Proper sleep: what is the healthiest position to sleep in? The most useful and harmful positions for sleeping.

The human body is perfect. Everything in it works according to a certain scheme. Disturbances in mental or physical condition are always reflected in the position of the head and body during night rest. Trying to reduce the existing discomfort, a person always takes a forced position in a dream. As soon as the unpleasant symptoms pass, he relaxes and lies down in a way that is comfortable for him.

Why is sleeping in the right position important?

To understand the connection between sleep posture and overall well-being, you need to look at anatomy. The brain weighs very little - no more than 2% of the total mass. During sleep, it continues to work actively and “pulls” up to 15% of the total blood flow and up to 20% of the inhaled oxygen.

The supply of oxygen to the brain is possible due to the presence of the carotid and vertebral arteries. The latter pass through the canal, which is formed by the processes of the cervical vertebrae. They are responsible for delivering necessary substances to the posterior parts of the brain. If they receive insufficient blood, the cerebellum, the pons oblongata, and the so-called Varoliev pons begin to function poorly. This means that disruptions in the functioning of the respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems may occur.

If the position of the body or neck during sleep is incorrect, simultaneous compression of the above-mentioned arteries may occur. This is fraught with oxygen hypoxia of cells, which means a decrease in intelligence, deterioration of memory and attention. This is why it is so important to monitor the position of the spine during sleep - the condition of the vertebral arteries and the general well-being of a person directly depends on this.

How to sleep properly

It is important to sleep on the right pillow. It should support the cervical vertebrae and maintain the natural position of the head and neck during sleep. Orthopedic products have proven themselves best. But you can get by with regular hard ones. The main thing is that the height of the pillow used corresponds to the distance from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder.

The most correct and comfortable position for a child and an adult during a night's rest is considered to be on the side. In this case, the following conditions must be met:

· the spine and head are on the same line, the shoulders lie not on the pillow, but on the mattress. If necessary, you can place a small pillow between your legs (this position is especially convenient during pregnancy);

· arms lie below shoulder level, but not under the pillow or under the head.

People who have liver disease should try to sleep at night on their left side - on the right, the load on the organ increases.

As for sleeping on your back, doctors also consider it quite physiological. It provides relief to the spine and improves blood supply to the spinal discs. As a result, blood circulates better.

Positions you shouldn't sleep in at night

If you sleep on a pillow that is too high and on your stomach, cervical osteochondrosis may develop. This position also increases the risk of stroke in older people.

When a person lies on his stomach, the neck becomes twisted and the throat becomes compressed. As a result, the carotid artery is also compressed, breathing becomes difficult, and the oxygen supply to the brain deteriorates. In addition, in this position the volume of the chest decreases and the lungs are poorly filled with air.

Sleeping on your back with your hands behind your head can cause brachioplexus syndrome. With it, the nerve endings and blood vessels are compressed, the muscles of the forearm are overstrained, the hands hurt and go numb.

People who have to sleep sitting up risk stretching their intervertebral discs. Then they will have pain in the neck area. The formation of edema is also possible.

How to sleep properly

Are you tormented by back pain and constant “bags” under your eyes? Try sleeping in a different position! Incorrect position of the body at night affects the appearance and well-being. So what is the correct position to sleep in? This is what we will look at in this article.

Even the ancient Chinese believed that it was necessary to sleep only on your side: on the left - to make the digestion process easier, on the right - to relax the nervous system. So they rolled all night from one side to the other. Other positions were not encouraged. “You cannot sleep face down, as if crouched to the ground; You can’t sleep face up, like a corpse,” they said in ancient times. But modern scientists do not agree with all this.

On the back

According to experts, it is very useful to sleep on your back: your neck and lower back are not tense, and your legs and arms are relaxed. Doctors prescribe this pose for diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, varicose veins (it is only advisable to place a small cushion or pillow under your feet), as well as for digestive problems. In addition, sleeping on your back prolongs youth - facial muscles relax, skin smoothes, which prevents the formation of wrinkles.

However, this is all true if the chin does not rest against the chest during sleep (this often happens if the pillow is too high). Otherwise, the vertebral arteries are compressed and blood flow is disrupted. This is fraught not only with a dull complexion and a headache after waking up, but even with a stroke. Therefore, it is necessary to support your neck in a level position, and for this it is best to buy an orthopedic pillow.

However, sleeping on the back is contraindicated for some people, even with the “right” pillow. This includes women in fairly advanced stages of pregnancy and those who snore and also suffer from sleep apnea syndrome (stopping breathing during sleep).

Fact after

Sleeping on your back is beneficial for men's health. The genitals in this position are well supplied with blood, which improves potency.

