Sleeping is vital not mere for the reason that we sleep approximately one-third of our life away, it is because during that sleep time our body has an opportunity to replenish itself and get ready for the next day.
However, people for the most part only think about posture while sitting, standing, walking, but not sleeping, overlooking the importance of letting our spine to align in a healthy position—end up waking up in the morning with a stiff neck and back pain.
So, back, side, stomach, which is a good/bad sleeping posture? Let’s hear what Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners say about them.
Back Sleeping
Sleeping on our back provides the most natural position for our spine to be in. When we are in this horizontal sleeping posture, it reduces the curve in the neck and lower back, letting our spine achieve the maximum ability to align itself naturally. Lying on our back, on the other hand, causes our respiration to be through the mouth instead of nose, which makes us prone to colds (as our nose has dense blood vessels that can warm the entering air) as well as increase snoring.
Side Sleeping
When we sleep on our side, it allows the air passage way to open, which helps to reduce snoring and sleep apnea. And for pregnant women, side-sleeping is the best posture for the fetus. Yet, when we are sleeping on the left side, our heart will be under the pressure of the right lung (the biggest of the two), which affects the heart’s contraction. While the pressure on the heart will be fewer when we are sleeping on the right side.
Stomach Sleeping
Sleeping on the stomach is the worst position to be in! Why? When we are sleeping on our stomach, our head turns in an extreme rotation because we have to turn our head one way or the other simply to breathe. This actually can hinder the oxygen flow and blood flow from and to our brain, which leads to all kinds of health problems. Not to mention stomach-sleeping posture also can damage our spine and nervous system.
“While sleeping on the stomach always is not a recommended posture unless someone has a medical condition and is instructed by his/her doctor, both back-sleeping and side-sleeping is just fine with its own advantages and disadvantages. So, an important notion is we shouldn’t take the same position for granted for a long period of time,” TCM Practitioners suggested.
Tips:
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners, despite that the pressure on the heart will be less when we sleep on the right side, if you are a side sleeper, you must not sleep on the right side all through your lifetime and should change sides from time to time especially if you have wide shoulders. It is because if you don’t do so, your chest will be pushed to the side and leads to a shift to the spine.
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