What’s The Best Position To Sleep In?

Dr. Rachel Salas takes us through the options:

Put yourself in your position

Sleep position is important, because it changes the arrangement of internal organs and (through that and other means) can influence chronic health conditions, spinal alignment, muscle relaxation, morning stiffness, and even cognitive decline (which is arguably a chronic health condition, but deserves its own mention as people often don’t think of it as such).

As for what’s “normal”, often it’s tied to age: babies are advised to sleep on their backs to reduce choking and suffocation risk (so, parents will often tend to ensuring the baby follows that advice), children commonly sleep on their sides or backs, and adolescents/adults usually prefer side-sleeping, with stomach-sleeping being the least common.

It’s also worth noting that most people change position 20–30 times each night, and these movements help relieve pressure, respond to discomfort, and generally keep things ticking over nicely the way they should. However, even with this in mind, usually some positions are more favored than others, e.g. alternating between two main positions, or switching between numerous positions but most often returning to the same one, that sort of thing.

Now, for the positions and their effects:

• Stomach sleeping: sleeping prone is generally the least recommended position because it can flatten the natural curve of your spine, although it may help some people with respiratory conditions by allowing the back portions of the lungs to expand more freely.
• Back sleeping: sleeping on your back can help some people with lower back pain, especially when a small pillow is placed under your knees to support your spine’s natural curve.
  • Special note about snoring and sleep apnea: back sleeping can cause the soft tissues of your throat and tongue to fall backwards into your airway, increasing snoring and potentially worsening obstructive sleep apnea by making airway collapse more likely.
• Side-sleeping: most experts generally recommend side-sleeping, particularly with a pillow between your knees, because it can improve spinal alignment. An additional thing that’s not mentioned in the video is also that side-sleeping is best for the brain’s glymphatic system, for reasons discussed in the “learn more” link at the bottom of this article.
  • Left-side sleeping: sleeping on your left side may reduce heartburn and acid reflux symptoms because your stomach sits mostly on the left side of your body, allowing gravity to help keep stomach acid from flowing into your esophagus.
  • Right-side sleeping: people with congestive heart failure may sleep better on their right side because it can reduce pressure on an enlarged left ventricle and improve comfort.

Thus, the ideal position depends on an individual’s health conditions, symptoms, and comfort—with the above factors taken into account.

For more on all of this as well as visual illustrations (and some interesting trivia about debunked pseudoscience pertaining to sleep positions and personality), enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

Sleeping Positions & Your Heart & Brain

Take care!