A head rest (10) comprises a curved sheet member (12) having an upper surface (14), a lower surface (16), and front and rear ends (18, 20), wherein the upper surface (14) comprises a generally forwardly facing portion (26) and a generally rearwardly facing portion (28), and wherein the generally forwardly facing portion (26) includes a first concave portion (34) for receiving the head of a user, the front and rear ends (18, 20) are configured for contact with a resting surface (38) and, between the front and rear ends (18, 20), the lower surface (16) defines a passageway (36) dimensioned to receive at least one arm of the user. The head rest has sufficient rigidity such that when the users head is resting on the member (12), one or both arms of the user may be positioned in the passageway (36) in a manner that does not require the arm(s) to support the weight of the head. In this way, the head rest allows comfortable resting without loss of circulation in the arms.