How To Sleep In Your Favorite Position Without Harming Your Health
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Did you know the ideal sleeping position is laying on your back? Despite it being the best, only 8% of the world’s population sleeps in this position (1). The most popular is the fetal one – 41% of people, in fact, choose to sleep in this particular manner.
No matter which position you sleep in though, experts claim that your favored position can cause you a truckload of health troubles! The good news is you can avoid all of these health issues not by changing your sleep position but by knowing how to sleep in your preferred position.
Here’s a lowdown on how you can continue snoozing in the way you love best without letting it affect your health adversely:
1. For Side Sleepers
Sleeping on your left or right side has certain advantages. Researchers have discovered that if you sleep on your side, your cerebrospinal fluid becomes more efficient in expelling toxins from your body (2). Plus, there are lesser chances of you getting headaches or Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases, and it additionally helps relieves heartburn. So, if you have digestive problems, you should sleep on your left (3). But the downside is that sleeping on your left puts pressure on your liver and can even strain your back.
To reduce chances of getting health issues when sleeping on your side, make sure you keep your back straight when in bed (4). You can do this by placing a small and hard pillow in between your limbs. It’ll also ease the pressure on your joints. Use a big, soft pillow for your head.
If you have high blood pressure, don’t sleep on your left as it can interfere with your blood circulation. Sleep on your right instead, as it reduces heart strain.
2. For Back Sleepers
As rare a species as they may be, back sleepers have it good. Sleeping in this position helps those who have joint and spine problems, preventing aches and pains. However, sleeping on your back is not good if you have nose issues, snore or have a high BP (5).
If you snore and like to sleep on your back, you should use a tiny pillow and place it under your neck so that your air passages are in the right position (6). On the other hand, if you have a runny use, you should use multiple pillows to raise your head. Mucus won’t accumulate in your sinuses this way, though you should be careful not to raise your head too high so that your neck hurts.
If you have pain in your joints or your neck, you should keep a small pillow beneath your neck and a large (albeit, fat one) below your knees along with a folded towel just underneath the lower part of your back. Doing this will help support your spine as well as guarantee proper blood circulation (7).
3. For Stomach Sleepers
Sleeping face down or simply on your stomach can help lower your blood pressure, according to a Japanese study (8). It can also help you stop snoring and improve the functioning of your digestive system. The negative aspect of sleeping on your stomach is that it can strain your spine and cause aches and pains.
If you don’t want your spine to bend too much or pressurize your lower back as you sleep on your stomach, try placing a small pillow just beneath your pelvis and stomach. As for the pillow that you keep beneath your head, make sure it’s flat or don’t use one at all so your neck doesn’t hurt.
4. For Fetal Position Sleepers
The comfiest sleeping position for the majority of the population of the world, the fetal sleeping position is not free of harmful effects. Sleeping in this position can have an adverse impact on the health of your spine. This position inhibits diaphragmatic breathing, which means you won’t snore, but you could have respiratory issues such as asthma and your breathing might be severely impacted (9). In such cases, you shouldn’t sleep in this position at all.
However, if you can’t imagine sleeping in any other position, you should try to minimize the damage to your back. This can be done by ensuring your arms and legs are in the right position, i.e. not pressing against your chest. To get in such a position, you can keep a soft, large pillow between your legs and one between your arms. Your head pillow should be small and soft so that it can support your neck adequately, suggest doctors.
You don’t really have to sacrifice your sleeping position in order to be healthy. A simple workaround like using the right pillows can greatly minimize any sort of damage that your preferred position may cause. So, if you’ve been complaining about aches and pains and can’t seem to change the position you sleep in, at least invest in the right pillows so you can get all the support you need.
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