Your Sleeping Position Might Ruin Your Health

Comfort is important when a person wants to sleep. This is why the best position is a top priority when one hops on the bed.

While we are aware that there are over eight sleeping positions, research has shown that your desire to seek comfort might be harmful to your health.

Sleep coach Elina Winnel says of the foetal sleeping position which is recommended for pregnant women, “What we may not realise is that we are putting our body into a fight or flight posture. If we go to sleep in this position, we may be signalling to our nervous system that we are in fight or flight and that it is not safe to go to sleep.”

Sleep medicine expert and professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine Shelby Harris opines that sleeping on your stomach increases muscle, back and pelvic pain.

Dr Ron Ehrlich, the author of A Life Less Stressed, reaffirmed this with his explanation, “Imagine wringing out a wet towel and that’s pretty much what you do to your muscles and joints while you are asleep on your stomach. It can also restrict your ability to breathe well while sleeping.”

Sleeping position. Photo: votre ART

Experts agree that the best way to sleep is on your back. This is because it helps with acid reflux and helps people with heartburn. However, it is not advisable for people experiencing back pain.

Before you get worked up, Rachel Salas, M.D, an associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, says that this might not be something to consider when you are young and fit. “But as you get older and have more medical issues, sleep position can become positive or negative.”