The 10 Best Anti Snore Pillows

Editor's Notes

September 13, 2020:

My Experience with Snoring: Having struggled with heavy snoring, acid reflux and even sleep apnea myself, I have quite a bit of experience in this area, which I thought would come in handy during this update. Over time, I’ve found that the best remedy for snoring is a combination of a good diet and exercise – particularly cardiovascular activities like running on a treadmill, but also toning exercises.

Growing up, I was generally a very fit, sporty person. But there was a period after college where I had ‘let myself go’ – I was eating junk food every day, and I had stopped exercising. I had struggled with light snoring on and off throughout my life, but it certainly became a lot heavier and more disruptive during this period, to the point where I had woken up in the night choking on a few occasions, and I’d also never feel quite rested half the time, and I’d feel groggy in the morning and have headaches some days – a common symptom of sleep apnea. People I stayed with were also beginning complain about how ridiculously loud my snoring was, and on top of that, I had started struggling with acid reflux because of my poor diet.

Finding the Best Solution – A Wedge Pillow: All of this served as a wake-up call for me – pun intended- and I began experimenting with various snoring and sleep-apnea solutions, while I built up my fitness. I tried various mouth-guard type solutions, which, by the way, often interrupt sleep because they’re quite painful. I also tried acupressure rings and wristbands which claim to cure snoring, mostly just in order to appease my mom, who’s into those things - but, to me, they’re nothing more than marketing gimmicks. I looked at a few studies, but nothing was as valuable as my own experience here, which taught me that the best anti-snore solution is to sleep with your head elevated. My first breakthrough happened when I elevated my head with 3 pillows, and that’s when I bought a wedge pillow and everything changed.

I’ve since discovered the logic behind why a wedge pillow works. When you sleep horizontally, your jaw falls backward and blocks your airway, but if you sleep at an incline, your jaw falls down instead of backward. This effect becomes more pronounced with a steeper incline, though it does become a trade-off between your incline and comfort levels. I’ve since seen many sleep doctors support this reasoning and recommend wedge pillows themselves, and this is also why people on planes snore less. Not many medical professionals are aware of this, and I ended up passing on this information to my parents – both of whom are doctors. My dad in particular used to struggle from heavy snoring and sleep apnea, until I convinced him to buy a wedge pillow. If you’re using a CPAP machine, then a wedge pillow should reduce your reliance on it.

Updates to This List: Thus, during this update, I’ve replaced of many of the conventional-type pillows that we had on our list with wedge pillows, so you can benefit from the inclined position. Arguably, many flat pillows that are marketed as anti-snore pillows are slightly better than your average pillow, since they may be firmer, but, having tried all sorts of firm pillows and memory foam pillows, nothing quite beats sleeping on an incline, regardless of the pillow material, or hardness of the pillow and other factors. I’ve borrowed many of the recommendations like the MedSlant Big, Relax Home Life Wedge and Brentwood Home Zuma from our list of the best wedge pillows. I have left a few of the other options in like the Cradle Me Contour and Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury, though I’ve moved them to the back of the list.

Some of the wedge pillows like the InteVision Extra Large and MedSlant Big are quite large, but if you do find yourself rolling off, then perhaps consider getting two, or even looking into a more comprehensive solution like an adjustable bed or even a MediWedge mattress.

November 02, 2018:

We made sure to include a variety of shapes, heights, angles, and fillings in our list. Regardless of the sleep position you prefer, we aimed to include a pillow to suit everybody's needs. Many have been chiropractor- and doctor-tested to ensure they hold the user at the best angle to not only allow for easier breathing, but also lessen the chances of the user waking up with sore or numb spots.