What exactly is a hugging pillow? There's a good chance that you already sleep with one — it's the secondary pillow on your bed that you wrap your arms around as you sink into slumber. While any pillow will do in a pinch, finding a specific hugging pillow with the right weight, cushiness, and loft that conforms perfectly to your body can help provide that feeling of security and comfort that you may not have known you were missing.
While research has shown that embracing another human releases oxytocin, a hormone that reduces stress, hugging a pillow may also provide a bit of this same calming feel. And for those who sleep hot, don't have a bed partner, or simply prefer not to cuddle with another, sleeping with a hugging pillow is the way to get the best sleep of your life.
Hugging pillows should be just as comfy to sleep on top of as they are to spoon with. A lot comes down to personal preference in choosing a hugging pillow, but you should consider the following factors before you buy one:
Loft and Firmness: In general, a good hugging pillow should feel marshmallowy soft with light pushback. Pillows that are flat, heavy, limp, or way too firm may be awkward to spoon or might cause your arm to feel a little too crushed underneath. Save that solid memory foam pillow for supporting your neck instead.
Material: The pillows in this guide encompass a range of different materials from shredded memory foam to down feathers to synthetic fiberfill. They're all malleable and breathable, which are key factors in a good hugging pillow. Shredded foam offers the best in terms of pushback (if you really want to feel like you're hugging someone), down-alternative fill is airy and squishy, and down fill is cooling and reactive. These pillows' covers can also provide an added element of comfort.
Space Constraints: We think that adding one more pillow to your bed, especially one that helps provide soothing calm as you sink into slumber, is a small but worthwhile concession to make. However, if you already have a crowded bed with a partner and pets all struggling for their own snuggle space, the addition of one more object could be an issue. If there's simply no room, you can still try swapping out your main bed pillow for one of the hugging pillows in this guide. Because even if you aren't able to wrap your arms around it, it can still help add the cradled support and softness that you might be lacking from your current pillow.
How We Tested
As a hugging-pillow enthusiast myself (and the senior home editor of this site), I've had the opportunity to get cozy with all of the pillows in this guide. In my at-home testing, I slept with each of these pillows as my main bed pillow for at least two consecutive weeks at a time before evaluating their performance. I've taken into consideration the benefits and drawbacks that these products offer in terms of support, loftiness, fill material, cooling properties, and quality of construction. And even if some of these pillows may have initially been too lofty, firm, or heavy to enjoy as my main bed pillow, I've found them to be infinitely more enjoyable to use as hugging pillows instead.
Without any further ado, these are the best hugging pillows to help snuggle yourself asleep every night.
No matter how you want to sleep with it, the Coop Home Goods Eden pillow is a total joy. It's filled with shredded memory foam that's lightweight, slow-reacting, and comfortably supportive without feeling too heavy. The pillow can also zip open to add or remove fill as necessary.
As a hugging pillow, the Eden pillow is as cozy as it gets. The shredded memory foam has an airy density with plenty of give that never feels too stiff. Plus, its quilted cover not only makes the pillow feel extra soft, but it effectively grips onto a pillowcase so that it doesn't slide around throughout the night.
Fill Material: Latex core pillow with Grid Hex casing
Available sizes: Standard and king (in low, medium, and tall heights)
A super springy and reactive pillow, the Purple Harmony is unlike any pillow we've ever tried. It's a multilayered pillow comprising three main elements: a porous latex core pillow, a flexible Grid Hex layer that encases it, and a mesh outer cover.
While this pillow is slightly heavier than average, its unique construction makes for a satisfying spooning experience because of its balance of malleability and pushback. And while it’s not a cool-to-the-touch pillow, its porous materials do a fantastic job of wicking away heat.
Available sizes: Standard and king (in mid- and low-loft heights)
The Original Casper Pillow features a unique two-pillows-in-one structure that is meant to support every sleep position — including those who enjoy hugging their pillow.
Its firm core is filled with tiny coated microfibers that give it a gel-like texture, and it's zipped inside of a softly cushioned outer shell that's filled with longer-strand microfibers for an airy feel. While it's not quite as responsive as a down or memory-foam pillow (meaning that it'll keep its shape when squished instead of transitioning back to its original form), its plush construction offers just the right combination of fluffiness and support.
If a round, plush pillow usually feels like too much loft for your neck and shoulders, the low-loft version of the Casper Original Pillow comfortably suits the needs of someone who wants to swap between spooning with and sleeping on top of the same pillow.
Fill Material: Shredded memory foam and down-alternative fibers
Available sizes: Standard and king
The Marlow pillow's convertible design makes it a pretty genius hugging pillow. You can use its firm form if you want to hug it or sit up in bed with it as a bolster. If you want to sleep on top of it, we suggest that you lower its loft by unzipping one or both sides, and you'll enjoy its cooling benefits, too.
Plus, it's filled with a blend of cooling shredded memory foam and polyester fibers, and the long sides of the pillow unzip, revealing mesh gussets. This allows the pillow to soften up for a more relaxed, airier feel. You can also zip the sides right back up if you prefer the firmness.
While most hugging pillows can also be enjoyed as main bed pillows, if you're a side sleeper, you may struggle with the plushy, high loft kinking your neck out of alignment. Fortunately, the Parachute Down Side Sleeper Pillow is a true chameleon and an ideal choice if you're snoozing on an already-crowded bed.
This pillow is generously stuffed, light as a feather, and very responsive. When you wrap your arms around this pillow, the down fill conforms to your body shape and lightly presses against you, almost as if it's hugging you back.
Fill Material: Shredded memory foam and kapok fibers
Available sizes: Queen and king
The Layla Kapok pillow is an adjustable pillow that's filled with a combination of shredded memory foam and plant-based kapok fibers. Its hexagonal-patterned pillow cover is made of polyester and viscose woven with CuTEC, a copper-infused yarn. Not only does this give the pillow a cozy feeling, but it actually has a hidden benefit: Copper is antimicrobial in nature, making it adept at killing bacteria caused by dead skin, sweat, and other environmental allergens.
While this pillow is on the firmer and weightier side, its cooling properties and plushness make it really comfortable to spoon with. You can also remove some of its internal filling in order to soften it up a little bit more.
Melanie YatesSenior Home Decor EditorMelanie is the senior home decor editor of Best Products, where she's been researching and testing out home and bedding products since 2015 — her work can also be found on House Beautiful and Women's Health.
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