Below is the whole site, arranged by problem rather than by date. Every figure we publish is sourced, the data sets are free to reuse with attribution, and how the site makes money is set out plainly in the about page.
When does your night go wrong?
Tap the moment that sounds like you. Each one points to the guides written for it, and to our pick if a product fits.
Aches that build through the day
Joint, muscle or back pain that makes it hard to settle is one half of the pain–insomnia cycle: pain costs you sleep, and short sleep makes pain feel worse.
Our pick if it is joint or muscle pain: ArcticBlast, a topical pain-relieving liquid with a 365-day money-back guarantee.
You lie there and your mind won’t slow down
Lying awake for 30 minutes or more with a busy mind is rarely a pillow problem.
Our pick for a racing mind: YU SLEEP, a low-dose (0.9 mg) melatonin liquid. Contains 5-HTP, so not with SSRIs or other antidepressants.
Your ears start ringing
Tinnitus often seems loudest at night, simply because there is nothing else to hear. Sudden ringing, or ringing in one ear only, is a see-a-doctor problem first.
Our pick for night-time ringing: Audifort, a daily hearing-support liquid taken in the morning, with a 90-day money-back guarantee.
You wake in the small hours and can’t get back
Waking between 2 and 4 a.m. has several causes, from a busy mind to a full bladder to breathing problems. Rule out the medical ones first.
Our pick if it is a busy mind: YU SLEEP. Not a fix for apnoea or bladder urgency. Contains 5-HTP, so not with SSRIs or other antidepressants.
You wake with a stiff, sore neck
Most morning neck pain is a pillow height problem, and height depends on your position, your shoulder width and how far you sink into your mattress.
Our pick for side and back sleepers: the Derila Ergo contour pillow (9 cm centre, 12 cm wings). Not for stomach sleepers.
Tools and free data
The part of the site we are proudest of. All of it is free, none of it needs an email address, and the data sets are published under CC BY 4.0 so clinicians, students and other writers can reuse them.
- Pillow height calculator — your loft in inches and centimetres from sleep position, build and mattress firmness. Thirty seconds, no sign-up, embeddable.
- Free 7-night sleep diary — does the arithmetic for you, including sleep efficiency, and prints a one-page summary for your doctor. Nothing is stored on our servers.
- Sleep setup quiz — two minutes, routes your problem to the right fix.
- Pillow loft & specification database — loft, fill, firmness, trial window and warranty for 32 pillows. Only 16 of them publish a height at all.
- Night-time symptom reference — fifty symptoms mapped to position, likely cause, what to change, and the sign that means see a clinician.
- Sleep position and pain map — loft by position and mattress firmness.
- Pillow height cheat sheet — all 28 combinations on one page.
- Pillow transparency report — what 32 brands leave out of their product pages.
- Pillow height study — 15 of 32 pillows do not say how high they are.
- The full reference library →
- Press kit — for journalists: figures, quotes, method and the raw dataset
Pillow height and neck pain
The core of the site. Most morning neck pain is a height problem, and height depends on your position, your shoulder width and how far you sink into your mattress.
- Is my pillow too high or too low? — tell which from where you wake sore
- How to stop waking up with neck pain — seven fixes in order
- The neck pain pillow guide · for back sleepers · for side sleepers
- Choosing by sleep position · firmness guide
- Memory foam vs latex · buckwheat vs memory foam · what "ergonomic" actually means
- How long a new pillow takes to settle · when to replace it
- All pillow guides →
A specific diagnosis
Guides written for named conditions, with the loft numbers and positions each one needs. None of it is medical advice and all of it assumes your clinician's instructions come first.
- Nerve and disc: cervical radiculopathy · pinched nerve · herniated disc · degenerative disc disease · cervical stenosis · spinal stenosis · thoracic outlet syndrome · pinched nerve felt in the shoulder
- Posture and arthritis: military neck · forward head posture · dowager's hump · neck arthritis · cervical spondylosis · ankylosing spondylitis · osteoporosis
- Head and face: cervicogenic headaches · tension headaches · migraines · occipital neuralgia · TMJ · vertigo · torticollis (wry neck) · post-concussion syndrome
- Body and widespread pain: shoulder pain · frozen shoulder · hip pain · back pain · sciatica · scoliosis · fibromyalgia · Ehlers-Danlos
- Life stages and events: pregnancy · after a car accident · menopause · sleep after 45
Waking up with a specific symptom
Short, honest pages on what position does and does not explain. Several of them conclude that your pillow is not the cause, which is the point.
- Numb little and ring fingers · numb cheek · swollen hands
- Aching jaw · sore ear · puffy eyes · sleep lines on the face
- Rib pain · pain between the shoulder blades · upper back pain lying flat · knee pain at night
- Sleeping with a stiff neck · the full symptom reference →
Sleeping upright, and sleeping after surgery
- The complete recliner guide → — angle, pillow height, how long is safe, and setups by reason
- Sleeping after surgery → — spinal fusion, rotator cuff, heart, caesarean, joint replacement and abdominal surgery, phase by phase
Nights that will not switch off
- How to sleep better, in order — the evidence-backed changes ranked by what they are actually worth
- Can't fall asleep · waking at 3am · the racing mind · when you have tried everything
- Resetting your body clock · the wind-down routine
- Sleep apnoea and snoring · elevation and apnoea · tinnitus at night
- The pain–insomnia cycle · bladder urgency · chronic back pain
- All sleep guides →
Sleep in hard places
A research series on people whose schedules ignore the body clock entirely — and what transfers to shift work and jet lag. The series →
- Submariners · solo ocean sailors · Antarctic winterers · firefighters · sleeping at altitude
- The shift worker's guide · jet lag
Products, reviewed honestly
Sleep Align is affiliate-supported and has never been paid for placement. Where a product has been used first-hand that is stated on the page; where it has not, the review is research-based and says so.
- Top picks — four products, one per problem, with real prices and who should skip each
- Derila pillow: full review · is it a scam? · vs Tempur-Pedic · vs Sutera · vs Nuzzle · alternatives · all →
- YU Sleep: full review · ingredients · side effects · vs plain melatonin · all →
- ArcticBlast: review · ingredients · all →
- Audifort and tinnitus: review · the tinnitus evidence reference · all →
- Other sleep supplements: Relaxium · Somnapure · Luna · Performance Lab Sleep · Onnit New Mood · Nature Made Wellblends