By Kevin Gong
Your sleep position can either help or hinder your sleep process, depending on how effectively it supports the natural curvature of your spine. It’s also common for people to wake up with brand new aches and pains in the morning, sometimes due to their sleep posture. It’s important to choose a sleep position that assists your body with physical recovery. A proper posture when you sleep can relieve stress on your spine, while an unhealthy one can increase pain or stiffness in the back, arms, or shoulders, all while contributing to lower-quality sleep.
The best sleep posture is one that promotes healthy spinal alignment from your hips all the way to your head. What that looks like for you depends on your personal health situation and what you find comfortable. Having said that, there are some positions that are considered healthier than others. Specifically, sleeping on the side or back is considered more beneficial than sleeping on the stomach. In either of these sleep positions, it’s easier to keep your spine supported and balanced, which relieves pressure on the spinal tissues and enables your muscles to relax and recover.
However, if sleeping on your stomach feels good to you, don’t feel forced to change it. You can minimize your risk of pain and improve spinal alignment with the right mattress and pillow. Different sleep positions provide different benefits that may be helpful for you if you’re dealing with back pain, pregnancy, allergies, acid reflux, or other health conditions. In these cases, it may be worth trying a new sleep position to enable more restful sleep.
In closing, The best sleep position for you is whichever sleep position enables you to enjoy a restful night of uninterrupted sleep and wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, without any aches and pains. If that describes your current sleep position, don’t feel forced to change it. If you think a new position might make sleep more comfortable for you, though, go ahead and try another position. Be patient and use the strategies named to help yourself adjust to the new posture.
