Is your favourite sleeping position affecting your health?
We don’t always think of the POSITIONS that we sleep in and how important they are to the overall feeling of our body upon waking. If you think of sleeping as a time when your body is FROZEN in a position for any length of time… we can see how important it is to make sure that it is a healthy one!
Good intentioned people can undo all of the hard work they put in training, recovering, and rehabbing aches and pains simply by the positions that they are sleeping in! It’s well worth addressing!
Back is Best
This can be a difficult position for some people to feel “comfortable” in, yet it is the most anatomically correct position for your spine to be in. Aligned and untwisted – keeping your spine supported. Bending a leg slightly helps to reduce any pressure on the lower back and you can try holding a pillow in your arms if you require extra support.
Side Sleeping
This is your next best position. Bear in mind that you still want to focus on keeping your spine aligned (from your Crown to your Sacrum). Any slight twists or deviations from this alignment can twist the spine and result in stiffness and pain the next day. For example, if you raise one leg up towards your chest, and you leave the other one lower, you will be able to feel the slight twist this creates in your back.
Best way to approach side sleeping – put a small pillow in between your legs, raise BOTH of your legs up to the same degree. Hugging another pillow to your chest can help keep you supported on your back, or putting a larger pillow behind you as well.
Tummy Sleepers
This is a “no-go”. Sorry to be there bearer of bad news (this coming from a reformed tummy-sleeper)… but this is the worst position to put your body into whilst sleeping. If we look at the spine from top-down, we first see that our head/neck needs to be cranked quite unnaturally to one side. Then as we move down the system, it’s most common that a leg also pulls up towards the chest creating a twist in the lower spine. As cosy and comfy as this might feel in the moment, it’s not a position that you would like your body to stay in for any great length of time.
But how can I change?
- Intentional Sleeping – if you naturally sleep on your tummy, allow yourself to cosy down into bed like this, then say, “Time to move, this position is not healthy for my spine”. Move to the back or side as indicated above, using pillows and supports as needed so that you are comfortable.
- If you wake in the night and find yourself in a not-so-favourable position, that’s ok! Just gently change into one that is healthier and fall back asleep.
- You will be going through a period of re-training your body, so it will take time. Be kind to yourself on this journey.
- Persist, it will get easier over time, and you can re-learn healthier sleep positions with a little effort and consistency.
