What Are the Best Positions for Sleeping?

Sleeping positions include sleeping on your back, stomach, or side. Side sleeping can be further divided into sleeping on your left or right side.

According to the WHO, most people spend one-third of their lives sleeping. A good night's sleep allows your body to repair itself and be full of energy for the next day. Not enough sleep can make people feel tired and irritable. Many factors affect sleep, including physical health, emotions, medications, and your bedroom environment. Mattresses, bedding, and sleeping positions also play a role. Sleeping position greatly affects our sleep. Sleeping on back can make snoring worse. Sleeping on side can help pregnant women feel more comfortable. Because it can reduce pressure on their body.

What's the best sleeping position?

There isn’t one best sleeping position. But, different positions can help with different issues. The best sleeping position for you depends on your preferences and physical condition. It also depends on your mattress and whether you sleep alone.

What are the sleeping positions?

Sleeping positions include back sleeping, stomach sleeping, side sleeping, and a mix of these positions. Side sleeping positions are divided into left side sleeping and right side sleeping. According to research, side sleeping is the most common position. About 60% of people prefer to sleep on their side. About 15% of people prefer to sleep on their back. About 7% of people prefer sleeping on their stomach. Mixed sleepers don’t stick to one position. They may change positions throughout the night. The proportion of this group of people is around 18%.

Pros and Cons of Side Sleeping:

According to surveys, side sleeping is the most common sleeping position. Sleeping on your side has many benefits. Sleeping on your side can help reduce neck fat and eye tissue pressure on the respiratory tract. This can keep your breathing smooth. Sleeping on your side puts less pressure on your spine and can effectively relieve back pain. Sleeping on your side can help relieve gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) symptoms, such as heartburn and reflux. Sleeping on your left side is especially beneficial. Elevating the head of the bed can further reduce these symptoms. You can use a pillow or an adjustable bed to elevate your head.

Of course, sleeping on your side means that the contact area between your body and the mattress is smaller. This can increase pressure on your shoulders and hips. We need a mattress that is soft and supportive. See my guide to the best mattresses for side sleepers. Sleeping on your side for a long time will compress the facial skin and cause sleep wrinkles. And sleeping on one side for a long time will cause facial asymmetry. If you are a woman, it may also cause breast asymmetry. Thus, when sleeping on your side, you can alternate between left and right. Placing a pillow between your legs can help align your spine and increase comfort.

Pros：

Can relieve sleep apnea symptoms
Can prevent spinal problems and back pain
May reduce acid reflux symptoms
May help reduce snoring

Cons：

You may feel pressure in your shoulders or hips
The pressure on your face from sleeping on your side may cause wrinkles
Sleeping on one side for a long time can cause facial asymmetry

Suitable for: Pregnant women, people who snore, people with back pain, people prone to acid reflux

Pros and Cons of Sleeping on Your Back:

Sleeping on your back is a more common sleeping position. The contact area between the body and the mattress is large. This helps stretch and relax the muscles throughout the body. The large contact area helps with blood circulation throughout the body. It also relieves pressure on the cervical spine and reduces back pain. Of course, back sleepers will need a medium-firm mattress. Only in this way can it fit the body, provide effective support and align the spine. At the same time, the pillow also needs to be of a certain height to ensure the normal curve of the neck. Sleeping on your back avoids compressing the facial skin. This can help reduce the formation of skin wrinkles.

When sleeping on your back, gravity affects the tongue and other pharyngeal tissues. This can lead to difficulty breathing or even apnea. Snoring can also become more severe. If you also suffer from acid reflux, lying down may increase heartburn symptoms.

Pros：

Supports the natural alignment of the spine
May help relieve back pain
No compression wrinkles

Cons：

More likely to snore
May worsen sleep apnea symptoms
Long-term worsening of acid reflux symptoms

Suitable for: People with back pain

Not suitable for: Pregnant women, people with acid reflux, people who are prone to snoring

Pros and Cons of Sleeping on Your Stomach:

Sleeping on your stomach is the least recommended of these sleeping positions.

