How Do You Sleep at Night?
Just like eating a healthy diet and maintaining regular exercise, a good nightly sleep is equally as important, in that, in order to maintain good overall health and outward appearance one of the main things you can do is follow a good sleep routine. This means adopting healthy sleeping habits which can make a big difference to the general quality of your life overall.
Many people love the idea of sleep. However, as important as sleep may be, with our busy schedules it can be difficult to get a good nightly sleep without setting up routines and getting into good habits before bed.
‘Many of us toss and turn throughout the night as we struggle to get the sleep our bodies need’. What you may not realize is that lack of sleep can have a negative impact on our productivity, daytime energy, weight, and even emotional balance.
Therefore, if you can’t get enough nightly sleep, its time to look for a solution to your troubles. There are certain simple but important changes that you can make to your bedtime routine that can have a hugely positive impact on how well you sleep in the long term. You will finally improve the quality of your output, hormonal balance, and brain function too in the process.
That being said in this article we will aim to analyze some of the different sleep positions people adopt during the night, the best sleep positions to sleep in, and highlight some ways in which sleep position trainers could improve your sleep position and indeed reduce snoring.
We will also discuss the factors that determine the position we sleep in. Ideally, this article will be aimed at ensuring you realize an overall improvement in the quality and quantity of the nightly sleep you obtain each and every night.
The Different Sleep Positions People Adopt At Night
Human beings are creatures of habit and we will always be in favor of a certain sleep position, whether that’s good or bad for us. Ask anyone and they will tell you their favorite sleep position.
For one reason or the other, this appears to be the only position that sends them to sleep every single night. The funny thing is that many people have preferred sleeping in this specific position since they were a toddler, yet there is a whole list of ways they could sleep in comfortably.
Many people overlook the fact that our sleep positions can have a significant impact on the quality and quantity of sleep you get at night. The sleep positions adopted can also have an effect on how you generally feel after waking up. When people adopt a certain position, they rarely change it and it becomes locked as a habit that can be difficult to break. And that is why we will have a deep insight into the various sleep positions people adopt during the night and how they may influence your sleep for good or bad. First up is the fetal position;
The Fetal Position
The Fetal position is a popular sleep position that is adopted by nearly 41% of people. It is categorized by curling up your knees inside towards your chest. It seems like you are tucked into some safe little ball in there. This is a very common position among women compared to men.
This is a sleep position that’s said to bring relief to your body and mind. And that is why most people who adopt this position are said to be tough on the outside but very fragile and soft on the inside. Fetal is a preferred sleep position for snorers as it reduces snoring. Also, it is the preferred position if you would like to reduce acid influx in your body.
However, you should be careful as this position can cause neck and back pains since you put extreme strain on these parts. In other cases, it can lead to saggy breasts in women and skin wrinkles. Therefore, it’s advisable that you use a firm pillow to support your head and remember to switch sides at night.
The Soldier Position
This position is exactly as it sounds. People who adopt this sleep position sleep on their back with hands by their sides. It resembles the Savasana Pose used in yoga. This position has only been adopted by 8% of people. By far this is considered the best sleeping position and that’s definitely for a reason.
The position ensures that you have adequate rest on your arms, neck, and spine at the same time. Also, it helps improve your overall posture and reduce acid influx much in the same way as the foetal position. It helps you to maintain perky breasts and cures insomnia at the same time while preventing facial wrinkles.
However, this position is known to aggravate snoring especially in people who have Sleep Apnea. Also, in pregnant mothers, this position could have a negative effect on the fetus and could also cause lower back pains, so may be worth avoiding. All in all, this is a good sleep position that supports your body well, however you can improve this position even further by sleeping on your back without using a pillow and this may help reduce snoring to some degree.
The Starfish Position
This is also another sleep position that looks just as it sounds. The position is a variation for the back sleepers where a person spreads out to encompass the entire bed while lying on their back and hands placed on the sides of the head. In most cases, this is the ideal position when you need to give your neck and spine a rest.
In other cases, the position is used to cure insomnia, reduce chances of having a headache when you wake up as well as reduce the influx of acid in the body. You can also adopt this position if you are trying to get rid of skin breakouts and skin wrinkles. However, this position could aggravate your snoring if you are prone to it. When lying down on your back, the tongue falls backwards causing a partial blockage of the airways.
Therefore, if you have sleep apnea or any related sleep complications, this is not one of the recommended positions for you. In other cases, this position could exert a lot of pressure in the shoulders hence causing pain and lower back pain. All in all, you can rectify this by avoiding to use a pillow. This allows your body to rest in a more natural way. Your neck, head, and spine will be well aligned and on a similar level.
The Log Position
According to research done on this topic, nearly 15% of people tend to fall asleep like a log. This implies that they lie down on their side with arms by the sides too. This is one of the best ways to fall into some good sleep. When sleeping in this position, it is advised that you sleep on your left side to give your vital organs a good rest and improve the digestive process throughout the night.
The log position is ideal for preventing both neck and back pains. Also, the position gives the spine a good natural curve which means it is the ideal position for the spine too. More to that, it helps to reduce snoring and sleep apnea as well. And finally, it’s the best position for pregnant women. All in all, this position doesn’t really allow for enough rest for your top leg i.e. the leg furthest from the bed, therefore, it exposes you to a higher risk of developing either back or hip pains over time.
In addition, sleeping on the side could lead to adverse sagging of breasts, skin aging and facial wrinkles. In some extreme cases, the position could also cause excessive neck pain. To deal with the effects of sleeping in this position, you could consider using a big pillow for proper support of your neck. Also, you could place a pillow between your thighs to support your top leg.
