I'm a side sleeper with back pain — these are the body pillows I'd buy in Labor Day sales

A woman with dark hair and wearing light-coloured bed clothes sleeps on her side while hugging a full body pillow

(Image credit: Getty Images)

While sleeping on your side has tons of health benefits including better digestion, it can also put pressure on your lower back and hips if you sleep with one leg out further than the other. This inevitably leads to back pain. A full body pillow can help realign your sleep posture, and I've found three great options on sale this Labor Day, including 20% off the Coop Home Goods Body Pillow at Amazon.

This reduces the price of Coop Home Goods' best-selling full body pillow to $79 (was $99), which I think is a good price for a body pillow made by a top-rated pillow brand. As a side sleeper who regularly uses a full body pillow, I'm excited by this deal – but there are two others that I think are worth considering too and I've listed those below.

If you decide that your mattress also needs upgrading, now is a great time to invest in this year's best mattress for all sleepers as we're in the thick of the Labor Day mattress sales so there are plenty of discounts to take advantage of.

The 3 best body pillows in today’s Labor Day sales

1. Coop Home Goods Original Body Pillow: Was from $99 now $79.20 at Amazon
The Original Body Pillow by Coop Home Goods, the brand behind some of this year's best pillows, is often rated as the best body pillow for side sleepers. You can adjust the pillow’s shape and thickness to suit your sleeping style, ensuring your hips and back are comfy and supported. The Original Body Pillow is filled with 100% Virgin Memory Foam Blend, designed to give that luxurious sinking-in feel while also providing the pressure relief and support side sleepers need. The cover is made from hypoallergenic, soft fabric to help protect from dust mites, mold, and bacteria build up, keeping it fresher for longer.Today's Labor Day sale brings the price of the body pillow down to $79.20 (was ($99), but if you want a protector too it will cost $108 (was $135).

2. Twilla Adjustable Body Pillow: Was from $159 now $119.25 at Amazon
Similarly to the Coop Home Goods Body Pillow, the Twilla Adjustable Body Pillow focuses on customized support with the ability to adjust the pillow’s shape and feel. However, instead of using filling material, the Twilla uses a clean and simple pod system. This means you can add extra pods, position them, and take them away to create the perfect pillow for you. These pods are filled with cooling gel foam, which helps draw heat away from the surface of the pillow, keeping you cool for longer. This, alongside the Tencel fabric that wicks away moisture and is extremely breathable, makes it a great choice for hot sleepers. The current deal will save you 25%, bringing the pillow down to $119.25 (was $159).

3. Naturpedic Body Pillow: Was from $179 now from $143.20 at Naturepedic
While this body pillow is slightly more of a significant investment than the Twilla and the Coop Home Goods pillows, it is designed to give an indulgent luxury feel with 300TC organic cotton fabric and PLA high-performance fibres that are responsible for the ultimate fluffiness feel. It’s design is optimized for pressure point relief and reducing neck and joint pain, so you can feel supported while also sinking in to a soft surface. The Naturepedic Labor Day sale is offering 20% off sitewide with the code LABOR20, which brings the body pillow down to $143.20 (was $179). While it’s a higher price point, you’ll get some great perks in return, like a 100-night trial, free shipping and returns, and a 1-year limited warranty.

How do body pillows help side sleepers?

The side sleeping position can often put excessive pressure and strain on the hips and lower back. Side sleeping can also risk misaligning your spine if you sleep with one leg further out than the other.

While the best mattresses for side sleepers are designed to relieve pressure on the shoulders, hips and knees, full body pillows can help align the spine by padding the space between your knees.

This also helps to reduce the pressure on your hips and lower back. Ultimately, this means side sleepers can sleep comfortably, reducing the aches and pains they may usually experience in that position.

Read more: I'm a side sleeper and I tested a body pillow for the first time — here's how my sleep changed

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Lauren is an experienced writer and editor in the health and lifestyle industry and has led many campaigns and projects that deliver news, advice, and research on all things sleep. As the Sleep Features Editor for Tom’s Guide, Lauren writes, commissions and edits sleep and mattress content, from in-depth how-tos in sleep and mattress health to interviews with doctors and neuroscientists on the latest news in sleep. Lauren regularly tests new sleep tech and accessories to evaluate their effectiveness for getting good quality sleep and easing specific sleep struggles like nighttime anxiety. Alongside this, Lauren reports on the best mattress brands out there, like Helix, Saatva, and DreamCloud, helping readers find the right mattress for them and the best deals on them.