When sleeping on your stomach, your face is compressed and deformed. This can cause sleep wrinkles. And the pressure on the eyeball will affect the vision of the eye. To breathe, the head turns to one side, the neck muscles twist, and the spine loses alignment. It’s easy to wake up the next day with back pain and neck soreness. For drunk people and babies, sleeping on their stomachs can easily cause suffocation.

But it is not useless. When sleeping on your stomach, the pharyngeal tissue does not block the breathing passage. This can reduce snoring and lessen the risk of sleep apnea symptoms.

Pros：

Can reduce symptoms of sleep apnea
Can help relieve snoring

Cons：

Compression wrinkles are more likely to appear on the face
May worsen back and neck pain
Affects eye vision.

Suitable for: People who snore, people with sleep apnea symptoms

Not suitable for: People with back pain, drunk people and babies

Best Sleeping Position for Back Pain:

Both sleeping on your back and side may help relieve back pain. Sleeping on your side helps protect your spine from pain and discomfort. This is because you don’t put pressure on your back and lumbar area. Sleeping on your back on a medium-firm mattress can help relieve low back pain. This is because your spine stays in a neutral position. When you sleep on your back, your body has more contact with the mattress and your body weight is dispersed. Be freed.

Your mattress can also affect your sleep. Research shows that a medium-firm, supportive mattress can help relieve low back pain. It can also reduce pain while lying in bed. Additionally, it may lessen pain when you wake up.

Best Sleeping Position for Pregnant Women:

Sleeping on your left side.

Due to the position of the rectum and other organs, the uterus is often tilted to the right. When pregnant women lie on their left side, it can shift the uterus to the left. This helps reduce tension on uterine blood vessels and increases blood flow to the placenta. As a result, it improves the oxygen supply to the fetus. Of course, if sleeping on your left side is uncomfortable, you can try switching sides. Alternating between your left and right sides can help. This is the recommended sleeping position after 28 weeks of pregnancy. By this time, the uterus is already very large. There are no sleeping position recommendations during the first trimester.

Lying on your back is not good for the health of the fetus and may increase the risk of miscarriage. When you lie on your back, the enlarged uterus can compress the aorta in the abdomen. This affects blood supply to your body and reduces the blood supply to the fetus. As a result, the fetus may be at risk of hypoxia.

Best Sleeping Position for Couples:

There is no best sleeping position for couples. Couples in the love stage will hug each other to sleep to increase intimacy. After this period, couples often focus more on sleep quality. As a result, it's common for couples to sleep back to back.

So what should couples consider when sleeping?

Motion Isolation: When one partner tosses and turns at night or gets up frequently, it can disturb the other partner. Thus, choosing a mattress that reduces motion transfer is important. Using individually wrapped spring coils can effectively reduce movement disturbances. This helps cut interference with the other partner’s sleep.

Snoring: When a person snores, his partner will be disturbed. Now, you can sleep on your side or stomach to reduce the impact of snoring on your partner.

Best Sleeping Position for People with Obesity:

Sleeping on your side. It is not suitable for obese people to sleep on their backs. When they sleep on their backs, the pharyngeal tissue can compress their breathing. This can easily worsen snoring and cause breathing difficulties. Due to weight reasons, obese people are not suitable for sleeping on their stomachs. It can easily compress the heart and affect blood circulation in the body.

Best Sleeping Position for Snorers:

Sleeping on your side. Mainly because this posture helps keep the airway open. When you lie on your back, your tongue and soft palate are more likely to fall back into your throat. This can partially block your airway and cause snoring. When sleeping on your side, gravity pulls the tongue and soft palate to one side. This reduces obstruction to the respiratory tract and decreases pressure on the throat. As a result, air passes more smoothly, which effectively reduces snoring.

Generally speaking, sleeping on your side is the most advantageous position. In contrast, sleeping on your stomach is the least recommended. But sleeping position is a personal habit and is highly personal. If you really don’t like a sleeping position, forcing yourself to use it can be detrimental. It will negatively impact your sleep. So do we have any tips to increase sleep comfort?

The answer is: yes!

Sleeping on your side: Place a pillow in front of your legs. This will make your sleep more comfortable.

Sleeping on your back: Place a pillow under your knees to keep your spine in better alignment.