In our preoccupied routines, we fail to give time to our health. The busy schedules make it harder for us to get the required rest required by our bodies. A healthy body is made from a healthy diet, lifestyle, and mind. One of the crucial aspects of a healthy lifestyle is getting good sleep. A night of healthy sleep consists of three major factors: Duration of your sleep, Quality of your sleep, and Consistency of your sleep. With any of the mentioned factors missing, it can affect you in a lot of ways.
Why is sleep important?
Our brains are working daily with no rest. It may seem like the brain gets rest when we sleep. But the truth is that the brain still is active and controlling the metabolic processes going inside our system. Good sleep helps in preparing the brain. While we sleep, the brain actively eliminates toxins from our bodies.
According to research done, it is evident that the brain helps in improving functions like memory, creativity, and decision-making while we are sleeping. Getting good quality sleep enhances your mood and can lead to high performance. It can help you concentrate and increase your productivity. Some of the reliable sources are also confident that good sleep improves the immune system of the body.
A night of good quality sleep can be disturbed by a lot of factors. One of the reasons can be physical disturbances. It includes chronic pains like back pain or headaches. Poor sleeping habits or patterns can also impact the quality of your sleep. You should emphasize hygienic sleep habits to improve the quality of your sleep. Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety can also be one of the reasons why you are not getting proper sleep. Some the sleep disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, or narcolepsy can also affect your sleep quality.
Do sleeping postures affect sleep?
Sleep postures are not given the deserved credits, but they play an important role in getting a goodnight’s sleep. If you have faced trouble with not getting proper sleep, you might have tried going for different sleep postures. There exist a variety of sleep postures. There is no strict classification that proves any sleeping postures to be the best one.
All sleep postures have different benefits. Different sleep is recommended for different types of problems. You can manage some of your problems just by opting for a particular type of sleep posture. Not only does a particular sleep posture have a benefit, but sometimes it can also cause trouble to your body. Hence, it becomes utterly important to mind the type of sleep postures you choose. Let us discuss 5 health-effective sleeping postures that you must try.
1. Sleeping on your side
Sleeping on your side, also known as side sleeping, is a sleeping posture offering a lot of health benefits to the human body. Interestingly, 60% of the adult human population prefers to side-sleep. Some of the health benefits of sleeping on the side are discussed here.
Side sleeping can provide relief from back pain caused by uncomfortable sleeping postures. Sleeping on your sides also reduces the chances of you snoring. This is because sleeping on your back provides an obstruction. This obstruction is the root cause of snoring. Sleeping on your sides also allows you to breathe easily. This fact can be beneficial for people struggling with sleep apnea.
It also helps in improving the health of gut and brain functions. These sleeping postures are also preferred for pregnant women. In pregnant women, side sleeping helps in better circulation of blood. Apart from that, it reduces the pressure from some important veins.
2. Back sleeping / Sleeping on your back
Back sleeping as a sleeping posture also has various health benefits. Hence, you can try these sleeping postures. Sinus buildup refers to the filling of fluids in the air spaces of your face. Back sleeping helps you decrease the chances of sinus buildup. Sleeping on your back also offers benefits to your spine. It can also effectively help if you face headaches caused by tension. Sleep backing also helps you with reduced wrinkles, creases, and irritability on your facial skin. It also helps in preventing acid reflux.
Back sleeping has a lot of health benefits, but it should be avoided in certain cases. You should not sleep on your back if you are pregnant. Sleep backing might be uncomfortable for pregnant women and may elevate the pressure generated on the belly. Some other conditions where you should avoid back sleeping as sleep postures are back pain and sleep apnea.
3. Face Down
Face down sleeping postures can be beneficial for people struggling with issues like consistent snoring or sleep apnea. It can be very helpful for the conditions mentioned above. It helps in snoring as it restricts tongues from obstructing the pathway for air.
It also helps in adding benefits to the digestive tract. But if you do not have any troubles with the listed ones, you might want to avoid this sleeping posture. The drawbacks linked with this sleeping posture are quite a few.
Face down sleep posture increases the chances of gaining wrinkles. It also adds pressure to your chest/breast. It also is known to tense the head, neck, and back. In some of the rarest and extreme cases, face down sleeping posture can cause a herniated disc as well. With all the negatives linked with posture, it can be optimal if you are really struggling because of snoring or sleep apnea.
4. Fetal Position
Sleeping postures are chosen as per the comfort level of an individual. Fetal sleeping posture is one of the most comfortable postures. Apart from the comfort rendered by this sleeping posture, it is loaded with multiple benefits. This sleeping posture can be helpful for people suffering from different medical complications. This sleeping posture can have beneficial effects on people who suffer from heartburn or acid reflux.
Fetal sleeping posture is considered best for pregnant ladies. It relieves them from extra pressure exerted on their back if they choose to select a back sleeping posture. The market consists of different pillows customized for pregnant ladies to aid more comfort. Fetal sleeping posture is also beneficial for people who are troubled with sleep apnea or snoring. It can prevent disruptions caused in breathing that affect sleep.
People suffer from back aches if they opt for a fetal sleeping posture. People who restrict spinal movement can also consider this sleep posture. Fetal sleeping posture is also considered very comfortable for old people.
5. Starfish Sleeping Posture
Starfish sleeping posture is preferred by approximately 5% of the total human population. This sleeping posture can provide multiple health benefits. Starfish sleeping posture is efficient in helping with pain in the body areas like the neck, lower back, and shoulder. According to experts and their research, people sleeping in starfish sleeping posture were less likely to face shoulder pain as compared to people preferring back sleeping.
People with concerns of neck pain, shoulder pain, lower back pain, or wrinkles on the face are recommended to opt for this sleeping posture. But it is not limited to only them. Anybody can go for a starfish sleeping posture as it is very comfortable. This sleeping posture has benefits associated with it, but this should be avoided in certain cases.
If you snore or have sleep apnea or obesity, this sleep posture is not recommended. People with any allergy also are asked to avoid this. Allergies might result in nasal congestion at times, and this sleep posture might make it worse.
Wrapping It Up
Maintaining good posture when you sleep might not appear to be important at first, but it can affect the quality of your sleep greatly. Sleeping posture is no strict choice but rather a choice of an individual. But you have to keep in mind that the sleeping postures you choose can affect your system in different ways. A perfect sleeping posture will depend totally upon your comfort and your medical conditions, if you have any.