Sleeping on your back, stomach, side, or slumbering in an embryo position, everyone has their own preferred sleeping position. And it is not a coincidence, but can indicate health problems.
The bed industry has long since responded and offers the right support for the night with special pillows for side sleepers and pillows for stomach and back sleepers. Because everyone has their favorite position in bed. The side position is the most popular sleeping position, followed by the supine and prone position in third place, as studies by sleep researchers show.
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We usually choose our most frequently used sleeping position unconsciously – but not by chance. The sleeping position says a lot about the state of our health and can also influence it in return.
Side sleepers – right or left are crucial
Those who sleep on the right side often have stomach problems. This is because stomach acid can flow back into the esophagus particularly easily. In addition, this sleeping position also makes it more difficult for the pancreas to work because the stomach is pressing on it.
As a result, right sleepers are twice as likely to suffer from heartburn and digestive problems as left sleepers, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.
This is why people who prefer to sleep on their left side often have healthy, orderly digestion – and often fewer heart problems. Because our main artery is bent to the left and the blood can be pumped upwards more easily in this sleeping position. Left sleepers have a clear advantage.
Sleep like an embryo
However, when you lie on your side, it also depends on how your arms and legs are positioned. The embryo posture with bent arms and legs, which at first glance seems so relaxed, is often associated with neck and back pain. In addition, the tendency to roll makes it difficult to breathe deeply because the organs are pressed.
Side sleeping is much better for the back when the upper leg is pulled in a little and the lower leg is stretched out. This sleeping position ideally relaxes the lumbar spine.
Supine position – risk of snoring and often dangerous pauses in breathing
Even if the so-called “starfish” – sleeping on your back with arms and legs outstretched – is considered a particularly relaxing sleeping position: The supine position is associated with a high health risk. Because back sleepers often snore. The throat muscles relax when you sleep. If the sleeper is also lying on their back, the tongue can fall back a little into the throat and the airways narrow. Breath noticeably passes this bottleneck. There are snoring noises.
If the constriction is particularly narrow, breathing can sometimes stop, and cause sleep apnea. Above all, those who sleep alone do not know anything about it but suffer from the consequences such as high blood pressure and a high pulse, which in turn significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Incidentally, anyone who sleeps on their back and likes to support their head and neck with high pillows often has heart and lung problems. This sleeping position facilitates the functioning of the heart and lungs. Shallow sleep is hardly possible for lung patients, for example with COPD, and breathing is too strenuous.
Prone position often indicates back problems – and alcohol problems
Lying on your stomach relieves the intervertebral discs and supports the natural curvature of the spine. Anyone who has problems with the lumbar vertebrae is therefore happy to choose this sleeping position.
However, it can also indicate a drinking problem, as research shows. According to this, people who drink a lot of alcohol often sleep with their faces buried deep in the pillow.
It’s best to sleep flexibly
If you like to sleep on your stomach or back, you should therefore roll over on your side more often at night, preferably on your left. This can help prevent some health problems.
But this sleeping position also harbors a small, albeit only cosmetic, risk: it can press wrinkles on the face overnight.
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In terms of health and beautiful skin, you are safest if you do it like ten percent of sleepers do: You change positions several times a night, so you are flexible, so-called “Flexi sleepers”.
While there could be some links between sleep position and health, the best sleep position, after all, is one that keeps you comfortable enough to get the rest you need.
Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images