physiotherapy advice leans towards one. A Cambridge University Hospitals NHS leaflet on neck exercises says "one pillow is advisable so that your head does not tilt to the side, forwards or backwards", and to keep your head in the middle, in line with your spine. The same leaflet says you may need a towel or second pillow to support your neck where it dips in compared with your head. In that leaflet, a second pillow is there to fill a gap under the neck.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran's neck pain page comes at it from the pillow itself. It says a pillow that's too soft, too firm or too thick could be contributing to neck discomfort, and that simply changing the number of pillows you use may help. Neither leaflet sets one number for everyone.
Extra pillows for heartburn are a separate case. The NHS heartburn and acid reflux page advises raising the head of the bed by around 10 to 20 cm, and says not to try to get the same effect with extra pillows.
What is the 2 2 1 pillow rule?
The 2 2 1 pillow rule is a bed styling formula: two sleeping pillows, two shams, then one decorative pillow on top. It's about how a made bed looks in the daytime, and it says nothing about how many pillows to sleep on.
The formula comes from interior designer Shea McGee, who told Apartment Therapy she likes "to start with two sleeping pillows and two shams for a great base", then layer in throw pillows or a single long lumbar. A sham is a decorative pillow cover, closed on all sides and usually slit at the back, as Wikipedia's pillowcase entry describes it. If you use square continental pillows for the shams, UK size charts put them at 65x65 cm.
At bedtime the shams and the decorative pillow come off. Wikipedia notes that decorative pillows usually go off the bed at night because their covers aren't washable like a pillowcase. You're back to the 2 sleeping pillows, which is one per person on a double, or two for one person.
How many pillows for a king size bed?
A UK king size bed takes two standard pillows side by side, or four if you each sleep on two. A king mattress is 150 cm wide, and two 74 cm pillows laid end to end take 148 cm, leaving 2 cm spare.
Every one of our bed pillow listings that gives a size says 48x74 cm, the standard UK size, so the sums work for any of them. Add a back row of squares for a dressed bed and two 65 cm continental pillows take 130 cm, which leaves 10 cm of headboard showing either side.
| King bed layout | Pillows | Width used of 150 cm |
|---|---|---|
| One pillow each | 2 standard | 148 cm |
| Two pillows each, stacked | 4 standard | 148 cm |
| Dressed: two each, plus a back row of squares and one cushion | 4 standard, 2 continental, 1 decorative | 148 cm front, 130 cm back |
A super king is 180 cm wide, which is where king-length pillows or a third standard pillow start to fit. Our chart of UK bed sizes in cm lists every mattress width, and our guide to UK pillow sizes shows how many pillows fit each bed.
How many pillows should you buy?
Buy one pillow for every head in the bed, plus one more each if you stack two or want a spare while the others dry after a wash. For a couple that means a 4 pack, and a guest room or two takes a 6 or 8 pack.
Our hotel quality pillows come in packs of 2, 4, 6 or 8, and the price per pillow drops as the pack grows. They're 48x74 cm, filled with virgin hollowfibre, and the listing describes them as medium support that "suits side and back sleepers".
| Hotel quality pack | Price | Per pillow | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 pack | £11.99 | £6.00 | One sleeper on two pillows, or a couple on one each |
| 4 pack | £16.99 | £4.25 | A couple on two each |
| 6 pack | £22.99 | £3.83 | A couple on two each, plus a single guest bed |
| 8 pack | £27.99 | £3.50 | Two double beds with two pillows per person |
The 8 pack works out at £2.50 less per pillow than the 2 pack. You can compare all four sizes on our pillow multi-packs page.
Count the pillowcases too. Our duvet cover sets come with 2 pillowcases for a double, king, super king or emperor, at 54x77 cm, so sleeping on two pillows each means buying 2 more cases. Our plain pillowcases come in a pack of 2 in the 48x74 cm size, in 6 colours, for £7.99.
Written by the Adam Home team in the UK.