On the side

Sleeping on your side is the best option for expectant mothers who are heavily pregnant and who like to snore. True, it is better not to press your legs too close to your stomach - this has a bad effect on the spine. Ideally, they should be slightly bent or even one leg straightened and the other bent. By the way, there are also special leg pillows - they are placed between the knees. This makes it possible to “unload” your hip joint, as well as your spine.

However, if you sleep all night on one side, then by morning both your leg and arm will become numb. In addition, “one-sided” sleep can lead to the formation of kidney stones. Scientists found that 75 percent of people who are susceptible to urolithiasis developed stones on the side on which they spent most of the night.

Fact after

According to English psychologists, almost half of all Britons sleep on their sides, with their knees pulled up to their stomachs, like embryos - this position makes it possible to relax and calm down. If people sleep on their sides, stretched out, then this indicates an imperious, intractable character and an inability to relax even in sleep. Sleeping on your side with your arms outstretched forward, according to psychologists, indicates perfectionism.

On the stomach

But scientists don’t really approve of sleeping on the stomach. Only this position is suitable for those suffering from flatulence (it is no coincidence that small children, when suffering from colic, are placed on their tummy) and after childbirth, this helps women contract the uterus.

However, sleeping on your stomach is generally not beneficial. I can’t breathe through the pillow and have to turn my head to the side. As a result, the muscles of the shoulders and neck become tense, blood supply to the brain deteriorates, which results in headaches, weakness and lethargy. Facial tissues also do not receive enough oxygen, resulting in the formation of “bags” under the eyes.

Fact after

How to sleep properly?

Nature has arranged it in such a way that we spend a third of our lives restoring the body - on sleep. But for sleep to be truly healing and truly restorative, certain rules must be followed.

Down with soft feather beds. Sleeping on a hard bed is the most beneficial. And down with all the pillows! Under the neck, instead, a roller as thick as your arm and of medium softness. It supports the cervical spine and promotes more complete relaxation.

Nightcap. The main requirement for a nighttime toilet is no belts or elastic bands that compress blood vessels. It is even healthier to sleep without any clothes at all. Hats are another matter. Although we have not long followed the custom of our ancestors - putting on caps and caps at night. But the body temperature decreases during sleep, and we become vulnerable to colds. It is necessary to take into account that even a strip of fabric (especially woolen) that fits like a hoop around the forehead and head provides excellent protection against sinusitis and runny nose.

Compass in bed. It is customary in the East to go to bed with your head towards sunrise, and your head to the north - in the west. There is no mysticism here. After all, the earth is a large magnet, the lines of force of which stretch along the meridians between the south and north poles. So in what position does the body restore strength better?

Sverdlovsk doctors conducted a rather interesting experiment. In the evening, the subjects went to sleep randomly on the floor. And in the morning they analyzed the impact of well-being and mood on the location of the body. It turned out that a mortally tired, overworked person, as a rule, sleeps with his head to the east. But if he was overexcited before going to bed, he would position his head to the north. We are all subjective in assessing our own emotional state, so it is better to trust your instinct: let the body itself find the optimal position for sleep. He just needs to create the appropriate conditions for this. It is likely that beds resembling the size of an airfield, on which you can sleep lengthwise and crosswise, have become fashionable not only due to sexual conveniences...

What is the best sleeping position?

How to sleep correctly, what is the best body position for proper rest and optimal relaxation.

Many experts from various countries believe that it is better to sleep on the stomach, this way the intervertebral cartilages get the opportunity to straighten completely. But gastroenterologists also recommend sleeping on your stomach, but better on an empty stomach.

But not everyone follows this, each person chooses a more comfortable position for himself, some sleep on their side, some on their back, and some like a baby...

Perhaps the most optimal and correct position for sleeping is the fetal position. The point is that this pose allows the spine to relax and get maximum rest. If you also choose the right pillow for sleeping, then you won’t even have to put your hand under your head while you sleep. That is, you will not feel pain in the shoulder joint in the morning, and your head will not hurt due to insufficient blood supply.

As a rule, a person does not think at all about which sleeping position is considered the most useful, and sometimes he does not even know in which of the many positions he usually falls asleep. However, doctors say: a correctly chosen position for rest is the key to good health and the prevention of numerous diseases.

Let's figure out which pose has more advantages over others, as well as what pros and cons there are in each of them. This information will help you look at your sleep differently and choose exactly the position that suits your body.

Supine position.

Sleeping on your back is considered the most natural and beneficial, and is therefore recommended by doctors. It is in this position that a person relaxes as much as possible, and his spine is in an even, comfortable position, without twisting anywhere. It is in this position that a person is able to maximize his strength after a day’s exercise.

