If you suffer from back pain, sleeping on your back could help alleviate some of that discomfort and allow for restful night’s rest. Sleeping on your stomach has the same effects.
Sleeping on your back can help maintain good spine health and even help prevent wrinkles, but can become problematic for snorers and people suffering from acid reflux.
Sleeping on your back is the best position for your spine
Back sleeping puts your spine into its natural position, providing much-needed relief from pain and discomfort. Furthermore, back sleeping helps avoid pinching nerves in your neck and lower back that cause tingling or numbness; and even helps protect against acid reflux by elevating your head so as to keep esophageal acid out.
However, switching from sleeping on your side or stomach to back sleeping can be challenging at first because this will place additional strain on areas of your body that have become used to being supported during those positions. But with patience and persistence you can successfully make this change.
If you’re having difficulty sleeping on your back, try placing a pillow under each knee for maximum comfort. This will align your hip flexors and neutralise your spine to reduce pain. A memory foam pillow may also provide extra support by contouring to your face for optimal spinal alignment while you sleep.
Take your time finding comfort while sleeping on your back; eventually you will realize this is the most effective way for your health and well-being, helping prevent back pain, acid reflux, snoring and wrinkles in the process.
It’s the worst position for snoring
If you find that sleeping on your back every night causes acid reflux, snoring or sleep apnea issues, then perhaps changing to another position would help. Though changing can take some getting used to and it may take some time before falling asleep in this new position easily; pre-bedtime stretching exercises as well as placing pillows under knees and lower back can provide comfort during this transition period.
Supine sleep may contribute to wrinkles by pressing against a pillow with your face when side or stomach sleeping, leading to fine lines and wrinkles around your nose and mouth. But sleeping on your back prevents this problem by keeping the face from pressing against a pillow – thus decreasing fine line formation around your nose and mouth.
For optimal supine sleeping experience and to avoid issues associated with the position, Pritchard suggests placing a pillow beneath your head in order to maintain neutral spine alignment and ensure optimal support of head, neck and spine. Memory foam pillows offer optimal support due to being tailored perfectly to each user. It is also helpful to associate this position with positive things such as music or soothing sounds so your body will learn how to relax more easily in this position.
It’s the worst position for acid reflux
Sleeping on one’s back may be unpleasant for people suffering from acid reflux. By lying flat on their backs, stomach acid can easily escape from your belly and travel up into your esophagus where it can build up and cause heartburn and other forms of discomfort.
If you prefer sleeping on your back, using a pillow to elevate both head and spine elevation is vital to avoid acid reflux, snoring, wrinkles, straining of neck muscles due to poor posture, as well as any associated pain in your lower back, neck or shoulders that could become difficult to manage with traditional pillows.
As much as possible, it’s best to try sleeping on your back, with legs stretched out before bed to improve circulation and prevent any aches and pains in these areas. Stretching is also highly beneficial.
Sleep on your left side instead of back if you suffer from acid reflux or chronic heartburn to ease symptoms and help avoid GERD. Doing so keeps the LES above stomach acid, helping alleviate heartburn while avoiding GERD altogether.
It’s the worst position for wrinkles
Back sleepers won’t face wrinkles like those caused by sleeping on your side or stomach, such as parallel lines across the forehead, mouth area and cheek region – these so-called sleep wrinkles may even appear on chin and chest, being reinforced if one side over another is preferred during rest.
Sleeping on your back, however, will eliminate these lines because your face won’t be pressing up against the pillow all night long. In addition, sleeping this way also allows blood pooling under your eyelids less frequently while you rest, thus preventing temporary puffy eyes due to too much blood pooling there while you slumber.
Sleeping on your back has many health benefits beyond spinal health; it can also alleviate sinus issues and keep skin younger looking by reducing wrinkles. To make the switch over, start slowly by developing good sleep hygiene practices – for instance having a relaxing bedtime ritual and using a pillow to prevent rolling onto one’s side during sleep.
Even if you typically sleep on your back, it’s okay to switch it up with side and stomach sleeping from time to time. Prioritize proper spine alignment through daily posture practice as well as choosing pillows that support its curve.
