Wedge pillows for elevated rest

Which wedge for which job: to sleep with your head and shoulders raised, choose the bed wedge (76 cm long, 15.2 cm high, a gentle slope of about 11 degrees) or the folding memory foam wedge that packs flat for travel. To raise your legs, the contoured leg elevation pillow supports the full length of the calves, the firm heel lift pillow sits under the ankles or knees, and the T-roll under the knees helps you stay on your back. The hip abduction wedge keeps the legs apart after surgery when a clinician has advised it.

Three things people ask before they buy. The bed wedges here are gentle sleeping slopes, not 30 or 45 degree sit-up wedges, so they suit all-night use. None is a full double or king-size bed width: the bed wedge comes in 61 cm and 91.5 cm (single) widths, so measure your side of the mattress. And a wedge sits on top of the mattress, unlike bed-raising blocks or “sleeping blocks”, which lift the legs of the whole bed. If you have been advised to sleep raised for reflux, breathing or recovery, ask your GP or physiotherapist which height suits you. For a pillow between the knees rather than under them, see our knee pillows.