Do you know? Sleeping ‘the wrong way’ can cause or aggravate neck or back pain.
It may also obstruct the airways to your lungs, leading to problems like obstructive sleep apnea amongst others.
Some research even suggests that the wrong sleeping position may cause toxins to filter out of your brain more slowly.
It, therefore, becomes expedient to carefully choose your sleeping posture the next time you take a quick nap or a long night sleep.
Here are some of the sleeping postures you should consider in order to improve your health condition.
What Side is Best for GERD?
Believe it or not, knowing the best side to sleep on may reduce your acid reflux symptoms. Sleeping on your right side can cause more acid to leak through your esophagus.
Sleeping on your stomach or back makes Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptom worse, too. To lower the risk of GERD problems, patients usually sleep best on their left sides.
Side-Sleeping and Heart Failure
People with congestive heart failure avoid sleeping on their backs and their left sides. Their heartbeats may disturb their sleep in these postures.
These patients tend to prefer sleeping on their right side. In fact, sleeping on the right side may protect people with heart failure from further health damage.
What’s the Best Position for Preventing Wrinkles?
If you sleep on your stomach or side, your face is smooshed into the pillow all night. That stretches your skin over time, leading to wrinkles. If you want to prevent this, back sleeping works best.
Best Sleeping Position for Snoring and Sleep Apnea
To minimize the risk of snoring, it’s usually best to sleep on your side. Sleeping on your back may aggravate snoring, but for a smaller number of snorers, back sleeping helps them feel more restful the next day.
Tips to Stop Snoring
If you snore, but still want to sleep on your back, try stacking a few pillows underneath your head to reduce the risk of snoring. If snoring wakes you up or if you wake up gasping or feel tired during the day, it’s time to see your doctor.
Read Also: 7 Habits That Can Help You Stop Snoring
Best Sleeping Positions for Back, Shoulder, and Neck Pain
If you have back pain, sleeping on your stomach or back may aggravate your pain. Switch to side sleeping to minimize your risk of back pain.
For further relief, put a pillow between your knees to keep your hips in alignment. If you must sleep on your back, placing a pillow under your knees will take some strain off of your back.
Read Also: Do You Know? You can whiten your teeth with Pineapple, other homemade products!
Shoulder, Neck, and Upper Back Pain
Arthritis and other painful conditions along your upper spine can worsen or improve while you sleep. Studies seem to disagree, though, on what positions are ideal.
One large study found that people had less shoulder pain who slept in the starfish position—on their backs, with hands up near their chest or head. But it couldn’t explain if those people had less shoulder pain because of the way they slept, or if they slept that way because they had less pain.
A later study found that people who slept on their backs with their arms at their sides—the soldier position—activated their shoulder muscles less, and thus may experience less shoulder pain.
Best Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy
If you are pregnant, sleeping on your stomach or back will be uncomfortable or impossible. You will be most comfortable sleeping on your side. Favor your left side to maximize circulation for both you and your baby.
Placing a body pillow or pillow under your belly can help relieve back pain. Place another pillow between your legs and bend your knees to be even more comfortable.
Avoid This Position During Pregnancy
You’ve probably already heard this from your doctor, but just in case—pregnant women should not sleep on their backs during the third trimester of pregnancy.
For more than half a century, we’ve known that pregnant back sleepers are reducing blood flow to their fetus.
But only recently researchers discovered that this sleep style also raises the risk of a stillbirth, even in otherwise healthy pregnancies.
You should also avoid lying on your back during the day—just 30 minutes of this posture has been shown to force your fetus to shift to a state that requires less oxygen to survive.
These results suggest that lying on your back—even for a short rest—reduces the oxygen available to your fetus.
Culled from On Health
Read Also: Do You Want Quick Recovery From Malaria? Then Stay Away From These Foods!
