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Whether you are traveling on a train bus or airplane for business or adventure, pain just doesn’t stop and give you time off. No, it goes with you wherever you go. One of the most common pains to endure while traveling is neck pain. This is becasue there is very limited neck support when taking a long flight or a train ride across the country. So even if you have no prior neck problems, stiffness and pain can certainly strike you down. Which is why it’s important to invest in the best travel pillows for neck pain in 2018.

A supportive neck pillow can mean the difference between being able to greet your guests, family,colleagues the next day or in the worse case; not being able to turn your head at all. So for the expense of a few bucks, the relief a high quality neck pillow can offer is well worth the investment.

The problem is, some neck pillows are not good for people with neck pain. They can in some cases make the pain more intense. Because it’s not possible to travel with our neck inspired orthopedic pillows, it’s important to have some proper support when sitting in a vertical position for a long period.

So whether you currently have neck problems or have never had pain in the neck before, these travel pillows below are fantastic ways to prevent any further neck pain. Some of these neck travel pillows can be used on a daily basis to improve spinal alignment and comfort while doing activities like watching TV, working on the computer etc. When you have frequent neck pain, being armed with devices to relieve pain is critical to a healthier lifestyle.

The Best Travel Neck Pillow For Kids & Adults

The problem with falling asleep while sitting in a vertical position is that you have no control over how your head tilts. More often than not you can be sure that at some stage your head will end up with your chin facing your chest. Maybe with a bit of drool on the side too.

Sleeping with your head tilted forward like this for long trips is bad for your neck. Especially worse if you have existing neck problems. Up until know, I haven’t found anything good that really prevents this from happening.

Introducing the BCozzy multi position chin supporting neck pillow. I LOVE this pillow for many reasons. For one, they come in kids and adult sizes. Now the kids never have to borrow my pillow on the way to Grandads. Plus they come in multiple colors that are suitable for both kids and adults.

What Makes This Good For Neck Pain Sufferers

The biggest selling point to the BCozzy is the fact it prevents the head from tilting forward while you are asleep. When you have existing neck problems, doing this for many hours can cause more harm than good. But even if you don’t have previous neck problems, facing forward with your head down can cause stiffness in the neck very quickly. Then you will need to whip out the portable neck massager to rectify the stiff neck. Not the ideal situation when on a plane or train.

With the BCozzy, your head shouldn’t tilt forward due to the patented design. This pillow extends around and wraps under the chin. This provides soft gentle support for your head to rest on while not facing the ground. The soft polyester fiber cushions the head in a 360° manner. So your head stays in the correct sitting position so you don’t wake up to a stiff neck.

The other problem many neck pillows have is that the cushioned area behind the neck pushes your head forward. This is becasue the neck pillow is curved which therefor tilts your head slightly forward. But with the BCozzy, it has a thinner flat back. This means the neck pillow sits perpendicular with the chair back rest behind your head. Not a bulky cushion pushing the head forward.

Is Sleeping On Your Side An Option?

Another common issue people have with travel neck pillows is that they are great for sleeping on your back, but not so great when you want to sleep on your side. Imagine crawling up into the seat with your head rested against the seat. Notice how the gap between head and seat back rest is greater then if you were to sleep with your back on the rest?.

The BCozzy fixes this potential stiff neck disaster by being a multiple position travel pillow. Simply fold the pillow in half which essentially doubles the padding width. Put the pillow between the side of your face and the seat. Presto, comfort without breaking the neck.

Overall Opinion Of The BCozzy Travel Pillow For Neck Problems

In my opinion there is none better when it comes to providing complete support from a travel pillow. IT keeps the chin up and head in the correct position. Being able to transform this pillow into a side sleep is ingenious. It stores away very compact and even has a strap for people that like to strap their gear to back packs, suitcases etc.

If I had to complain about anything, it would be the temperature. When wearing the BCozzy in humid and hot temperatures, this fleece material really heats up. As it surrounds the neck it can get quite warm under the collar. But in air con, its great. Highly recommend this to anyone that isn’t taking a camel in the desert.

 

Best Travel Neck Support Pillow For The Aisle Seat

When you miss out on the window seat and you don’t have a shoulder to rest on, what are you to do?. Besides sleeping with your head facing forward, there’s not too many other options. Especially if you are destined to the aisle seat.

That is unless you are lucky enough to own one of the greatest inventions in the travel pillow industry. The Daisy Travel Pillow. This is one of the best travel pillows for 2018 which  has opened up the opportunity for anyone to sleep like they had the window seat. What it does is creates a neck support pillow to one side. This allows you to rest the side of your face into a soft plush polyester filled pillow. This pillow can be adjusted to either side of the face. So if you prefer to face left when sleeping, then just switch the side sleeping pillow to the left.

