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Have you heard that sleeping on your stomach is bad for your health? If you often sleep on your stomach, you might feel anxious.
Indeed, your sleeping posture can affect the burden on your body, recovery from fatigue, and breathing. This article will discuss the pros and cons of sleeping on your stomach, as well as its characteristics compared to sleeping on your back or side.
If you like sleeping on your stomach or have recently started doing so more often, please refer to this information.
Benefits of stomach sleeping
Compared to sleeping on your back or side, sleeping on your stomach offers benefits such as a sense of security and reduced snoring.
Sense of security
For animals in the wild, sleeping on their back with their vulnerable belly exposed is a dangerous position.
Due to this defense mechanism, sleeping on your stomach, which hides your belly, is thought to be a sleeping posture that provides a sense of security for humans as well.
The increased warmth of the abdomen from contact with bedding is also one factor that contributes to this sense of security.
Reduced snoring
Snoring occurs when air vibrates as it tries to pass through a narrowed upper airway (nose or throat).
When you sleep on your back, your tongue falls back due to gravity and blocks your throat, narrowing your upper airway and making you more prone to snoring.
In contrast, when sleeping on your stomach, your chest is in close contact with the futon, causing your diaphragm to lower. This makes it easier to maintain diaphragmatic breathing, resulting in an easier breathing posture. As it allows for easier breathing without narrowing the airway, it can help reduce snoring.
Disadvantages of stomach sleeping
While stomach sleeping has its benefits, it also has the following disadvantages due to the posture:- Places a burden on the neck and nerves
- Can cause lower back pain
- Can cause wrinkles and sagging skin
We will explain the causes and specific symptoms of each in detail.
Places a burden on the neck and nerves
Even when lying on your stomach, you'll likely turn your head to the side to breathe, as facing straight down would make it difficult.
However, sleeping with your face or neck twisted to one side can compress the nerves in your neck, leading to neck pain, stiffness, or numbness.
Additionally, if you rest your face on your arm or hand, these nerves can also be compressed simultaneously, causing pain or numbness in your hands.
Can cause lower back pain
Stomach sleeping is believed to often cause lower back pain because gravity puts pressure on the lower back.
When gravity pulls down and the lower back sinks, it inevitably becomes arched. This puts a strain on the spine, even after getting up, potentially leading to persistent "swayback" and lower back pain.
Especially when sleeping on your stomach with your legs extended, the deep core muscles around your lower back are stretched for a long time, putting significant strain on them.
Can cause wrinkles and sagging skin
When sleeping on your stomach, you typically turn your face to the side. This means that the cheek facing down is compressed throughout the night.
Such pressure on the cheek can lead to uneven distribution of subcutaneous fat beneath the skin, potentially causing wrinkles and sagging.
Is stomach sleeping bad for your body?
There is no single answer as the ideal sleeping posture varies from person to person.
However, considering the strain on the neck, lower back, and arms, stomach sleeping is generally not recommended.
If you've loved sleeping on your stomach since childhood, it might be difficult to change immediately. However, some people might say, "I've been sleeping on my stomach more often lately, and consequently, I've had more trouble getting a good night's sleep."
In such cases, your bedding might not be suitable for you.
To improve your sleep quality, it's a good idea to re-evaluate whether your current bedding is right for you.
Differences from back and side sleeping
Other common sleeping positions besides stomach sleeping include back and side sleeping.
Back sleeping is considered the posture that places the least burden on the body because the pressure from your weight is supported by your entire back. It also promotes good blood circulation, making muscle stiffness less likely. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, a disadvantage is that the tongue can fall back due to gravity and block the airway, making snoring more likely.
Side sleeping is characterized by its ability to freely adjust the angle of the hips, thus reducing strain on the lower back. Since the tongue is less likely to fall back and obstruct the airway, it can also reduce snoring.
However, sleeping on your side for long periods can impair blood circulation, leading to muscle stiffness and coldness. Also, always sleeping on the same side can cause body misalignment, so caution is advised.
What is the ideal sleeping posture? A complete guide to back, side, and stomach sleeping
The key to sound sleep is turning over!
So far, we have discussed the pros and cons of various sleeping positions, including stomach, back, and side sleeping.
However, staying in any single position for an extended period can lead to poor blood circulation due to the pressure of weight and gravity, which can reduce sleep quality.
Therefore, to improve sleep quality, how smoothly you can turn over is more important than what position you sleep in.
Turning over not only promotes blood circulation but also helps regulate body temperature and distribute body pressure. Ideally, adults should turn over 20 to 30 times per night.
Improve your bedding to achieve ideal rolling over!
The ease with which you can turn over depends on the material and type of bedding. To find bedding that suits your body and improve your sleep quality, it's important to know what to look for when choosing bedding.
The trick to choosing a pillow is "height"
It is crucial to choose a pillow of the appropriate height to support the S-curve of your neck while sleeping.
If a pillow is too high, the cervical vertebrae (the bones in the neck) will bend too far forward, narrowing the airway, leading to shallow breathing and worsening snoring.
Conversely, if a pillow is too low, the cervical vertebrae will bend backward, which can negatively affect the joints, lead to difficulty falling asleep, and cause numbness or pain in the arms.
"Which height should I choose?" Tips for choosing the height of the Brain Sleep Pillow
The trick to choosing a mattress is "elasticity"
For mattresses, those with good elasticity that support smooth turning are recommended.
If a mattress is too soft, your back and hips will sink in, concentrating the burden on your lower back and making it difficult to turn over.
Conversely, if a mattress is too firm, pressure will concentrate on your back and hips, leading to poor blood circulation and potentially causing lower back pain. Therefore, it is crucial to choose one with appropriate elasticity.
Check out items that enable ideal turning over!
"Brain Sleep" develops various products to support comfortable sleep, including mattresses and pillows that enable ideal turning over.
Understand stomach sleeping and the keys to sound sleep for a restful night
Stomach sleeping offers benefits such as an instinctive sense of security and reduced snoring due to a clear airway.
However, it also has disadvantages such as concentrating gravity on the lower back, which can lead to back pain, straining neck nerves from turning the face sideways, and potentially causing wrinkles and sagging skin.
Nevertheless, when it comes to sleep quality, the sleeping position itself is not actually that important. This is because staying in any position—stomach, back, or side—for too long can lead to poor blood circulation and decreased sleep quality.
Therefore, turning over in your sleep is crucial for improving sleep quality. Turning over not only promotes blood circulation but also helps regulate body temperature and distribute body pressure. Ideally, you should turn over 20 to 30 times per night.
Brain Sleep develops and sells various products, including pillows and mattresses that support smooth turning, based on research in brain and sleep medicine.
If you want to improve your sleep quality or sleep soundly until morning, please consider re-evaluating your bedding.
