It should come as no surprise that your sleep position has a big hand in your sleep quality and your work life. Sleeping on your side might put a lot of pressure on your neck and your shoulders while sleeping on your front affects spine alignment and can lead to backaches. On the other hand, sleeping on your back comes with its own risks.
This isn’t to say that there’s no right way to sleep at all, but that different things suit different people. If you make sure that the mattress you’re using is the right one for your sleeping habits, you won’t face too much trouble.
Keep reading to know more about how different sleep positions affect your health.
Side-Sleeping
If you have a habit of sleeping on your side, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most popular sleeping positions out there.
Side sleeping can help decrease sleep apnea related problems and chronic lower back pain according to healtline, and sleeping on your left side can also help with heartburn and a lot of other issues. Side sleeping – when done right with a good pillow – can reduce stress in your neck and is the best when it comes to spine alignment, but it can also cause you a lot of stress on your shoulders if you don’t have the right mattress.
Overall, sleeping on your side is the best option when it comes to maintaining overall health and spine alignment, and it comes as no surprise then that it’s also the most popular. You will benefit more from sleeping on your left side, using a medium-firm mattress, and maybe even keeping a firm pillow between your knees for better spine alignment.
Sleeping on Your Back
Sleeping on your back is the best option if you want to cause the least amount of stress to your back. This is because gravity helps pull your body into an even alignment and protects your back from twisting into uneven positions and taking too much stress over the night.
Sleeping on your back also helps with tension headaches and sinus buildups, and it’s also good for your face as it helps you avoid wrinkles in the long term.
The best thing would be to sleep on a firm mattress to make sure no part of your body ends up taking too much stress and to make sure your head is properly elevated so you won’t develop any neck aches.
Sleeping on Your Front
Stomach sleepers will most likely have a difficult time falling asleep and relaxing at night, and you might also need to twist and turn often before you can finally go to sleep. This is because this sleep position puts the most stress on your back and your neck, and is a very big cause of back and neck aches. This is why you might want to avoid sleeping like this, no matter how used to it you are.
With some time and attention, you can slowly accustom yourself to a different sleeping position that isn’t as harmful and is actually more comfortable.