Your general health is determined by how you sleep. Your sleep habits can have an impact on your heart and respiratory health in addition to causing general aches and pains in the morning. Nevertheless, depending on your health, each sleeping position has advantages and disadvantages. For instance, doctors recommend sleeping on your right side if you have heart issues. The heart is not under any pressure in this position.
The stomach is lower than the oesophagus, thus sleeping on the left side may be the best option for people with gastrointestinal problems or acid reflux. But sleeping on your right side is better for your brain’s ability to eliminate waste and poisons, thus it’s healthier for your brain’s health.
Sleep apnoea, a disorder in which a person snores and has irregular breathing, can be triggered by back sleeping, which is generally unhealthy. This can lead to poor sleep, which can exacerbate conditions including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and more.
One advantage for front-sleepers is that their airways are more open, allowing for better breathing. But this posture will cause back and neck ache.
In addition to causing physical discomfort, your sleeping position may be “slowly killing you,” according to an article published in The Telegraph.
This is based on every health concern related to your sleeping posture that was mentioned above.
How to switch to new sleeping position?
It may be difficult to decide which sleeping position is ideal for you. After all, is it really possible to determine the posture you are in when you are asleep? Tucking a cushion between your legs is one of the many posture alignment techniques that doctors advise.
It’s considerably more difficult to switch your sleeping posture. You will need to progressively move from sleeping on your left side to your right side if you want to do so due to your heart. Begin sleeping in the new position for a few minutes each day, then gradually extend the duration. After you fall asleep, you may return to your preferred posture, but doing so may eventually cause you to completely adopt the new one.
Sleep on your left side if you have digestive problems. Sleep on your right side if you have heart problems. This relieves any pressure on the organ. According to studies, sleeping on your left side may cause the heart to shift in position due to gravity, which may alter the electrical activity of the heart. However, sleeping on your right side guarantees that it remains in place.
Sammy Margo, a sleep specialist and author of The Good Sleep Guide, told the Telegraph that side sleepers had postural issues. Because they will sink into the mattress, “women with hourglass figures” will put “a strain on the spine and hips.” Side-sleeping men report “pain in their shoulders as they get older and their muscles weaken.”
Those who sleep on their front strain their neck by twisting it to the side. According to Margo, “stomach sleeping can also arch your spine.” In addition, this posture results in wrinkles.
It might be preferable for you to sleep on your back if you have neck and back pain. But this posture can result in poor sleep quality and sleep apnoea. Numerous other health problems, such as diabetes and other co-morbidities, may result from this.