HOW SLEEPING POSTURE AFFECTS YOUR BACK

SLEEPING POSTURE

 

Good sleep is a vital part of your lifestyle to stay active and healthy. A good night’s sleep takes away all the fatigue and stress of the day. It provides you a relaxing experience to wake up the next morning with new energy and power.

Troubled sleep or hindrances to a good nights sleep leaves a person fatigued and less energetic. Loss of concentration, inability to work, modd swings could be the after effects.

To sleep well, a good sleeping posture plays a key role. A good sleeping posture can  eliminate all factors causing a bad sleep due to body pains and aches. A good posture keeps the body aligned, relaxes the body muscles, provides a natural curve to the spine, supports the back, and brings the body to a right position. This can ensure peaceful sleep.

Back pain is a problem that not only affects your daily life routine but also disturbs your night sleep. Having a poor sleep posture can make this situation even worse for you. In fact, a poor sleep posture can be the underlying reason for your back pain.

Back pillow can also help in relieving back pain but a good sleeping posture is a major requirement if you are suffering from back problems. The back pain can be because of any reason but a good sleeping posture can help you get out of it.

Sleeping Postures for Back Pain

Everyone likes to sleep in their preferred way. There is no problem in adopting a certain style of sleep. Just make sure that the style you adopt keeps your body aligned.

Following are some of the sleeping postures that you can adopt to have a restful sleep without back pain.

1. Sleeping on the back with knee support

Back sleeping is considered as the best sleeping posture for healthy sleep and pain-free back. In this position, the weight of the body is divided equally on the whole body surface which helps to reduce the pressure points causing aches in the body including back.

Back sleeping keeps the head, neck, and back aligned with the spine and provides the best posture for sleep.

If you are habitual of back sleeping but it is making you suffer through lower back pain, there is a way you can deal with this problem.

Try using a pillow under your knees when you lay on your back. It will provide additional support for the back and will help to maintain the natural curve of the spine.

If there are some other gaps between the body and the mattress, try filling those gaps with additional pillows under the back.

Do not toss and twist your head while sleeping on your back and use a good quality pillow to support your head and neck.

2. Side sleeping with a pillow between the knees

Side sleeping is a comfortable sleeping posture and is very famous as well. But it can often cause the spine pulled out of alignment causing severe back pain.

This means that you need to take some precautions while sleeping at your side to avoid this problem.

At first, always get into your bed slowly and  carefully roll on the side posture.

Always use a good quality pillow to support your head and neck and it should keep the spine straight.

Pull one leg up slightly and place a firm pillow between your knees. It will reduce the chances of spine pulled out of alignment and will also reduce stress points on the hips, pelvis, and back.

If there are some more gaps between your body and mattress, fill them with extra pillows or a rolled towel, especially under your waist.

 

3. Stomach sleeping with a pillow under the stomach

Stomach sleeping is not considered to be a healthy and comfortable posture to sleep. This position puts the spine out of position and can result in causing neck pain

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If you are habitual of sleeping on your stomach and can’t shift to other sleeping postures, then you need to use a slim pillow under your stomach. It will provide support to your back and will keep the spine in its natural curve and alignment.

Stomach sleeping is a beneficial sleep posture for the people suffering from a herniated disc or degenerative disc issues.

If you sleep on your stomach, get into bed straight and then carefully roll to your stomach. The pillow must be placed under the abdomen and hips to lift the mid part.

While sleeping on the stomach, try to avoid a head pillow. If inevitable, use a thin and flat pillow.

 

4. Stomach sleeping with head facing down

There is another reason why a stomach sleeping posture is not considered great and comfortable. This posture causes the head to turn or either side, twisting the spine, placing more stress on the neck, back, and shoulders, and resulting in back & neck pain.

If you still want to sleep on your stomach, try lying on the bed with your head facing down. You can use a small and firm pillow but try using a tightly rolled up towel under your forehead. It will create enough space between the mouth and mattress for breathing easily.

A flat pillow underneath the stomach still needs to be used to keep the spine aligned and naturally curved.

5. Sleeping on the back with a reclined position

With people suffering from back pain, sleeping on the back with a reclined position can serve as a good solution. It relieves back pain, especially for the isthmic spondylolisthesis.

To get into a reclined position, you can use a wedge pillow or an adjustable bed.

 

If your sleeping posture is corrected, eventually you will see relief in back & neck pain. Note that there could be many other reasons of back pain. If your back pain needs to be treated by a doctor, please take necessary action. But its always advisible to adopt a good sleeping posture with or without back pain.