Stomach Sleeping - what you need to know.

Stomach sleeping is the least popular sleep position though research has shown that around 1 person in 5 will find themselves in this position. It’s generally agreed that it is not the best sleeping position. 

❓The question is why?

🛑 What’s Wrong With Stomach Sleeping?

The stomach sleeping position comes with several drawbacks and is not recommended for most people. The problem is that the behaviour usually starts in early life when it doesn’t cause too much of a problem. Like many things the young get away with it only to pay for it later in life In particular, the following people should avoid sleeping on their stomachs:

1. 1. 🤰🏼Pregnant women are recommended to avoid stomach sleeping in the third trimester. The concern is around compression of major blood vessels that supply the unborn child (let alone any maternal discomfort!). Sleeping on your left side is the best option.
   2. 🙇People with neck pain. Sleeping with your neck at 75 to 90 degrees rotation accumulates joint and ligamentous tension that eventually causes pain. We have a series of joint structures that act as gatekeepers to excessive motion. This is to protect us from injury. You wouldn’t sit at your computer side on and do your work would you? So sleeping this way is the same thing.
   3. 👴🏻People worried about wrinkles. Studies have shown that skin fault lines (wrinkles)can be caused by the compression, shear and stress forces associated with stomach sleeping. When you are young your skin's elasticity is optimal. This means your skin’s capacity to recover (recoil) after shear forces (stretching and compression) is perfect. However, as we age, skin collagen and fluid content alters and the deformation/reformation capacity slips away.

• ⚡Lower back pain. There are many reasons why your lower back can be painful. A very common one as we age is a loss of lumbar disc structure. As the disc loses water and fibrous integrity (think of an ageing car tyre that starts to lose air and bulge at the sides) the vertebrae can start to shear (slide) over the top of each other. These shearing forces load the ligaments and muscles that surround the joint provoking a mechanical pain response.

😴How to Sleep Better on Your Stomach

Without the right pillow and mattress, it’s easy for the stomach sleeping position to cause aches and pains. However, it is possible to sleep well in this position if you enjoy sleeping on your stomach. Try doing so with a very thin pillow, or no pillow at all. This way, you can avoid tilting your neck back and up, creating further spinal misalignment and discomfort. Place a thin pillow under your hips and abdomen to further even out the spine load and relieve joint pressure. A firm mattress can also prevent some of the spinal alignment issues that come from sleeping on your stomach.

The best sleep position for you is whichever sleep position enables you to enjoy a restful night of uninterrupted sleep and wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, without any aches and pains. If that describes your current sleep position, don’t feel forced to change it. If you think a new position might make sleep more comfortable for you, though, go ahead and try another position. Be patient and use the strategies named to help yourself adjust to the new position.

Your sleep position plays a pivotal role in the quality of your sleep. Changing it up is just one of many strategies you can try for better sleep.

🌙 Exploring the Benefits  of Back Sleeping: Insights from a Chiropractor 🌙

Mayo Clinic sleeping positions