The Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow is so good, it just converted me from a front sleeper into a side sleeper – if you lie on your side at night, this is the pillow for you

My Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow review tests this bestselling pillow to see how it compares to the best pillows on the market. If you're a side sleeper, you'll want to read on.

In a nutshell

Overall, I think the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow is one of the best pillows for side sleepers on the market.

That's because a side sleeper needs a pillow that can fill the gap between their ear and the edge of their shoulder to support the head in a posture that allows for optimum spinal alignment whilst in bed.

Because all of us are built differently, with different widths of shoulders, that means one size pillow doesn't fit all, so finding a pillow as a side sleeper can be tricky.

The Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow is somewhat unique in that it recognises this problem, and is available in four different heights – 8, 10, 12, and 14cm. This means it's very easy to find the right height pillow for your individual needs.

Plus, this pillow is much firmer than most. Whilst that firmness took me a while to get used to, I soon realised the benefit because it meant my head stayed well supported throughout the night, rather than gradually sinking lower as the night wore on.

Just like its name suggests, after testing it for a month, this pillow has definitely improved my sleep posture and consequently improved my sleep. If you're a side sleeper, you should definitely test it out, and thanks to a 44-night sleep trial, that's easy to do. Your neck and back will thank you.

Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow review

Specifications

• Best for: side sleepers
• RRP: £80
• Heights available: 4
• Dimensions: W40 x L60 x H8/10/12/14cm
• Feel: firm
• Materials: cover: nylon, inner: foam
• Care instructions: the removable cover is machine-washable at 40°c, the foam core can't be washed
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 44 nights

Comfort

It should be said that before I began testing this pillow, I considered myself a front sleeper. It was a sleeping position I was eager to change, because in my role as Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I've spoken to numerous sleep and medical experts who've warned me this is a bad position for your neck to be in all night. That makes sense, twisting your neck 90 degrees all night doesn't seem wise, and I often woke up with a neck ache.

However, despite everything I know about how to choose a pillow, I'd never managed to find a pillow that totally fit the bill for comfortable for side sleeping. The pillows I'd tested (and there have been a lot!) were always too high or too low, too hot or too hard for me, and after a few weeks I always ended up returning to my trusty super flat feather and down pillow, where I knew I could get a good night's sleep on my front. That was until I tested the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow.

As I've already mentioned, this pillow is available in four heights, and a simple 'find your size' tool on the Levitex website guides you through finding the right fit for your body based on your height and the firmness of your mattress. At 5'9" with a medium tension mattress, I was advised to choose the 12cm deep Sleep Posture Pillow.

When the pillow arrived, I initially wasn't sure if it was a tiny bit too high because my mattress is perhaps a little softer than I accounted for when using Levitex's online tool. But when I tested it with a firm mattress topper (the IKEA NISSEHOLM topper for those interested) on the bed, I found the pillow was indeed exactly the right height to fit snugly between my ear and the mattress when I was lying on my side.

That said, to begin with I found the pillow a little strange to get used to. Levitex says that if the pillow is the right height for you, it should feel like you want to push your head into the pillow but can't, and this is exactly how it felt, which I found a bit of a strange sensation at first.

I also wasn't used to sleeping on a pillow that is this firm. It doesn't feel hard (like I found the Simba Hybrid Firm Pillow did, and which I, for one, was very glad about) but it does feel very dense and supportive, which was a big change from my previous soft and squishy feather and down pillow.

However, after a few nights' sleep, I completely understood why this firmness is necessary. I soon noticed it prevented my head from gradually sinking during the night as I'd found happened on the slightly softer Panda Memory Foam Bamboo Pillow and Panda Hybrid Bamboo Pillow, for instance, and it made for very stable support.

This meant the Sleep Posture Pillow kept my head, neck, and back well aligned and in its optimum posture all night long, rather than the filling gradually shifting or dropping. And *that* meant better sleep posture all night long and no aching neck or back in the morning.

This firmer feel also prevented me from slumping forward or back as my body relaxed. Although I did find I needed to adopt some other strategies to help keep my body in this position during the night. Levitex recommends hugging a pillow at your front to prevent your body from slumping forwards, which I found really helped, and I found wedging a pillow behind my back stopped me from tipping backwards. (Levitex has just launched a Side Sleeper Keeper that is also designed to help with this).

One of only two downsides I found, comfort-wise, was that this pillow is all about support, and that does mean it feels a little utilitarian. It isn't squishy or luxurious; instead, it's practical and has made a big positive impact on my sleep posture. I guess maybe you can't have it all, and seeing as it's still the first pillow I reach for at night, I think that says a lot.

The other downside is that if you're an active sleeper, like me, you can't really change position on this pillow. Once you've committed to buying the right height Levitex pillow for side or back sleeping, that's it, you're kind of restricted to that one sleeping position, as my pillow was too high for me to lie comfortably on my back.

This will be no problem if you're a dedicated side or back sleeper, but a little problematic if you'd prefer to be a side *and* back sleeper. In this case, the versatile Kally Sleep Neck Pain Pillow is still the best I've tested. Annoyingly, it's just only available in one height.

Temperature regulation

As a hot sleeper, I have to admit I was a little wary that this foam-core pillow was going to cause my head to get very hot overnight.

One of the reasons I loved my old feather and down pillow so much is that it always stayed cool and breathable, so I never woke up with a hot or sweaty head. Whereas whenever I've slept on a synthetic microfibre, hollowfibre, foam, or memory foam pillow, I've found the pillow gets warm after 15 minutes or so, and I have to flip it over to find a cooler side. This is part of the reason I'd decided that feather and down was the best pillow filling for me.

In practice, the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow wasn't as cool as a feather and down pillow; I noticed it was slightly warm to the touch after 20 minutes with my head on it, but it also didn't cause me to overheat in anywhere near the same way a lot of foam and memory foam pillows have.

I think this is likely because the Sleep Posture Pillow is firmer, so my head stays on the pillow rather than sinking in. That means there's a lot less heat built up around and underneath my head during the night All in all, this pillow didn't do a bad job of maintaining a neutral temperature overnight.

Ease of care

The foam core of the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow can't be washed, but the outer cover can be unzipped and popped in the washing machine at 40°C.

This is also a standard-sized pillow, which makes adding a pillow protector and a pillowcase much easier. Because of that foam core, there's also no plumping or redistribution of the filling required, so it's very easy to care for.

Sleep trial

Levitex recognises that a new pillow can take some getting used to, especially if, like the Sleep Posture Pillow, it causes us to alter our sleep posture slightly.

That's why the brand offers a generous 44-night sleep trial to test out the Sleep Posture Pillow and make sure it's the right fit for you. Levitex just recommends that we give the pillow a try for at least two weeks so our body has time to adapt to the new posture.

In practice, I think this is good advice. It definitely took around a week for me to adjust to my new sleeping position, and to concoct a solution to stop me from slumping either forwards or backwards in the night.

Value for money

This pillow isn't cheap by most of our standards; £80 is a significant investment. However, I've now tested plenty of pillows that are more expensive and deliver a lot less, as well as cheaper pillows that don't live up to the task, so I do think the Sleep Posture Pillow is well worth the investment.

Because it's available in those four height options, it's one of the few pillows I've come across where any side sleeper is going to be able to find their exact right height of support.

And if you have neck pain or back pain, or are struggling to get a good night's sleep on a pillow that's the wrong height for you, that better night's sleep can be priceless.

Plus, the 44 night sleep trial makes that investment a lot less risky. It gives the opportunity to test out the pillow in practice and make sure it really does deliver for you before you commit. If you're a side sleeper, I definitely think this is a pillow well worth testing out.