Which sleeping position is better: on your back, on your stomach or on your side?
Written by Annisa Hapsari. Date updated: 12/02/2024
Did you know that sleeping position actually has an influence on health? Yes, choosing a good and appropriate sleeping position can improve sleep quality while getting maximum sleep benefits. On the other hand, if you choose the wrong sleeping position, the risk of experiencing fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, stomach ulcers and back pain will increase. How can you determine the optimal sleeping position?
Benefits and risks of different sleeping positions
Basically, there is no one position that is good for everyone. The reason is, each person has different health conditions. This means that a sleeping position that is good for you may not be good for someone else.
Therefore, you need to understand the benefits and risks of various types of sleeping positions before determining which one is best.
1. Sleep on your back
Often, sleeping on your back is considered to be the best position compared to other positions. Apart from being good for the spine, experts consider that sleeping on your back can give you the opportunity to get the full benefits of the bed.
Usually, you can sleep well on your back by positioning your body straight and your head facing the ceiling. When sleeping in this condition, make sure to use a comfortable pillow to support your head.
This sleeping position is good for helping those of you who are experiencing back pain, shoulder pain or neck pain. The reason is, sleeping in this position can reduce discomfort in the painful area. In addition, this position makes the entire spine equally support your body weight.
Unfortunately, not everyone will feel comfortable if they have to sleep in this condition. Why? It turns out that sleeping on your back is not good for those of you who have kyphosis spinal disorder. Yes, if you sleep in this condition, those of you who experience kyphosis are susceptible to neck pain.
Apart from that, sleeping on your back can also trigger snoring sounds during sleep. This happens because when you sleep on your back, the gravity of the earth makes your tongue move further back, thereby blocking your airway. This pressure from the tongue causes you to snore while sleeping.
2. Sleep on your stomach
Basically, sleeping on your stomach tends to give you more health problems than you can benefit from. In fact, experts consider that this position is the worst compared to the other two sleeping positions.
When you sleep on your stomach, you no longer rely on your spine to support your body. In fact, you will pull the neck muscles until they feel uncomfortable, and restrict breathing. The doctor might recommend this sleeping position for those of you who always snore loudly every time you sleep.
However, there are also quite a lot of health problems that may arise from sleeping on your stomach. Starting from the heart beating faster, difficulty breathing, to death which may occur in the baby if he sleeps in conditions like this.
Therefore, only a handful of people feel comfortable sleeping on their stomachs. Most of them experience some changes in sleep style. This means that the position when you wake up may be different and you will no longer be lying on your stomach. However, you can't control these changes during sleep, right?
If you still want to sleep on your stomach, you need to know what risks might occur. At least use a thin pillow under your stomach to support your spine. Sleeping on your stomach with a thin pillow or not using a pillow at all on your stomach can increase spinal strength.
3. Sleep on your side
Most people will admit to sleeping with their body facing sideways. Yes, this position does feel comfortable when sleeping. In fact, according to Sleep Advisor, there are several health benefits that you might experience if you sleep on your side.
For example, sleeping with your body tilted to the left can improve blood circulation to the heart while reducing the risk of heartburn. Meanwhile, sleeping on your right side provides other health benefits. If you sleep on your right side, you can protect your heart from being crushed or pressured by other body organs.
Apart from that, sleeping on your side can prevent neck pain, back pain, reduce snoring, and is beneficial for those of you who have obstructive sleep apnea, or a sleep disorder when breathing stops temporarily during sleep.
In fact, women who are pregnant are also advised to sleep in this condition. For pregnant women, sleeping on the left side is also the best because it helps improve blood circulation.
However, that doesn't mean this is the best sleeping position. The reason is, sleeping on your side is also not appropriate for some people with certain health problems. For example, it turns out that sleeping on the right side for people with gastric disorders can make their condition worse.
When sleeping facing the right side, the esophageal sphincter (the tube between the stomach and the esophagus) weakens. As a result, stomach acid can rise into your esophagus and cause pain in your stomach. This can cause symptoms such as a burning sensation in the chest (heartburn), coughing, and a sour taste in the mouth.
If you often change sleeping positions at night, try propping up your back with a bolster or pillow. That way, it will be more difficult for you to change from a tilted position to the right side.
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