It is common knowledge that everything we do regularly on a daily basis shows its effects on our health sooner or later. Our eating habits, moods, overall lifestyle, and sleeping patterns all play a role in shaping our health in the long run. As far as sleeping is concerned, sleep positions and their pros and cons go far beyond our contemplations in terms of health.
We spend almost 1/3 of our days sleeping, and one needs to make sure their sleeping position is right in order to make it count. Given below is a detailed comparison between the best and worst sleeping positions and what role do they play in moulding your health in the long term.
Sleep positions and their pros and cons:
No sleeping position is completely good for your body and neither is any sleeping position completely unhealthy. All type of positions have their advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most common healthy sleep positions and their pros and consare mentioned below.
On your side:
Pros:Be it right or left, side sleeping is the most common sleeping position people are seen to have. Sleeping on the left reduces chances of acid reflux and gastrointestinal tract disorders. Sleeping on the right ensures that no undue pressure is put on the stomach or lungs. This is the most recommended position for pregnant women, especially in the third trimester.
Cons:If you want to make the best out of sleep positions and their pros and cons, sleep on your side regularly. When you choose to sleep on your side, you may want to keep alternating between right and left in order to avoid a cold shoulder. Also, if you are suffering from a backache, it is best to avoid side position.
What to do:Use a high enough pillow to adequately support your neck and shoulders. You can even place a medium-sized pillow in between your knees to support your hips.
On your back:
Pros:As is common knowledge, sleeping on your back keeps your neck and spine in a neutral position which is highly recommended as the perfect body posture when lying down. This is one of those healthy sleep positionswhich will prevent your skin from wrinkling and saggingsince you won’t be rubbing your face into the pillow transferring bacteria to and fro.
Cons:This position increases your chances of snoring. Also, when you are sleeping on your back, you are most likely to fall prey to sleep apnea, i.e. Obstruction of air flow into the lings during sleeping. This position is not recommended for heavily pregnant women since it can compress one of the major nerves at the back.
What to do:Make sure your pillow isn’t too high lest you want your neck to be elevated more than necessary all night long. Use a pillow to raise your head just enough to match with the rest of your backbone. Such arrangements contribute to the betterment and reduction of sleep positions and their pros and consrespectively.
On your stomach:
Pros:The only advantage of sleeping on your stomach is that it reduces your chances of snoring. In addition to that, it aids in quick digestion and may ease sleep apnea to a considerable extent too in certain extreme cases.
Cons:Overtime, your face starts showing signs of wrinkling due to all that constant rubbing of your skin against the pillow. Also, the natural curve of your neck and back is flattened leading to lower back issues. Sleeping on your stomach is definitely not recommended if you are already suffering from lower back pain.
What to do:Use a flat pillow in order to minimize the stress on your neck and to avoid it getting out of alignment. You can even place a pillow under your pelvic region to prevent pressurizing your backbone and turning it into one of the healthy sleep positions.
What does your sleeping position tell about you?
Body language speaks a lot about an individual’s personality and so does one’s sleeping position. Given the multiple sleep positions and their pros and cons, a lot can be saidabout your way of thinking, personality type, and your strengths and weaknesses based on the position you adopt for sleeping on a regular basis. Some of the sleep positions meaning are as follows:
Fetal position:
This is usually how introverts and socially anxious people sleep.It portrays a person tough on the outside but soft and timid on the inside. If this is your regular sleeping position, sleep on your left to avoid health issues in the long run.
Freefall position:
As the name says, in this position, the person lays on their stomach with all 4 limbs splayed out in a freefall position. Sleep positions meaningsays that this is usually how extroverts and socially butterflies sleep. Such people tend to take criticism quite personally, if they ever have to deal with it. They are rash and quite impulsive too. This position is best to aid in proper and quick digestion of food.
Starfish position:
This position is exactly similar to the freefall except that here the person sleeps on their back instead of the front. This characteristic is indicative of the individual being carefree, outgoing, and more of an open book. They have nothing to hide and are quite helpful, friendly, and pretty approachable. Sleeping in the starfish position or anyway on your back is of the best sleep positions and their pros and consare that they prevent skin sagging and increase chances of snoring respectively.
Conclusion:
True that sleeping is governed by plenty of other factors like stress, physical health, work profile, and your lifestyle. Just changing your sleeping positions will not improve your quality of sleep and your health overnight. If you are expecting your body to fall asleep as soon as you hit your bed just because you’re adopting the correct sleeping position, you’re ina loss.
Having said that, your sleep quality will definitely get better with the correct sleeping positions over a certain period of time. The above-mentioned sleep positions and their pros and cons need to be implemented if you facing certain health issues and your doctor advises you to do so.
All you need to do is be consistent with it. Analyse the best and worst sleeping positions, adopt the correct sleeping habits, and maintain your determination until your body starts showing signs of visible improvement in terms of health and sleep quality.