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

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

Why is sleeping in the right position important?

To understand the relationship between sleeping posture and general well-being, we need to look at anatomy. The brain weighs very little - no more than 2% of the total mass. During sleep, he 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 forms the processes of the cervical vertebrae. They are responsible for delivering the necessary substances to the posterior parts of the brain. If they receive an insufficient amount of blood, the cerebellum, the pons oblongata, and the so-called pons Varolii begin to function poorly. This means that there may be malfunctions in the respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems.

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

How to sleep

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 proved to be the best. But you can get by with the usual 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 the side position. In this case, the following conditions must be met:

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

The arms are below shoulder level, but not under the pillow or under the head.

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

As for sleeping on the back, doctors also consider it quite physiological. It provides unloading of the spine, improves blood supply to the vertebral discs. As a result, the blood circulates better.

Positions you should not sleep in at night

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

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

If you sleep on your back with your hands behind your head, you may develop brachioplexus syndrome. With it, the nerve endings and blood vessels are compressed, the muscles of the forearm are overstrained, the hands hurt and become numb.

People who have to sleep sitting up risk stretching their intervertebral discs. Then they will have pain in the neck. The formation of edema is not excluded.

How to sleep

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

Even the ancient Chinese believed that it was necessary to sleep only on the side: on the left - to make the process of digestion easier, on the right - to relax the nervous system. So they rolled all night from one side to the other. Other poses were not welcome. “You can’t sleep face down, as if crouching 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

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

However, this is all true if the chin does not rest against the chest during sleep (it often happens if the pillow is too high). The vertebral arteries are otherwise compressed - and blood flow is disturbed. This is fraught not only with a flat complexion and a headache after waking up, but even with a stroke. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the 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. These include women in fairly late pregnancy and those who snore and also suffer from sleep apnea syndrome (stopping breathing during sleep).

Fact after

Sleeping on your back is good 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 in the long term of pregnancy and lovers of snoring. True, it is better not to press the legs to the stomach strongly - this has a bad effect on the spine. Ideally, they should be slightly bent or even straight with one leg and the other bent. By the way, there are also special foot pillows - they are placed between the knees. This makes it possible to "unload" your hip joint, as well as the spine.

However, if you sleep all night on one side, then in the morning both the leg and the arm will swell. In addition, "one-sided" sleep can lead to the formation of kidney stones. Scientists have found that 75 percent of people who are prone to urolithiasis have stones on the side on which they spent most of the night.

Fact after

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

On the stomach

But on the stomach, sleep is not very approved by scientists. Only such a position is suitable for those suffering from flatulence (it is no coincidence that small children, when they suffer from colic, are laid out on their tummy) and after childbirth, this contributes to the contraction of the uterus for women.

However, sleeping on your stomach is not beneficial in general. I can’t breathe through the pillow, and I have to turn my head to the side. As a result, the muscles of the shoulders and neck tense up, the blood supply to the brain worsens, which results in a headache, fatigue and lethargy. And the tissues of the face also receive less oxygen, as a result of which “bags” form under the eyes.

Fact after

How to sleep properly?

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

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 cushion as thick as an arm and of medium softness. It supports the cervical spine and promotes more complete relaxation.

night cap. The main requirement for a night toilet is no belts and elastic bands that squeeze blood vessels. It's better to sleep without any clothes on. Headwear is another matter. Although we have not followed the custom of our ancestors for a long time - to put on caps and caps at night. But the body temperature in a dream decreases, and we become vulnerable to a cold. It must be taken into account that even a strip of fabric (especially woolen), which fits the forehead and head with a hoop, protects perfectly from sinusitis and runny nose.

Compass in bed. It is customary in the East to go to bed with your head to the sunrise, 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 the body restores better strength?

Sverdlovsk doctors conducted a rather curious experiment. In the evening, the subjects voluntarily went to sleep on the floor. And in the morning they did an analysis of the impact of well-being and mood on the location of the body. It turned out that a deadly tired, overtired person, as a rule, sleeps with his head to the east. But if he was overexcited before going to bed, then he was located with his head to the north. We are all subjective in assessing our own emotional state, so it is better to trust the instinct: let the body itself find the optimal position for sleep. It is only necessary for him to create the appropriate conditions for this. It is likely that beds, reminiscent of the size of an airfield, on which you can sleep up and down, have become fashionable not only due to sexual conveniences ...

What is the best position to sleep in?

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

Many experts from different countries believe that it is better to sleep on the stomach, so the intervertebral cartilages get the opportunity to straighten completely. But gastroenterologists at the same time also recommend sleeping on the stomach, but it is better on an empty stomach.

But not everyone follows this, each person chooses a more comfortable position for himself, someone sleeps on his side, someone on his back, and someone like a baby ...

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

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

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

Position on the back.

Sleeping on your back is considered the most natural and beneficial, and 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 restore his strength as much as possible after a daily load.

