Should You Buy a Travel Neck Pillow?

Have you ever used a neck pillow? Maybe you’re planning on buying one but are not sure what you should choose that will be comfortable enough for you and support your neck and head adequately for sleeping purposes.

In this post, we will discuss the types of neck pillows available in the market, and whether they will provide good cervical support because you don’t want to be waking up with neck pain and stiffness. Just because you’re buying discount online tickets doesn’t mean you have to give up on comfort.

If you’re out to find cheap flights and international flight offers, look no further than us. 

Types of Neck Pillows

The best types of neck pillows depends on a lot of factors- your sleep position, cause of neck pain and what you’re comfortable with.  Common types of neck pillows include:

1) Neck rolls

2) D-core, which has a D-shaped indentation in the middle for your head

3) Standard contour pillows-  the wavy ones, with a lengthwise indentation for your head

4) Horseshoe-shaped

Neck pillows come with different types of material fillings like down, memory foam, cotton, and synthetics that are useful in reducing heat and sweat absorbent. The material of the filling matters, according to experts.

Although it all boils down to what you’re more comfortable with, usually materials that are heat and sweat wicking to keep you cool make you have a better sleep. 

If you’re sleeping while traveling, whether you’re in the reclining flight seat or standard ones, try using a horseshoe- shaped or U- shaped pillow because they support your neck so it won’t get tired or jostle to either side when you sleep. While they’re very much the popular choice among travelers, they have started to wear it so that the gap is placed and aligned at the back of the neck.

This is so that the chin is supported by the pillow to prevent it from drooping and gets rid of the strain in your neck by supporting it from the front, not back; even if your neck is jostled from side to side.

Apart from the pillows mentioned above, there are a few other kinds of pillows that are preferred by travelers. There are some who prefer pillows that are inflatable so they can use it and deflate it to pack it back in their traveling bag or carry on.

There are infinity pillows available for those travelers who want to twist, bundle and wrap their pillows any way they like to find the best comfortable position for them. Some pillows help prevent travelers from sweating, although its supporters are few. Still others out there are machine washable as well.

Are Travel Neck Pillows Really Worth the Hype?

After seeing so many travelers using it and some swearing by it, you’d probably be wondering if you should be buying it and what type should you buy. Does it really help you sleep better and not wake up cranky, even on a red eye flight?

Can it help relieve the stiffness in your neck later on? The absolute answer, while varies by opinions, can only be decided by you.

If you’re relying on research to tell you what works best for you, you won’t be finding agreement on one particular opinion. Some would say that water- filled pillows are much better than supporting your neck compared to neck rolls or standard pillows. Others will say that a roll shaped pillow helps in decreasing neck pain.

Here are some pros and cons to help you make your answer clearer.

Pros

1) It helps support your neck while sleeping during travel.

2) Neck pillows aren’t counted as additional carry- on luggage by the airlines, so even if you can’t stuff it in your bag, you can relax.

3) Usually travel neck pillows are very affordable so you can try from the lowest and upgrade it later on, if needed.

Cons

1) You have to test and try various types of pillows before you can find the one right for you.

2) It can be inconvenient to carry around.