The Sleeping positions Well they are the key to a healthy life thanks to the rest. However, for many people this is a challenge and they are unable to sleep properly because they do not master any positioning technique. Is it your case?
Most of the time, the problem comes from simple ignorance, living isolated from the different options we have to rest in bed. It is not the same to sleep alone as a couple, during the period of menstruation, to be pregnant or if you have a newborn baby and if you have a condition such as low back pain, herniated disc, sciatica or scoliosis among others.
Doctor and orthopedic surgeon Hooman Melamed says that"80% of the population will have back problems at some point in their lives because of the way they sleep." Do you want to be part of the remaining 20%? Keep reading!
Best postures for sleeping alone
1 - Posture of soldier
It is one of the most typical postures besides the most useful. If you sleep as a soldier - face up with your arms and feet straight and stretched - you will avoid back pains, as this will not cause the spine to make any effort.
It is a posture that has the ability to eliminate the different types of breathing problems you may have, but as a result I have to tell you that it is one of the positions that are most prone to the appearance of snoring.
It can also benefit your aesthetic. On the one hand, exposing your face to the air at night can help you avoid wrinkles of expression, and on the other hand, it will keep your breasts erect on women.
Several experts have already stated that this is one of the best postures to spend the night sleeping, especially if it is without a pillow.
2- Position of lateral position
Probably the most effective of all positions. Although its name can take it off, the truth is that it is based on supporting the side of the trunk in the bed with the feet stretched.
According to one Article Published in the Journal of Neuroscience By Stony Brook University researchers, the lateral decubitus position improves the activity of the lymphatic system . What does this mean? Elimination of waste in the brain is enhanced, thus improving the nervous system . This leads to the possibility of To avoid Alzheimer's .
Sleeping on the left side in this position, as explained in JAMA Internal Medicine , Can change negative habits in patients such as smoking, ingesting alcohol or dine late.
3- Fetal Posture
Do you sleep on your side and your legs cramped? Performing the fetal position at bedtime brings a large number of benefits.
Recommended for people who suffer Sleep apnea , Prevents stomach reflux and improves breathing. The explanation is due to the free circulation of air that gives us the body.
Now, we must be careful that our body does not rest on our extremities. This is quite common and can numb our hands and feet, hampering our circulation - we must be especially careful if we suffer any contraction or damage. You will even be likely to feel morning cramps.
If we talk about beauty, I have to tell you that fetal posture is considered as one of the most prone to the appearance of wrinkles.
According to a survey by Idzikowski, a dream expert, to more than a thousand people, the position is adopted by 41%, proving to be one of the most common.
4- Missionary Posture
This is an unusual position. Although that, it is endorsed by experts - especially in recent years - as one of the most useful at bedtime.
Although by its name may remind you of the sexual posture, this has nothing to do. The way to do it is based on laying on your side and putting your arms out.
Among its benefits, in addition to helping to conciliate sleep, we can find that of getting muscle relaxation in a more efficient and fast.
Best Positions for Sleeping Couples
5- Embraced or spoon
One of the most typical as well as beneficial. To do it, stand on your side just behind your partner while you put your arm over it. That yes, can result in more than one occasion somewhat uncomfortable (especially in summer by the high temperatures).
One of its strengths is that it improves the health of your back: you can download the one at the other tension, relaxing the spine.
You can also avoid Depressions And you will help Improve your mood . The cause is due to the accompanying feeling produced by the position. Well-known psychologist and therapist Shirley P. Glass explained that she would spoon "It is the most comforting position of all, ensuring a physical closeness that derives in the psychic" .
6- Back to back
If the spoon prevents pressure on the back, sleeping back-to-back will reduce it on the shoulders and their surrounding areas.
It is ideal to prevent body numbness and let the blood flow properly.
The correct way to do it is based on back-to-back, putting us on the side, as if you seem to be"facing the other person." If you are one of those who usually avoid sleeping with your partner, this position will be totally ideal.
7- Sleeping face up and intertwined
If you sleep with your partner, you will know that it is one of the most suitable positions for rest and trance.
This shape optimizes the ability to breathe properly. It also helps to prevent the appearance of wrinkles thanks to the oxygenation of the face throughout the night, as has already stated the specialist doctor Michael Breus, known by the nickname"The dream doctor."
