What! You may not be suitable for sleeping like this? Come and "claim" the sleeping position that suits you best

The quality of sleep affects a person's physical health and mental state.

Many people have had this experience: they go to bed and get up early every day, but when they wake up, they still feel sore and exhausted. In fact, this is caused by poor sleep quality. There are many factors that affect sleep quality, and sleeping posture is one of them that cannot be ignored.

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Which sleeping position is best?

There are four common sleeping positions: supine, prone, left side, and right side.

Lying on your back is a sleeping position that many people like. The biggest advantage of this sleeping position is that the weight of each part of the body is distributed, and the head, limbs, and spine can all be in a neutral state.

However, many people will unconsciously put their hands on their chests to press down on their hearts when lying on their backs, which can easily lead to chest tightness, breath holding, nightmares, etc. In addition, when lying on your back, the root of the tongue falls back, which can easily make people breathe poorly and make snoring. Therefore, lying on your back is not a healthy sleeping position.

Prone sleeping is what we often call sleeping on your stomach. It is a sleeping position that is very harmful to the body. Because when people sleep on their stomachs, their joints, muscles, and internal organs will be compressed, which not only prevents the body from relaxing, but also causes breathing difficulties. Many people feel sore all over after sleeping on their stomachs all night, and this is the reason.

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When lying on the left side , the body is facing the left side, and the apex of the heart is easily compressed. In addition, the ear may be pressed against the pillow to hear the "thumping" sound of the heart, which will also affect falling asleep. Over time, it can also lead to neurasthenia and cardiovascular disease.

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When lying on the right side , the heart is in a high position and will not be compressed, which is conducive to the heart's rest. At the same time, the food in the stomach is pushed toward the duodenum by gravity, which can promote digestion and absorption. In addition, the liver is in a low position, with better blood supply, which is conducive to metabolism. In addition, when lying on the right side, the whole body is in a relaxed state, and the brain, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, bones, and muscles can all get enough rest and oxygen supply.

When lying on your right side, you can put a lumbar pillow under your waist and a pillow between your knees. This can maintain the natural physiological curvature of the lumbar spine, reduce the pressure on the spine during sleep, and prevent discomfort caused by excessive lumbar protrusion, rotation, and scoliosis [1].

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Although sleeping on the right side is an ideal sleeping position for most people, it is not suitable for everyone. Generally speaking, people with certain diseases should choose different sleeping positions according to their conditions.

Who is suitable for sleeping on your back?

1. Patients with cerebral infarction

Relevant data show that more than 95% of cerebral infarction patients are accustomed to sleeping on their side in daily life, which will aggravate blood circulation disorders, especially slowing down the blood flow in the neck. Platelets are prone to gradually aggregate at the damaged part of the arterial endothelium, and then form blood clots.

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Therefore, it is recommended that elderly people with arteriosclerosis adopt a supine sleeping position, which can reduce the risk of cerebral infarction.

2. Patients with emphysema

Middle-aged and elderly people with emphysema are prone to symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough due to impaired lung ventilation function. Therefore, they are suitable for sleeping in a supine position, and the head should be raised at the same time, which is conducive to maintaining unobstructed breathing.

Who is suitable for prone sleeping?

Although prone sleeping is not a recommended sleeping position, it is a very suitable sleeping position for patients with orthopedic diseases, especially spinal diseases. For example, for patients with lumbar disc herniation and lumbar bone hyperplasia, prone sleeping is conducive to relaxing the back muscles, reducing the traction and pressure on the spine, and relieving pain.

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Who is suitable for sleeping on the left side?

Pregnant women should choose to lie on their left side. During pregnancy, lying on the left side can reduce the right rotation of the uterus, relieve insufficient blood supply to the uterus, and be more conducive to blood supply to the fetus. In addition, when the fetus is growth retardation, lying on the left side can improve the blood circulation of the uterus and placenta, increase the energy supply of the fetus, and help the fetus develop and grow.

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Who is suitable for sleeping on the right side?

Patients with cholecystitis and cholelithiasis

Lying on the right side facilitates bile excretion, prevents stone obstruction, and thus relieves severe pain.

Patients with gastroesophageal reflux

Many people are prone to acid reflux after dinner, and even have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. At this time, they should lie on their right side. This will allow the food in the stomach to leave the fundus and flow to the pylorus. The esophagus is located higher than the stomach to reduce the discomfort caused by acid reflux.

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Heart disease patients

The heart is located on the left side of the chest cavity. Lying on the right side can reduce the pressure on the heart, which is beneficial to blood flow, increase the blood supply to various organs of the body, and is beneficial to metabolism. On the contrary, lying on the left side and lying on your back will increase the burden on the heart, so people with heart disease are better off lying on the right side.

As the saying goes, only when you lie down well can you sleep well. Sleeping posture not only affects the quality of sleep, but also directly affects the recovery of people with diseases. Therefore, the importance of sleeping posture cannot be ignored. We should choose the sleeping posture that suits us best according to our own situation.

Source: Chinese Medical Association

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