If you suffer from heartburn, then the ideal option for you would be to sleep on your back with the head of the bed slightly raised. This position will prevent compression of the stomach and will not allow acid to rise to the esophagus.
Sleeping on your back is also very beneficial for people with scoliosis and heart disease. Such rest is good for the prevention of osteochondrosis, and, not surprisingly, for the prevention of wrinkles!

The thing is that when lying on your back, your face does not come into contact with the pillow, as a result of which wrinkles, wrinkles and creases do not form on it.

However, there are also some nuances here. The main one is snoring. Unfortunately, a person is susceptible to snoring in this position. This is due to the fact that in this position the jaw tends to sink, which interferes with proper breathing. This is why people suffering from bronchial asthma or obstructive pulmonary disease should not sleep on their backs.

It is not recommended to sleep in this position and pregnant women over 20 weeks. At this stage, the uterus is already quite large in size and, in a supine position, is capable of compressing the lower artery of the expectant mother, which will impede blood circulation. It becomes more difficult for the heart to pump blood and not only the mother, but also her unborn baby is exposed to discomfort.

Which pillow to choose for sleeping on your back?

The pillow should be of medium height and moderately soft. It is important that she supports her head, but in no case raises it too high. You should choose your optimal pillow height very carefully, because if your pillow is too high, you have every chance of earning osteochondrosis, if too flat, this will lead to straightening of the cervical lordosis.

Side position.

This is an ideal pose for pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy. A person lying on his side is also not susceptible to snoring, since the airways do not close in this position.

Speaking about the benefits of such sleep, a reservation should be made: it is important to take into account exactly the position that you take while sleeping on your side. Some people press their chin tightly to their chest, as a result of which the neck is overstrained, others lie down in such a way that their spine takes on a twisted shape.

One of the favorite positions of young children is sleeping on their side with their head thrown back sharply. Be careful - this position contributes to the formation of an incorrect bite.

As for the embryonic position, it is the most natural and favorable for humans, however, not everything is so smooth here. Lying on your side has a negative impact on female beauty. Many wrinkles form in the décolleté, neck and shoulders. But this will have a particularly deplorable effect on your face.

Lying on your side, a fold appears under the lower eyelid, on the bridge of the nose, on the cheeks near the nose. All these small and imperceptible folds eventually turn into deep wrinkles, which we mistake for facial wrinkles. However, these imperfections appear not due to active facial expressions, but due to an incorrectly chosen sleeping position.

How to choose a pillow for side sleeping?

The right pillow for resting on your side is a product that is lush and thick. The ideal option is an orthopedic pillow with bolsters to support the cervical vertebrae. The right pillow should fill the entire space from your neck to the mattress, otherwise your neck will become very tense during sleep and you will get a headache.

Prone position.

Many doctors call this position the most unhealthy and incorrect. When sleeping on the stomach, the face is pressed into the pillow, and the neck is in a semi-collapsed state, due to which one of the arteries is pinched and the blood supply to the brain noticeably deteriorates.

It is worth mentioning breathing during sleep. In the prone position, compression of the lungs occurs, which cannot open completely when inhaling. Less oxygen enters the blood and your heart, instead of getting rest, works harder.

If you have osteochondrosis or atherosclerosis, lying on your stomach is also not the best option for you.

The pressure on the bladder that occurs when sleeping on your stomach will not allow you to get quality sleep, and constant compression of the chest will cause it to lose its elasticity and attractiveness over time.

However, in defense of this position, it is worth saying that in this position, as in the position on the side, a person is not susceptible to snoring. It is worth adding to this that it is recommended to sleep on the stomach for people with intestinal colic and increased gas formation. Also, lying on your stomach, you eliminate compression of the kidneys, thanks to which the body is cleansed much better and more efficiently. It is believed that sleeping on the stomach creates favorable conditions for straightening the intervertebral cartilage, as well as recommended for the prevention of ulcers and gastritis.

The main rule is not to sleep on your stomach on a full stomach.

How to choose a pillow for sleeping on your stomach?

A pillow for sleeping on your stomach should be soft, elastic, as thin and flat as possible. The head should lie flat, and the fragile cervical vertebrae should not be bent under any circumstances.

As it turned out, any sleeping position has its advantages and disadvantages. And if you feel comfortable sleeping in one position or another, you don’t need to immediately relearn how to fall asleep in a different position.

If you often turn over from one side to the other, and then change positions that are comfortable for you several times and this helps you wake up rested, fresh and full of strength, then trust your body - there is no single clear recipe for health for all people at the same time. If in the morning you are not tormented by pain in your back or neck, your muscles are not numb, and your head does not hurt, this once again confirms that you are sleeping exactly the way your body needs it.

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Few of us manage to fall asleep soundly as soon as we find ourselves in bed. Luckily, there are exercises that can help calm your nervous system, relieve stress, and help you relax in the moment.

website I found for you 6 simple yoga poses that will make you sleep like a baby.