As you recover in a much more fluid and fast, you will be united to your partner with the hands in sign of affection and accompaniment.
Best Postures for Sleeping Pregnant
8- Pillow between the legs
It is one of the least usual and also the rarest. Recommended by experts, this posture helps keep the spine straight while avoiding the weight of one leg over another.
The pillow plays a decisive role, so it is advisable to use it as long as possible to support the belly, which will result in greater safety.
9- Elevated feet
Being pregnant, it is common to suffer cramp in the twins or problems derived is the swelling in the legs due to poor circulation. With this position you can avoid these conditions as well as prevent the onset of varicose veins.
To sleep with the elevated feet suffices to place some cushions under the feet.
10- High trunk
Very common within the period of pregnancy since doctors usually recommend it.
Although all women (and men) can do it, it is specially designed for those who are in the last weeks of pregnancy and have to carry two or three kilos.
To carry it out, put several cushions to the taste in the back to look like you are semi-seated. In this way, you can improve the bowing of your back and regulate refluxes that have not sat well during the meal in addition to stomach discomfort or nasal congestion.
11- Left lateral decubitus for pregnant women
Another of the most recommended positions for pregnant women.
When done, the liver, which is on the right side stops leaning in the uterus. Likewise, large blood vessels are also found in the area on the right, so they compress less and avoid edema.
As for the swelling, reduces the produced in the feet of the mother, something that usually happens quite normally by not sleeping in the right positions.
The doctor and obstetrician, Agustín Conde-Agudelo adds that "Also favors the arrival of blood to the placenta, providing greater amounts of oxygen and nutrients for the baby" .
recommendations
- In the fetal position you must be especially careful not to fall asleep on any of your limbs, especially if you suffer some type of injury. As I mentioned, this can lead to different types of muscle problems.
- According to one investigation Made in Turkey, people who slept on their right side slept 40% less nightmares, while those who did it on the right decreased by only 14.6%.
- If you sleep on your stomach, force your spine all night, generating pressure on the lower back. It is one of the positions that most back pain produces. It is also true that it helps to decrease snoring, but that does not make up for its weak point. That is why experts consider it as one of the worst sleeping positions.
- Pregnant women are forbidden to sleep on their stomachs. It is considered the worst position to rest of all.
This way of sleeping affects different places. Among them the back, which curves and presses its vertebrae. The neck rises and the stomach and lungs are compressed.
As a result of these latter organs, our breathing capacity may be impaired. In addition, as the pregnancy progresses, it is more dangerous for the baby, since it exerts force against the belly.
- Supporting our face on the pillow can lead to fatal mood swings. This is explained by Harold Sigall and Mark Johnson, two experts who have pointed out in their work The relationship between facial contact with the pillow and humor , That the movements of our face in front of the pillow interfere directly with the mood.
- Mattresses and pillows play a key role. The ideal is to change them once every eight years. This you can see when they lose firmness, and gain instability. Do not forget to keep them clean, as it is common to see the proliferation of mites and bacteria.
"A very hard mattress, like a floor or a table, is as damaging as an excessively soft mattress, in which your spine floats without good support. A good mattress should support the entire column" Explains Conde-Agudelo.
Some more tips for falling asleep
Avoid light
If you want to sleep placidly, you should do without any kind of light. Our Pineal gland Is sensitive to light. This means that when the luminosity decreases, more is segregated Melatonin , The hormone that regulates sleep and helps us to rest better.
No need to sleep at once
You do not have to sleep hard. In the book At day's close: night in the past , Roger Ekirch talks about several investigations carried out more than twenty years ago by the psychiatrist Thomas Wehr. In them it is explained that the nature of the body is based on sleeping between three and four hours, waking up and going back to sleep during the same period of time.
In these studies it is said that people feel less anxious if they are able to sleep in two stages.
Foods
Try to eat dinner for at least ninety minutes before going to sleep. It is also advisable not to go to bed hungry or eat foods that cause a light and easy digestion. Take special care with sweets, as they can lead to produce Hypoglycemia And consequently, not to rest properly.
In this article you will find the 20 Best Foods to Sleep Better .
Physical activity
Performing physical activity is ideal for getting a better rest. Try to do it in the middle of the afternoon and never get tired of exercising before bed, since it can act as an exciting stimulant.