Personally, I can often treat a sleeping position with the same neuroticism one might usually reserve for a life threatening degree of illness, or a serious social anxiety disorder. You see, I’m concerned with the idea of falling asleep on an arm, causing it to go numb, waking up in a groggy state and due to the distinct lack of functioning nerve endings or spatial awareness, I contort it into a position it’s never attempted before, thus breaking it. Ridiculous, right? Right. Sleeping positions though, a million miles away from the potential root cause of a broken bone, can actually help us medically, when adopted correctly. Whilst a simple adjustment will generally solve my largely unjustified issue, could the right sleeping position help with a whole range of ailments? Yes it could.
Many of us spend the night tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. Many more of us stick to a single position, night in, night out. Neither are particularly good for you, and the latter can even cause some painful conditions to develop. As a general rule, you want to try and attain a good balance. Mary Ann Wilmarth of Havard University and Health Services told the Wall Street Journal “make sure that your joints are not being excessively compressed or muscles put in abnormally shortened or stretched positionsâ€.
So what exactly can the right sleeping position do for you?
It can help stop you snoring for a start; something that may keep others up and is a sign of blocked airways, not to mention it’s about as attractive as closely listening to a farm animal eat. Keeping away from sleeping on your back is the key here; that, or find a way to elevate your head – a pillow, or one of our adjustable beds would do the trick!
Heart burn is another tricky one; often caused by an imbalance of the head and stomach in terms of height; causing the acidity in your stomach to react, heading back up toward your chest. This can be helped by sleeping on your side, or again, by gently raising the incline of the bed.
When it comes to general bodily pain, the answer is support. Neck pain can be solved by trying to keep it straight; use a raised base of pillows, and try putting your shoulder under one to keep your neck inline. Sleeping on your stomach will cause you to twist your neck, thus putting more strain on the inflamed or problem muscles. Similarly, if you’re suffering shoulder pain; avoid sleeping directly on that shoulder. Instead, stay on your back and slide in an extra pillow underneath side where the pain is coming from.
For back pain, sleep on your back. Whilst it may seem unorthodox, keeping a flat, wide surface area will take some of the strain from your back. Alternatively, if you’re sleeping on your side, bend your knees to relieve tension on the bottommost area of the spine; it’s recommended you put a pillow between your knees as well!
All problems solved courtesy of Relax Master! And remember, an adjustable bed could make sleep easier for you, night after night with ease!