No. 6. Legs up the wall

How to do. Lie facing the wall with a pillow under your lower back. Raise your legs so that your heels and knees are at the same level, and your arms are along your body. Stay like this 2 minutes. Then smoothly bend your knees and move them to either side.

No. 5. Lying on your stomach

How to do. Lie on your stomach on the pillow and clasp your fingers behind your back. Taking a deep breath, arch your back and toes, and try to reach your heels with your hands. Then slowly lower yourself and exhale.

Repeat the exercise 5–10 times. Only then can you “untie” your fingers and relax your hands.

No. 4. Legs at a wide angle

How to do. Sit with your legs wide apart and a pillow in front of you. Straighten your back and inhale as deeply as you can. Then, slowly exhaling and stretching your arms forward, lower yourself onto the pillow.

Lying in this position, do 10 breaths, and then rise.

No. 3. Soles of feet together

How to do. Lie on your back on a pillow, put your feet together and spread your knees to the sides. The arms are relaxed and extended along the body, palms up. Breathe deeply and evenly. Stay in this position 3 minutes.

The “correct” sleeping position, “wrong”... What other news, you say! The correct position is the one in which you sleep. Well, that's true too. Let's find out what doctors say about this.

Since a person sleeps for a third of his life, it is worth making sure that this time is spent profitably. Poor body position on the bed prevents you from falling asleep, disrupts blood circulation, causes muscle tension, problems with the spine, and even leads to early wrinkles.

Three body position during sleep the following: on the back, on the side and on the stomach. Options such as “sleeping with your arms behind your head”, “embryo” and “half-embryo” are the subject of research in the area of ​​emotions.

Sleeping on your back

For some women, only one argument in favor of this position is important: the face “does not wrinkle.” The facial muscles relax, wrinkles smooth out, and the skin “breathes.” The result, literally, is obvious: a fresh, rested look in the morning and youthful skin for a long time. Besides, sleeping on your back favorable for proper rest of the spinal column. The spine seems to be straightening out. By the way, the muscles of the body also relax to the maximum if you sleep on a semi-rigid mattress and your head rests on a cushion-like pillow.

If you are used to having dinner late, sleeping on your back is “just what the doctor ordered.” The head is on the pillow, the stomach is below the esophagus, the internal organs are not compressed. Goodbye heartburn!

The obvious disadvantages of sleeping on your back include an increased risk of apnea (stopping breathing) and simply snoring. Both phenomena are associated with the forced position of the tongue, which seems to “fall” into the respiratory tract and causes the appearance of rumbling decibels.

If lying on your back is uncomfortable, an additional pillow placed under your knees will help. The fact is that in this position (with straightened legs) the lumbar deflection is maintained, which does not allow the muscles to relax. Try also a third pillow, small and flat, which you place under your lower back. This will change the way you think about sleeping on your back!

Stomach pose

Sleeping on your stomach Not recommended for anyone suffering from colic. Doctors believe that sleeping in this position is dangerous to health. The cervical spine suffers greatly: the head is unnaturally twisted, causing the blood vessels to be pinched. Unfortunately, the reckoning will come. If constantly sleep on your stomach, this will lead to pain in the neck and back, impaired cerebral circulation, compression of internal organs and pronounced “creases” on the face.

An Eastern proverb says that saints sleep on their backs, and sinners sleep on their stomachs. Probably the wicked pay with their health for an unrighteous life...

Sleeping on your side

Frequently asked questions which side to sleep on, on the right or on the left. The side position itself is the “arithmetic mean” between the beneficial sleep on the back and the harmful one on the stomach. The advantages of sleeping on your side include the absence of snoring, healthy blood supply to the body, absence of lower back pain, and reduction of nighttime heartburn. There are also disadvantages. These include “tracking” of the limbs, “crushing” of the face, décolleté, and difficulty selecting a pillow. If you're used to it sleep on your side, then the pillow must support the neck in line with the spine, otherwise osteochondrosis cannot be avoided.

Sleeping on the right side provokes acid reflux (heartburn), sleeping on the left is devoid of this drawback and improves blood circulation.

Sleeping on your side indicated during long-term pregnancy. This is both comfortable and correct, since in this position the fetus does not put pressure on the inferior vena cava

If you sleep on your side, extra pillows will help. If your leg is numb or your hip joint is aching, place a pad between your legs. If your arms and shoulders hurt when you lie at arm's length, fluff up a pillow under your head and hug another pillow with your arms. This should help.

Let's summarize. According to doctors, the correct and physiological position is to lie on your back with bolsters placed under your knees and lower back. In second place - sleeping on the left side with a pillow between your legs. These positions help the spine and muscles to fully relax, restore strength, relieve back pain and prevent osteochondrosis.