Do You Sleep On Your Side? Learn About The Powerful Effects One Simple Change Can Have On Your Body

No matter how we start our day, at the end of it we all look forward to going back to our respective homes and hitting the sack. Everybody has their favorite pillow, their favorite corner of the bed, their favorite blanket without which they can’t really fall asleep. But did you know that there is a particular sleeping position also that helps you achieve that sound sleep? For a lot of us, sleeping on our side is the perfect way of catching good hours of ZZZs. However, the professionals are still in two minds about which sleeping position benefits us the most.

Every sleeping position has its pros and cons, and since we spend nearly one-third of our lives sleeping, it’s important for us to know which sleeping position is more beneficial for us in terms of a healthy body and mind. Therefore, we did a bit of research and came up with all the benefits and side-effects of sleeping sideways, so that you can be better informed before you go on your next snooze-fest.

Benefits

• If there is any curve in your body that you really need to worry about, then it has to be the curve of your spine. Sleeping sideways will maintain the natural curve of your spine. It also keeps your back and neck aches at bay (1).
• Did you know that snoring is also related to your sleeping position? Well, when we’re sleeping on our back, our tongue and its soft palate tend to collapse towards the back of our throat, and this makes us snore (2). So, if you sleep sideways it’s going to prevent you from snoring and your partner sleeping next to you will be more than happy. And who knows your partner might plant an extra good morning kiss on you when you wake up.
• As mentioned earlier, the natural curve of the spine is intact when we sleep on our sides. It’s the spine that keeps our body together right? As a result of that, even our blood circulation is improved (3).

Pitfalls Of Side Sleeping

• You need a good mattress if you plan on sleeping this way. Otherwise, it can cause your hip and shoulder to ache. Also, if you suffer from injuries on your joints or have muscle pains, then it’s better to not sleep on your sides (4).
• When you sleep sideways, your face is pushed against a pillow, this may further worsen your wrinkles (5). This happens because the fluid inside our face gets accumulated on one side which creases our skin, and this results in wrinkles.
• The ligaments in our breasts stretch when we sleep on one side. This makes the breasts sag.

What Could We Do To Improve Quality Of Sleep

• Find yourself a pillow that will help keep your spine straight (6). The pillow matters as much as the mattress when it comes to having a good, healthy sleep.
• Another tip that we’d want you to note is that when you sleep, you need to fill up the gap that occurs between the neck and the head. This will prevent you from having headaches.
• If you suffer from shoulder pain, use an additional pillow and place it in front of your body, and keep your arm over it. It will ease your pain.

• If you suffer from hip pain, you might feel hesitant to sleep on your sides. For that, place a pillow in between your knees. This will keep your hips aligned and won’t put pressure on them.

• Women are very sensitive when it comes to their breasts, as they should be. The skin of the breasts is extremely thin. Our sleeping positions can affect them big-time. It’s very important to align them in a comfortable position while you sleep as well. Therefore, make it a habit to place a pillow below the breasts. This will not only be a comfortable position for the breasts but will also keep their ligaments from stretching (7).
• How many of you wake up with a puffy face or an under-eye swelling? Whoever said yes, you guys need to change the way you sleep! Never keep your face down on the pillow and sleep. That’s an early invite to all the fine lines on your face to appear before it’s time (8). The only way out of this is sleeping on your back.
• A good mattress is crucial when it comes to getting healthy sleep. And if you want to start sleeping on your sides then you need to choose the mattresses which give correct support to your shoulders and hips (9). Consider the ones with foam or memory foam as they provide noticeable relief to the pressure points.

These are the pointers we noted down while we scanned the cyberspace about sleeping positions. So, are you a side sleeper? And have you been following any of the above sleeping habits already? Let us know in the comments below.

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