Your sleep quality is affected by multiple factors – it isn’t just how dark and quiet your room is or what music you listen to before you hit the hay – it’s how you lay your body down, too. According to science, the best sleeping position is sleeping on your side. Read on to learn why.
Your sleep quality is affected by multiple factors – it isn’t just how dark and quiet your room is or what music you listen to before you hit the hay – it’s how you lay your body down, too.
So, is there such thing like the best sleep position? According to science, the answer is sleeping on your side. In many ways, side sleepers have it better than others with different sleep positions. However, the benefits of side sleep actually depend on which side you prefer. Watch this video and check out our infographic to find out how side sleeping benefits your health.
Benefits of sleeping on your side are directly related to your physiology.
Sleeping on the side allows your spine to remain in its natural and neutral position while particularly sleeping on the left is recommended if you are pregnant, snore or struggle with health conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea. This sleep position is beneficial for snoring and OSA because it helps to open up a crowded oropharynx. Side sleeping is recommended if you have carpal tunnel syndrome because it protects your wrists from pressure during sleep. It also elongates the spine which helps to alleviate neck and back pain.
A recent study shows that the benefits of side sleeping go beyond expected and may boost your brain health.
A study performed at Stony Brook University in New York and published in The Journal of Neuroscience investigated how body posture during sleep affects brain waste removal in mice. The results suggest that sleeping on your side help the brain’s glymphatic system clear waste more effectively than sleeping on the back or stomach.
In order to understand this, we have to explain what the brain’s glymphatic system is, and how our body posture affects it.
The glymphatic system consists of a brain wide pathway that facilitates the exchange of spinal fluid with interstitial fluid, and has the role of clearing interstitial waste from the brain parenchyma. When this waste isn’t cleared properly, we become more prone to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia. The interstitial waste from the brain parenchyma moves into the perivenous pathways and ultimately gets cleared out via cervical lymphatic vessels.
As you know by now, our brain is active the most during sleep and this is the time when the process of brain waste removal occurs. Side sleeping position elongates the spine and allows faster waste clearance. Other sleep positions may slow down this process or result in brain waste retention.
Therefore, by improving the functioning of the brain’s glymphatic system, we can reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia.
It’s important to mention that side sleeping also comes with some downsides such as unwanted skin aging. Studies show that constantly placing one side of your face on the pillow can cause wrinkles, or even lead to saggy breasts. You’re also more likely to disrupt circulation in your arm, because of the pressure of your body, and wake up with an uncomfortable, tingling pins and needles feeling (also known as paresthesia). Side sleepers typically toss and turn in sleep more often than back sleepers, which may lead to less restful sleep.
As mentioned, sleeping on the left or right side has its advantages and disadvantages.
Left side sleeping is recommended for:
However, left side sleeping may put a strain on your internal organs like the pancreas, kidney and spleen, along with the heart. When sleeping on the left, the internal organs in the thorax can shift, and the lungs may weigh heavily on the heart. This increased pressure may impact the heart’s function, potentially worsening heart strain in heart failure. The heart may respond to the increased pressure by activating the kidneys, increasing urination at night.
Right side sleeping is especially recommended for heart health. Some scientists think the age-related preference for right-side sleeping is an instinctive, protective response for the heart, and studies show that people with heart failure tend to avoid sleeping on their left sides.
Based on the science, there are four major reasons why you may want to consider sleeping on the right.
Patients with atrial fibrillation often report that they experience fewer arrhythmias when sleeping on the right side, however, there is still no research that could confirm this.
Right side sleeping is not recommended for:
If you are an overall healthy person, it’s healthier to sleep on your right side and avoid putting unnecessary strain on your major internal organs. Right side sleeping is also beneficial if you struggle with a heart condition. However, if you are sleeping for two, or struggle with OSA and GERD, left-side sleeping is more recommended.
To minimize the disadvantages of side sleeping, it’s important to get a good pillow and a good mattress.
The ideal models are the ones that support the natural alignment of the body. When lying on your back, your body is properly aligned when an imaginary horizontal line that goes through your ear to the rest of your body is completely parallel. When you lie on your side, the horizontal line running through your nose should be in line with the rest of the body.
Once you have a good pillow and mattress, sleeping with some extra pillows may enhance the health benefits of sleeping on the side.
How to sleep with 3 pillows:
So, why is this important? As a side sleeper, apart from keeping your spine properly aligned, you must also keep the right and left side of your body as symmetrical as possible.
For example, crossing the left upper leg over the right lower one is not recommended as it would cause the left upper knee to drop and the left hip to be rolled forward, causing your lower spine to twist which may result in lower back pain.
Instead, keep the legs bent at the knee, one on top of the other so that the lower leg can support the upper one. Putting a pillow between bent knees will re-center your body, and hugging a pillow will help to support the upper arm and leg. If you have large hips, and there is space between the waist and the bed when you lie on the side, put a rolled towel underneath to prevent your body from sagging downward.
Side sleeping is one of the most popular sleep positions worldwide; however, if you prefer to snooze differently, you shouldn’t force yourself to sleep on the side. The same goes if you prefer right side over left and vice versa. Sleeping is a personal experience, and you will benefit the most from it if you snooze in a position you find most comfortable.
What do you notice about your health when you sleep in different positions? Comment below
A wannabe journalist who somehow ended up as an art historian. She is a gamer, a coffee addict and a sleep aficionado. When she is not researching about sleep and finding out new ways to fight off the insomnia beast, she's spending time with her friends, gaming or visiting local museums.