The best body pillows to cuddle up with day or night – CNET [CNET]

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Body pillows may seem like a luxury, but for many people, they’re a must-have (even if you don’t know it yet). While frequently marketed toward pregnant women, body pillows are also an excellent bedtime companion for side sleepers, stomach sleepers or anyone dealing with regular back or hip pain. Not only do they take comfort up a notch, the best body pillows also help support your back, neck and hips so your spine stays aligned while you sleep. 

But with varying fills, shapes and support levels, there are lots of different options to choose from and digging through them can take some time. To help narrow it down for you, I’ve rounded up some of the best body pillows you can find online right now. From down alternative fills to cooling covers to detachable extensions, there’s something here for everyone.

Coop Home Goods The Coop Home Goods Body Pillow is the standout choice for several reasons. It’s filled with a hypoallergenic combination of memory foam and microfiber that are cut into little pieces for ultimate adjustability and shapeability. To find your ideal comfort level, you can open the zippered cover and remove as much — or as little — foam as you want.

Everything is packaged in an ultra-breathable Lulltra fabric (as Coop Home Goods calls it), which is a combination of polyester and rayon made from bamboo that’s super comfy and lightweight, so you don’t feel too hot when you’re cuddling your pillow. And with a 100-night sleep trial and a five-year limited warranty, the purchase is practically risk-free.

Sharper Image If you’re a side sleeper — or you like to relax on your side while you watch TV — the Full Support Body Pillow from Sharper Image is the choice for you. It’s 10 feet long, but the U-shape design minimizes its overall footprint and allows you to twist it and shape your body around it any way you want.

It’s designed to promote proper alignment of your back, neck, hips and spine while you lounge, while also alleviating pressure in these areas. The hypoallergenic polyester fill is also resistant to clumping, so the body pillow retains its shape well, even if you’re using it for some serious nighttime cuddling.

Queen Rose

While technically classified as a pregnancy pillow, this Queen Rose U-Shaped Pillow is a top-of-the-line body pillow for all. It has an extra-wide top surface that fully supports your head when lying down or can be propped up to act like a back rest for reading or watching TV.

The zippered cover and adjustable polyfill allow you to remove stuffing to make it firmer or softer, depending on what you need at any given time. And the cover is removable and machine-washable, so it’s easy to clean when you feel like things are starting to get a little funky.

Leachco

If you’re on the hunt for a body pillow for back pain, Leachco’s got you covered with the Back ‘N Belly Chic Supreme. While this body pillow is also marketed toward pregnant women, the contoured, body-hugging design helps alleviate pressure for anyone. In addition to offering extra support for your back, it also has a natural curved shape near the top that supports your neck and shoulders to help with proper spinal alignment.

The design makes it especially great if you toss and turn from side to side during the night. The inner contours on both sides follow the natural shape of your body so you don’t have to adjust too much to get the right fit or positioning as you move.

Amazon

If just thinking about cuddling up next to a full-length body pillow at night is enough to make you work up a sweat, you need the Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury Bamboo Body Pillow. Made with an extra-breathable microvented cover that combines mostly bamboo and polyester, this is one of the best body pillows for hot sleepers.

Not only does it stay cool — and keep you cool — all night by distributing and releasing heat, it’s hypoallergenic, dust mite-resistant and eco-friendly so you can breathe easy while sleeping soundly. The shredded memory foam fill is also nontoxic and certified by CertiPUR-US, so there’s no concern about any off-gassing like with other memory foams.

Parachute Home

The Parachute Down Alternative Body Pillow Insert combines comfort with luxury. It’s made from super-fine, hypoallergenic microfiber that closely resembles the plushness and the cozy warmth that you get from down. Everything is nicely packaged in a soft 100% cotton shell that’s machine-washable, as long as you use the delicate cycle.

One thing to note is that this body pillow doesn’t come with a cover, so you’ll have to purchase one separately (if you want one), but Parachute offers four neutral, desert-inspired options that you can change as your style changes.

Amazon

With its U-shaped design, detachable extension and polyfill blend that holds its shape, the PharMeDoc Pregnancy Pillow provides support for your back, hips, knees, neck and head to help alleviate pain and discomfort during pregnancy and beyond. You can use the pillow as-is for full body support or remove the detachable portion to give yourself more space or prop up a book or tablet when you want to sit upright.

It also comes with a zippered travel bag so if you need to take it with you on the go — or to the hospital when it’s time to welcome your little one — it’s easy and less cumbersome than others.

Plow & Hearth

Whether you call it a body pillow or an enormous stuffed animal, this pick from Plow & Hearth is the best body pillow for kids and/or young-at-heart adults. Aside from being adorable, the oversized pillow is ideal for sleeping, lounging and/or lying on to read. It’s filled with polyester stuffing and covered in faux fur that’s soft and plush to the touch, but also dense and built to withstand the most serious cuddling.

If bears don’t really do anything for you, there are also other animal shapes including a fox, a labrador retriever, a fawn, a cow and a koala. And for each of these body pillows sold, Plow & Hearth will donate $1 to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, a no-kill organization that offers shelter and care to animals in need.

Sleep soundly