You lie down on your side, your top leg slides forward and down onto the bottom one, and within a few minutes the knee that's pressed against the other knee starts to bother you. A knee pillow for side sleepers fixes exactly that, and it takes about a minute to set up properly.
Most of the trouble people have with one comes from where they put it. Here is the whole setup, step by step.
What a knee pillow does for side sleepers
When you lie on your side, your top leg has nothing to rest on. It drops toward the mattress, your hip rotates forward and your lower back follows. A pillow between the knees holds the top leg up at the height of your hip, so your thighs stay roughly parallel instead of folding over each other.
It also keeps your knees from touching. Bone on bone for six or seven hours is a small thing that adds up, and it's the first thing most people notice once there's something soft in the gap.
The setup, step by step
- Lie on your side with your head on your usual pillow and your knees bent a little. Stop well short of tucking them up to your chest.
- Hold the knee pillow between your thighs, just above the knees, and let your top leg settle onto it.
- Look at your top knee. It should sit level with your hip. If it drops below, the pillow is too low, and if it rides above, it's too tall.
- Slide the pillow up or down until both knees rest on it with no gap, then put the strap over your top leg.
- Roll your hips back a touch so your pelvis is stacked, one hip directly over the other.
If the pillow feels like it's pushing your legs apart, it's too far up toward your thighs. Move it down until your knees are doing the resting.
How it should feel
Our Knee Pillow is a memory foam shape that measures 25.5 x 18 x 18 cm, and the top of it dips in the middle so your knees settle into it instead of sitting on top. Your legs should feel held level, with no sense of being wedged apart. If you have to squeeze your thighs to keep it there, bend your knees a little more.
The cover zips off the foam, which is useful because a pillow that sits against your skin all night is one you'll want to wash. It comes in gray, pink or teal.
Keeping it in place all night
This is the common complaint: you wake up at 3 AM and the pillow is on the floor or down by your ankles.
The strap is there for this. An elastic band goes over your top leg, so when you shift or roll the pillow moves with you instead of dropping out. Put it on loose enough that it doesn't dig in when you stretch, and tight enough that the pillow can't slide.
If you turn over a lot, you'll notice the pillow doesn't move with you when you flip to the other side. Pick it up and put it back between your knees. Most people do it half asleep after a night or two.
Mistakes that make a knee pillow feel wrong
Putting it between your ankles. The pillow belongs at the knees. Ankles are too low and the top leg still tips forward.
Choosing a pillow that is too thick or too thin. If your top knee sits higher than your hip, the pillow is too tall for you. If it still drops below the hip, it is too low. A pillow that holds your leg level with your hip is the right height.
Skipping the head pillow. Your knee pillow is half of a side sleeping setup. If your neck is bent, no amount of work between the knees will help, and our side sleeper setup guide covers the other two gaps, the one under your head and the one in front of your chest.
Using it on your back. It's shaped for the gap between your legs when you lie on your side, and that's the position it's built for.
Who a knee pillow suits
Side sleepers who wake up with a sore hip or a knee that's gone numb are the obvious fit. Anyone who sleeps with their top leg pulled forward will feel the difference. If you sleep on your stomach or mostly on your back, a different pillow will serve you better.
A quick check you can do in bed tonight
Lie on your side with the pillow in place and ask yourself three things. Is your top knee level with your hip? Can you feel one hip stacked over the other, with your lower back flat and not twisted? Does the strap let you move your leg without the pillow riding up?
If the answer to all three is yes, leave it alone and sleep. If one of them is a no, adjust only that one thing, then lie still for a minute before you change anything else. Moving three things at once is how you lose track of which one fixed it.
Knee pillow or a regular pillow between your knees
People searching for a knee pillow for side sleepers are often already using a bed pillow folded between their legs. It works for a night or two. The folded pillow spreads out, springs open and ends up under your top leg or on the floor. A pillow shaped for the job keeps its height, and the dip in the top gives your knees somewhere to rest.
A regular pillow is a fair way to find out whether you like the feel of something between your knees. If you do, a proper knee pillow is the next step.
Where it fits in a side sleeping setup
The knee pillow is one of three gaps on your side: head, knees and chest. If your neck feels crooked in the morning, start with your head pillow, because a good knee pillow won't correct that. The pillows collection has a contour pillow for the neck and a travel pillow for trips, and the side sleeper collection puts the knee and contour pillows next to each other.
What it costs and what comes with it
The Knee Pillow is C$28.99 in all three colours. Shipping is free to 96 countries and returns run 30 days, so you can try it in your own bed for a few nights. You can see it on the Knee Pillow page, or look at the other pillows in the pillows collection.
If it doesn't suit you, send it back.
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