When you hear "memory foam," the following thought is almost always "Ooh, comfy." Watching someone's handprint disappear very slowly is admittedly mesmerizing, and automatically makes you want to lay your head on that same material.
But that handprint phenomenon in a pillow isn't always a recipe for the comfiest sleep of your life.
When it's cheaply-made, memory foam isn't as soft as you think it is. The crappy stuff usually falls on two ends of the spectrum: Being so slow to respond to pressure that you might as well be sleeping on a rock, or a squish that resembles that of a dish sponge. Older memory foam designs also have the tendency to trap heat and make you really, really sweaty. Read more...
More about Culture, Sleep, Pillows, Mashable Shopping, and Hit SnoozeBEST SHREDDED MEMORY FOAM
Layla Kapok PillowThere's nothing like this mix of shredded foam and kapok, which molds to your head with a little bit of fluff.
- Trial period: 120 nights
- Loft: 8 inches
- Sizes: Queen, king
- Adjustable fill: Yes
BEST COOLING PILLOW
Bear PillowThis blue and white pillow is as cooling as it looks and has a latex-y bounce along with conforming foam.
- Trial period: 100 nights
- Loft height: 5 to 5.5 inches
- Sizes: Queen, king
- Adjustable fill: No
BEST FOR BACK SLEEPERS
Casper Foam PillowThree layers of high and low-density foam were combined to create a huggable cloud that works for back and side sleeping.
- Trial period: 100 nights
- Loft height: 5 inches
- Sizes: Standard, king
- Adjustable fill: No
BEST FOR SIDE SLEEPERS
Tempur-Cloud BreezeExperience Tempur-Pedic's famous NASA-designed foam and cooling pads with a loft higher than most gel pillows.
- Trial period: 90 nights
- Loft height: 6.4 inches
- Sizes: Queen, king
- Adjustable fill: No
BEST BODY PILLOW
Coop Home Goods Body PillowYour whole body will stay afloat all night on this cuddly balance of cross-cut foam, fluff, and a bamboo cover.
- Trial period: 100 nights
- Loft height: 7 inches
- Size: Standard (20'' x 54'')
- Adjustable fill: Yes
BEST FOR STOMACH SLEEPERS
Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling PillowBrooklyn Bedding has achieved a cool combo (literally) of low-loft, fast-acting foam and chilly phase change material.
- Trial period: 30 nights
- Loft height: 3 to 4 inches
- Sizes: Queen, king
- Adjustable fill: No
BEST MEMORY FOAM ALTERNATIVE
Purple PillowExperience a new kind of squish with Purple's hyper-elastic polymer: responsive like memory foam, but faster and resilient.
- Trial period: 100 nights
- Loft height: 3.25 inches
- Sizes: Standard
- Adjustable fill: No
via Tingle Tech