If you are suffering from heartburn, then the ideal option for you would be to sleep on your back with a slightly raised headboard. This position eliminates squeezing 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 those with heart disease. Such a rest is good for the prevention of osteochondrosis, and, surprisingly, for the prevention of wrinkles!

The thing is that lying on your back, your face does not contact the pillow in any way, as a result of which wrinkles, wrinkles and folds do not form on it.

However, there are some nuances here. Chief among them is snoring. Unfortunately, a person is prone to snoring in this position. This is due to the fact that in this position the jaw tends to sink in, which interferes with proper breathing. That 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. The uterus at this time already has a fairly large size and, in the supine position, is able to pinch the lower artery of the expectant mother, which will complicate 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 lifts her too high. The choice of your optimal pillow height should be approached very carefully, because if your pillow is too high, you have every chance to earn osteochondrosis if too flat, it will straighten the cervical lordosis.

Side position.

This is the ideal position for pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy. On the side, a person is also not prone to snoring, since the airways in this position do not close.

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

As for the position of the embryo, it is the most natural and favorable for a person, however, even here, not everything is so smooth. The position on the side negatively affects female beauty. A lot of wrinkles are formed in the décolleté, neck and shoulders. But it will have a particularly deplorable effect on your face.

Lying on the side, a crease 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 take for mimic. However, these imperfections do not appear due to active facial expressions, but due to an incorrectly chosen sleeping position.

How to choose a pillow for sleeping on your side?

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

Position on the stomach.

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

It is worth mentioning the breathing during sleep. In the position on the stomach, the lungs are squeezed, which cannot open fully when inhaled. Less oxygen enters the blood and your heart, instead of getting rest, works in an enhanced mode.

If you have osteochondrosis or atherosclerosis, the position on your stomach is also far from 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 the constant squeezing 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 well as in the side position, a person is not prone to snoring. To this it is worth adding 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 the squeezing 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 in no case be bent.

As it turns out, every sleeping position has its advantages and disadvantages. And if you are comfortable sleeping in one position or another, you do not need to immediately retrain to fall asleep in a different position.

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

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thanks for that
for discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook And In contact with

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

website found for you 6 simple yoga poses, after completing which you will fall asleep like a baby.

#6 Legs up the wall

How to do. Lie facing a 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 gently bend your knees and shift them to either side.

No. 5. Lying on your stomach

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

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

#4 Wide Angle Legs

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 exhalations and then go up.

No. 3. Soles of the feet together

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

The "correct" sleeping position, "wrong" ... What kind of news, you say! The correct posture is the one in which you sleep. Well, that's right. Let's find out what doctors have to say about this.

Since a person sleeps for a third of his life, it is worth making sure that this time is spent with benefit. Poor body position on the bed interferes with falling asleep, disrupts blood circulation, causes muscle clamps, 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. Variants such as "sleeping with arms behind the head", "embryo" and "half-embryo" are subject to research in the field of emotions.

Sleep on your back

For some women, only one argument is important in favor of this pose: the face does not wrinkle. Facial muscles relax, wrinkles are smoothed out, the skin “breathes”. The result, in the literal sense, is obvious: a fresh, rested look in the morning and youthful skin for a long time. Besides, sleep on back favorable for proper rest of the spinal column. The spine seems to straighten out. The muscles of the body, by the way, also relax to the maximum if you sleep on a semi-hard mattress, and your head rests on a pillow resembling a roller.

If you are used to having dinner late, sleeping on your back is “what the doctor ordered.” The head is on a pillow, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, the internal organs are not squeezed. Farewell, heartburn!

The obvious disadvantages of sleeping on your back include an increased risk of apnea (stopping breathing), and just snoring. Both phenomena are associated with the forced position of the tongue, which, as it were, "falls" into the respiratory tract and causes the appearance of rumbling decibels.

If the supine position is uncomfortable, an additional pillow placed under the knees will help. The fact is that in such a position (with straightened legs), the lumbar deflection is preserved, which does not allow the muscles to relax. Try also a third pillow, small and flat, which is placed under the small of your back. This will change the idea of ​​​​sleeping on your back!

Posture on the stomach

Sleep on your stomach not recommended for anyone suffering from colic. Sleeping in this position, doctors say, is dangerous to health. The cervical spine suffers greatly: the head is unnaturally turned out, which causes blood vessels to be squeezed. Retribution, unfortunately, will come. If constantly sleep on your stomach, this will lead to pain in the neck and back, cerebrovascular accident, 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. Perhaps the wicked pay with their health for an unrighteous life...

Sleep on your side

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

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

Sleep on your side indicated for long term pregnancy. This is both comfortable and correct, since in this position the fetus does not press 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 pillow between your legs. If your arms and shoulders hurt when you lie on an outstretched arm, fluff up a pillow under your head and wrap your arms around the other pillow. This should help.

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