Which side are you on? Sleeping positions and its health effects
7:18 PM
Nothing compares to a goodnight
sleep. It gives your body time to reboot or have a little vacation from your
daily stressful life. We spend a third of our lifetime doing it.
If the number of sleeping hours
affect out productivity and moods, the sleeping positions on the other hand,
also affects our health. There are three (3) sleeping positions – on your front
(stomach), on your back, and on your (left/right) side. It can be associated to
health problems like from simple back and neck pain to serious ones like heart
disease, heart burn, and dementia among others.
So what are the best and worst
sleeping positions to avoid having health problems? Below are the list of sleeping positions and
their effects to our bodies and health:
- On your back. Dr. Hooman Melamed, an orthopedic spine surgeon at the DISC Sports & Spine Center in Los Angeles, California, said that sleeping on your back is the best position. Moreover, aaccording to Steven Diamant, a chiropractor in New York City, “sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck, and spine to maintain a neutral position. You're not forcing any extra curves into your back.” For those whose suffering from acid reflux, laying on your back is the ideal position to fight it since the stomach will be lower than the esophagus and the acid or food can't come back up. For those women who are conscious about their looks and figures, laying on your back also helps prevents wrinkles and reduce breast sagging. However, sleeping on your back may make your snoring even worse and is linked to sleep apnea.
- On your side. The second best position to sleep is lying on your side, but know which side you are on. Sleeping on your left side may improve digestive problems such as heartburn while lying on your right might possibly worsen it. Sleeping on your left side ease your heart pumping and helps in the effective blood circulation. Lying on your left side can constrict the internal organ such as liver and lungs while right side will allow the spine to ease in its natural curve.
- On your front. The worst sleeping position is lying on your stomach. Sleeping on your stomach eases snoring. However, it causes strain on your lower back and possible neck pain. Sleeping in this position applies excessive pressure on your nerves, which will cause irritation on nerves and eventually lead to pain, numbness and tingling (the pin and needle-like pains).
So to have that best night sleep
you can have, feel free to try other sleeping position because at the end of
the day, the best position is still where you’re most comfortable with.
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