Most pillows are designed for comfort. They're not designed for your neck.
The NAP was developed by Helen Tufui, physiotherapist and founder of New Zealand's first dedicated headache clinic, with over 12 years of clinical experience treating neck pain, headaches, and migraines. It's the only pillow built around what actually causes morning stiffness, and the only one in New Zealand developed by a clinician.
Poor neck support during sleep is one of the most common and most overlooked drivers of headaches and morning pain.
When your neck loses its natural curve overnight, the muscles and joints that support your head work continuously against that misalignment. Over seven or eight hours, the load accumulates. You wake stiff. Tight. Often with a headache that may feel better as the day goes on, only to return the next morning.
Most people try a new pillow. It helps for a week, then doesn't. Because the problem isn't softness or firmness, it's that the pillow isn't shaped to hold the neck in alignment, and it can't be adjusted as your position shifts through the night. That's what the NAP was designed to solve.
1. The Centre Alignment Nest
Cradles the head in a recessed pocket that gently encourages a neutral sleeping position. Creates a natural resting point your head returns to throughout the night, supporting the cervical curve rather than flattening it.
2. Adjustable Side Panels
The space between shoulder and neck varies by body shape and sleep position. The NAP's side panels fill that gap with precision, providing lateral support customised to you and re-adjustable over time.
3. Premium New Zealand Wool Fill
100% NZ wool, temperature-regulating, breathable, moisture-wicking, and hypoallergenic. Add or remove fill to set the height that works best for your body and sleeping position.
For hygiene reasons, all pillow sales are final. To try NAP before purchasing, visit your nearest Headache Clinic.
NAP is designed differently from any pillow you have used before, and that's the point.
The centre nest is intentionally hollowed to cradle your head in a neutral position, rather than pushing it forward the way a standard pillow does. If you are used to sinking into a soft, high pillow, the first night may feel unfamiliar. That is completely normal and actually a sign it is working.
NAP is designed for alignment, not just comfort. Give it a few nights before you judge it. Most people find the adjustment happens quickly, and what felt unfamiliar soon feels right.
The height matters. The wool fill is fully adjustable for a reason. If something feels off, take a few minutes to adjust the fill rather than pushing through. Add a little wool if your head feels unsupported. Remove a little if your neck feels pushed up. Lie back down and reassess each time.
Side sleepers: use the side panels. The panels fill the gap between your shoulder and neck. If your head is tilting toward the mattress, add a small amount of wool. If it feels too high, remove some. The goal is a supported, neutral position.
The right setup takes a little time. Once you find it, it tends to stay consistent.
NAP Setup Guide , Download our full step-by-step guide to setting up your NAP pillow for the first time.
Download the NAP Setup Guide (PDF) →
Want to try before you buy? We understand NAP is an investment. If you would like to try the pillow before purchasing, visit your closest Headache Clinic.
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Developed by Helen Tufui, Founder of The Headache Clinic, informed by over 12 years of clinical experience and patient feedback across New Zealand's leading headache clinic network. Scroll down to read Helen's full story.
Think about what happens when you lie on your back on a standard pillow: your head tips forward, chin toward your chest, and your neck is pulled out of its natural curve. The sleeping equivalent of looking down at your phone, except most people do it for eight hours every night without realising it.
The NAP isn't a standard pillow with a different shape. It's a support system with three interdependent components, each designed to address a specific aspect of how the neck loses alignment during sleep.
Think about what happens when you lie on your back on a standard pillow: your head tips forward, chin toward your chest, and your neck is pulled out of its natural curve. It's the sleeping equivalent of looking down at your phone, except most people do it for eight hours every night without realising it.
The NAP's centre alignment nest cradles the head in a recessed pocket that gently encourages a neutral sleeping position. It's not restrictive. It doesn't lock you in place. It creates a natural resting point that your head returns to throughout the night, supporting the curve of the neck rather than flattening it.
Suitable for both side and back sleepers.
The space between your shoulder and your neck is individual. It varies with body shape, sleeping position, and the surface you sleep on. A fixed-height pillow can't account for this. The NAP's adjustable side panels fill that gap with precision, providing lateral support that's customised to you and re-adjustable over time.
The NAP is filled with premium New Zealand wool, chosen not just for comfort, but for function. Wool is naturally temperature-regulating, breathable, moisture-wicking, and hypoallergenic. It keeps you comfortable across seasons without the heat retention of synthetic fills.
The fill is also adjustable: add or remove wool to set the height that works best for your body and sleeping position.
Sleep-related postural strain is a known trigger for cervicogenic and tension-type headaches. Supporting the cervical spine during sleep addresses the trigger at the source, passively, every night.
When your neck is properly supported, your muscles aren't braced against misalignment all night. You wake with less tension and less of the stiffness that tightens through the morning.
Discomfort and tension disrupt sleep architecture, causing more movement and lighter sleep stages. Better alignment means your nervous system isn't under strain, and your body can actually recover.
If you wake with a stiff neck or a headache that eases as the morning goes on, your pillow is likely part of the problem.
And if you're younger and pain-free, that's exactly the right time. Most people don't think about their neck until it starts hurting. By then, years of poor sleep posture have already done their work. NAP is as much about protecting your future self as it is about fixing how you feel today.
You might not feel it yet. But poor sleep posture is a long game, and the cervical spine keeps the score.
Helen Tufui is the Founder of The Headache Clinic, New Zealand's first dedicated headache and migraine clinic, and now the country's largest network of headache clinicians.
After more than 12 years treating headaches and neck pain, Helen kept seeing the same thing. People were spending a third of their lives sleeping on pillows that simply weren't supporting their neck properly. A significant number of patients improved with treatment, but continued to struggle with morning symptoms. Many were sleeping on pillows that offered no meaningful support to the cervical spine.
There was no clinically informed option on the market. So Helen built one.
"After years of treating people with headaches and neck pain, I kept seeing the same thing: patients doing everything right during the day, then undoing it every night with the wrong pillow. NAP was designed to close that gap."
Every NAP pillow is designed and manufactured in the South Island of New Zealand, using premium New Zealand wool selected for clinical performance and long-term durability. It's not an imported product with a local label. Conceived, developed, and built right here, by Helen Tufui, Founder of The Headache Clinic.
Poor neck support during sleep doesn't just affect how you feel in the morning. It accumulates, compounding the tension, stiffness, and headache triggers that affect how you move, think, and function every day. Recovery doesn't start when you wake up. It starts the moment you lie down.
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