We spend about a third of our lives in these positions, but what effect do they have on us?
We all have a favourite sleeping position. Most of the time, it's a matter of habit. We crawl into bed every night and settle in the way we feel most comfortable. We don't really think about the impact of this position on the quality of our sleep each night. And yet! We spend about a third of our lives in this position, sleeping. Each sleeping position has positive and negative effects on our breathing, our bone and muscle support and our overall long-term health. We present them to you here:
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On the back
Sleeping on your back is one of the least common sleeping positions. The National Sleep Foundation in the United States found that only 8 % of people sleep on their back. Despite its lack of popularity, this position is actually one of the best ways to sleep for most people. With proper neck support, it promotes your body's natural alignment and helps to relieve pressure from your muscles and joints.
Unlike other positions, which bend and twist your body, sleeping on your back distributes your weight evenly, which reduces the risk of waking up with aches and pains. For this reason, this position is generally recommended for people who experience physical discomfort throughout the day. However, for people who have difficulty breathing or who tend to snore, sleeping on your back can make this problem worse. This position causes your tongue to relax at the back of your mouth, blocking your airway, and causing you to sleep with your mouth open in order to catch air.
On the belly
Sleeping on the stomach is also one of the least common sleeping positions, with only 7 % of people favouring it. Unlike the back sleeping position, there is a good reason for this lack of popularity. This position is one of the least recommended for most people. The reason is that a lot of pressure is put on your organs and airways when you sleep on it. This pressure is more likely to cause discomfort throughout the night and pain in the morning.
Also, lying on your stomach forces you to turn your head to one side, which can have long-term effects on your neck and shoulders. The most important and perhaps only advantage of sleeping on your stomach is that you are more likely to stop snoring because you are facing downwards
On the side
Sleeping on your side certainly has more advantages than disadvantages, especially on the left side. Sleeping on the left side has been shown to increase blood flow to the heart, relieve pressure from the spine and support the airways. This position is ideal for people who snore (and their partners). It is also the most recommended position for pregnant women. It's not that sleeping on the right side is necessarily bad, it's just that there is more cardiovascular support when lying on the left side.
The main disadvantage of sleeping on your side is that it accelerates the appearance of wrinkles. This is because it forces you to spend most of the night pressed up against the pillow. A quick solution is to opt for a silk or cotton pillowcase. bamboo satin ! The bamboo satin sheets are for example less abrasive to the skin, making them ideal for side sleepers.
In the fetal position
The fetal position is the most popular sleeping position for adults. This position has almost the same advantages as side sleeping, the most important being that it relieves the pressure on your back. The disadvantage of sleeping in the fetal position is actually due to the rolling up of the legs. This compresses the diaphragm, forcing your body to work harder to breathe deeply. It has been proven that sleeping with a bolster or cushion between the legs can help you maintain a healthier posture in this position.
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It is important to note that there is no one ideal position for sleeping every night. While some positions are more beneficial than others, how you sleep ultimately depends on your health, what you find most comfortable and the quality of sleep you are trying to achieve each night.