The Freefall Position
You might have some trouble picturing this sleep position. However, let’s break it down for you. In this position, a person lies down on their stomach having their hands wrapped around their pillows and the head turned towards the side. Most people find sleeping on their stomach quite uncomfortable but those who love it say that they wouldn’t have it any other way.
All in all, this is not the best position to engage in and most of the health specialists are always against it. However, in some cases, the freefall position has proven to reduce snoring. That aside, the position comes with a few limitations since it puts a strain on the neck and lower spine. Also, blood is cut off from the face and this may lead to the formation of wrinkles and there is a higher chance of pins and needles and numbness setting in.
One last danger of sleeping in the freefall position is that it puts an unnatural strain on your internal organs. If you use this position, it’s advisable that you try to adopt any of the side sleeping positions you are comfortable with. You can train yourself by putting a pillow between the mattress and your body so that you don’t fall asleep on your stomach.
The Yearner Position
The yaerner position is where you sleep on your side with your hands stretched out in front of you as if reaching out or something. Also, your legs could be slightly bent and your head on the other hand off the center a little. When sleeping in this position, it is advisable you sleep on your left side to give your vital organs a helping hand.
This position is ideal for preventing back and neck pains. As well as that, it reduces acid reflux in the body while again helping with snoring and sleep apnea. Since it allows your body to clear waste from the brain, it is believed this sleep position helps to reduce risks of developing disorders like the Parkinson’s disease.
Finally, this position ensures you have a sound night’s sleep and will ensure you are less likely to wake up at night. It is worth noting that this position could lead to arm and shoulder pains since it puts extra pressure on nerves and restricts blood flow to these organs.
In addition, the compression of nerves would lead to straining your internal organs like the lungs, liver, and stomach. In adverse cases, it may again cause the breasts to sag in women and prematurely aging skin.
Which Sleep Position is the Best?
It’s not always that simple as labeling any particular sleeping position as being the best. This is because, when it comes to sleep positions, it’s always necessary for one to find the ideal position to match their needs. If you experience any pain or discomfort with your current position, talk to your doctor or indeed a qualified sleep specialist and test out different position until you find the best one for you. That being said, some specialists recommend that sleeping on the side while occasionally switching to lying on your back can balance out well.
Remember that your bed and pillow can also have a strong impact on your levels of comfort at night. Choosing a mattress and pillow that offers the right level of support can be crucial when combined with a good sleep position.
If you feel your current sleep position is causing you problems then it may be time to change it or at least vary it a bit. The good news is that there are simple products available now that can alter and adjust the sleep position you adopt each and every night.
So for example if you find yourself snoring while only sleeping on your back and this is your favoured sleep position then you can use a simple sleep position trainer to readjust your sleep position and hopefully eliminate the snoring as a result.
How to Use Sleep Position Trainers to Fix Your Sleep Position
Sleep position trainers come in the form of simple devices with or without inbuilt technology. They are designed to measure and adjust someone’s sleep routines continuously. In this case, when you turn in to the supine sleep position during your light sleep stages, a wearable type Sleep Position Trainer will give a vibration output to your body. This simple nudge reminds you that you need to change your sleep position again without necessarily having to wake you up in the process.
Sleep Position Trainers are a type of wearable device that come in comfortable torso strap that are worn on your upper body. Certain trainers also come with software link up capability that analyses the progress of your treatment over time. This helps in giving you a recommendation on the best sleeping position for you.
In other cases, you can use non tech related products like pillows and backpacks as simple sleep position trainers. For instance, if you are trying to adopt a side sleeping position but normally sleep on your stomach, you could place a pillow between the mattress and your body. At other times you could use a backpack or tennis ball t-shirt to prevent yourself from sleeping on your back. This is ideally the best sleep trainer for people suffering from snoring, who don’t need the added extras of sleep tracking and monitoring.
Factors that Determine Your Sleep Position
There are certain elements that apart from your sleep position can determine the quality of sleep you get. These factors can include environmental noise, ambient light, room temperature and many other factors. One of the main factors to ensure sleep is the body’s comfort level which in large part comes from pillows, mattresses and indeed bed linen.
The Nature of Your Pillows and Mattresses
The pillows and mattresses you use could be the major contributors to the sleep position you adopt. Your pillow could either make it easy to switch to a specific position or it may restrict it. For instance, when you try to sleep on your side, you could place a pillow behind you so that you don’t roll backward onto your back. This will force your body to stay in position.
Other factors include;
- The size of your bed
- The level of tiredness as you go to bed
- Your sleeping time
- The age, quality and type of mattress
Check out our other articles if you would like to improve your sleep quality and find suitable ways to do this.
Final Verdict
As we have seen from the above article, everyone has their preferred sleep position. However, if you feel your sleep position is having negative side effects on your health, it’s advisable that you consider changing it.
All in all, that is easier said than done as the most preferred sleep position people adopt is learned early on in life. However with the use of Sleep Position Trainers the ability to form a new more preferred sleep position is made much easier and the development of new habits can be formed much more easily.
If you snore then you will probably find it mostly happens while positioned on your back. In order to decrease the chances of snoring taking place you can try sleeping in another position with the use of a sleep position trainer.
It is worth using one of these Sleep Position Trainers because what often happens is that someone will try sleeping in a different position for example on their side and then almost immediately revert back to their habitual back sleep position and so the snoring cycle continues.
If snoring is causing you or someone you know problems then take some time to browse the site for the best options to solve this issue.
Hopefully you found this article of interest and discovered something new and relevant in helping you to improve your sleep outlook. If you did then please share it with others.
Check out the Snorefocus Blog where you will find interesting snore and sleep related posts. Please feel free to leave a comment or if you have any questions please reach out and leave a question in the comment section.