Sleep is an incredibly important part of our day. We will spend about a third of our life asleep and getting good sleep has many important benefits. This includes keeping our immune system healthy, improving athletic performance, boosting memory and so many others. There are also many different ways you can sleep, and one that many people swear by is stomach sleeping.
Stomach sleepers need a mattress that is firm enough to support them, while also providing adequate comfort as well. Thankfully, Shape has recently published a post about stomach sleepers and the mattresses that work best for them.
But is stomach sleeping a good idea? Will being a stomach sleeper affect your daily routine and have any drawbacks? Well, that is exactly what this article is going to go over. So read on and learn a little bit more about stomach sleeping and the sort of impact it can have on your life.
The Impact on Your Spine
The impact on your back and spine should be a primary concern when deciding how to sleep. When you sleep on your stomach, it can put your back and spine in a difficult position. With most of the weight along the center of your body when you sleep on your stomach, the natural curvature cannot be maintained during sleep.
This can not only lead to you waking up in the middle of the night, but also getting up in the morning and not feeling as well rested as you should. This stress on the spine can lead to having to deal with back pain throughout the day, which is incredibly annoying and uncomfortable. Also, spinal issues can tend to have an impact on other parts of the body, as well.
The Impact on Your Neck
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In a similar vein, the impact on your neck is also worth thinking about. When you stomach sleep, it is impossible to keep your head straight, as this would essentially be smothering yourself with a pillow. Instead, you need to sleep with your head tilted and turned to one side or the other. This twisting of your neck can put your body out of alignment, and lead to potentially serious issues.
You likely won’t feel much issue if you only sleep like this every now and then, but if you sleep on your stomach consistently, you will almost surely develop some kind of neck pain. This can make everything from turning your head to tilting your head hurt.
Tips for Better Stomach Sleeping
While sleeping on your stomach has some noticeable drawbacks, it also has some good things going for it. This includes reducing sleep apnea and helping with snoring. So if you sleep on your stomach for those reasons or for another altogether, it can be hard to switch. Thankfully, there are some ways you can make stomach sleeping a little better.
You should use a very thin pillow, to keep your head and neck at a healthy angle. Also, stretching in the morning and before you go to bed can sometimes reduce the amount of pain you may feel. While side sleepers will often put a pillow between their knees, stomach sleepers can benefit with a pillow under their pelvis, to maintain proper curve of the back and spine.
In conclusion, we hope that this article has been able to help you learn a little more about stomach sleeping. It does have some drawbacks, but if you need to keep sleeping in the position, do all you can to reduce the potential damage and injuries.