So it covers side sleepers, what about when sleeping face forwards?. Like the above BCozzy pillow, the Daisy Pillow has a patented design which offers chin and behind the head support. So while you are sleeping face forwards or on your side, the chin support pillow keeps your face up and not in your lap. The padding behind the neck is soft and plush so that its not too firm and pushing the head forwards.

As I am a little claustrophobic (I emphasis ‘ little’) I don’t like being too restricted. The design of the Daisy Travel Pillow is good for this as it doesn’t constrict the whole neck. There is an opening in which you can slide the neck out from. The pillow doesn’t fall out either, even with this opening to one side. The shape of the pillows act as arms I would describe it as. They grip onto your neck to provide a non slipping pillow experience while not being too tight that you can’t breathe.

Overall, it really is hard to fault the unique design of the Daisy pillow. I have tried  J and horseshoe design in the past to no avail. Having the side pillow for resting the face is one of the best travel accessory inventions in a long time. Highly recommended for aisle and middle seat passengers.

Top Rated Neck Travel Pillow For Long Airplane Flights

This next product really isn’t a pillow of sorts. But it does claim to be scientifically better than traditional ‘U’ shaped neck pillows. How they prove this is beyond me. So what is it?. Its the very unique and very effective TRTL head rest/pillow.

So what is the Trtl head pillow rest thingy?. It’s probably like something you have never seen before. It’s a fashion statement as well as being one heck of a good neck support pillow. It works by wrapping around your neck, kind of like a scarf. Inside the soft, breathable and very lightweight micro fleece is a flexible head support frame. Shaped like a ‘L’. The bottom part of the ‘L’ rests on your shoulder while the taller vertical part of the ‘L’ is where you rest your head. The fleece material is stretched from these points to create a hammock like surface for resting your head on.

The frame inside the material has a bit of give to it. So your head doesn’t sit exactly vertical, the weight of your head naturally pushes the frame down a bit. But not too much that you head is laying on your shoulder and you wake up with neck cramps. In fact, the frame inside is ribbed for extra strength for this reason. It holds your head up and chin up in a great position for sleeping.

Meanwhile the soft micro fleece material is providing comfort to your skin and also serves an additional purpose. That is it can act like a mouth/nose guard or scarf. Some people like to have their mouth covered while sleeping in public due to hygiene and the all to embarrassing drool. With the Trtl you can wrap the material over your mouth and nose if you wish to hide from the world.

Pros & Cons For The Trtl Travel Pillow

The Positives:

• Very comfortable material to sleep on.
• One of the best for ergonomic neck and chin support. The internal frame system keeps the chin well elevated.
• Doesn’t push your head forward like some other U shaped travel pillows do.
• Comes in some stylish colors that make this thing quite fashionable while serving a very beneficial service to your neck.
• Extremely lightweight and compact compared to other travel pillows
• Completely machine washable which is much appreciated during warmer months when you sweat more.
• One size suits all.
• The velcro included in the Trtl doesn’t stick to as many materials or attract fur like typical Velcro does.
• Can you the scarf part as a way to block unwanted smells commonly found on an airplane. Or to hide drool.
• Most of all, is amazing at preventing neck pain, cramps strains etc.

What I Didn’t Like Too Much

• The whole concept was a little ‘weird’ for me. So I found it hard to adjust to suit my head and shoulders initially. Took some practice to get it just right.
• It only works on one side of the head at a time. So if you roll your head during the sleep you loose the support.
• It doesn’t compact down to a flat shape. It stays as a flexible ‘L’ shape. Which for packing in a backpack can be annoying. But can easily be affixed to the backpack, suitcase or handbag etc.
• Can get quite warm in summer. However Trtl have recently introduced a lighter and more breathable material to counter balance the warmth.

 

My Top 3 Neck Travel Pillows For Relieving Neck Pain

Well there are my highly recommended neck pillows suitable for people that experience neck pain, stiffness, aches etc from long flights. I kept it to a best 3 list as I believe that having a top 10 or more can confuse people more. These three products I highly support for supporting the neck and shoulders to reduce neck pain cause from prolonged sitting.

While there are many ‘other’ pillows available to buy, many of them don’t actually help to relieve neck pain. Some can make it worse as they force your head to tilt forwards which causes a lot of pressure and stress on the back of the neck. So be sure to look for the things that make a neck pillow good for neck and shoulder pain sufferers. Make sure the back of the pillow is flat and not rounded, be sure there is adequate chin support and most of all, make sure it is comfortable. The neck is a very important part of the body, learn the best way to sleep with neck pain and seek the relief you deserve.