Why You Should Not Sleep on Your Stomach
Is your favourite sleep position to sleep on your front? Well, you should probably switch to a new position. About 15% of the world are stomach sleepers, however recent studies have shown that stomach sleeping can increase your likelihood of developing back, neck and shoulder pain.
Why is it bad to sleep on your stomach?
Whilst many find sleeping on their stomach comfortable and their partners also enjoy it due to the reduced snoring it provides, it has been found to cause muscle and bone aches and pains.
Everyone has a natural curve in their spine, this is called a lumbar lordosis, when we sleep on our stomachs what happens, especially if you are not sleeping on a firm mattress, is that you can have an increased arch in your back. This puts pressure on the structures in your back including bone-on-bone grinding in your lower back.
Sleeping on your stomach also puts pressure on your hamstrings and neck muscles in order to keep in this position throughout the night – muscles don’t like to be tensed for long periods meaning that you are sure to feel it the next day. Keeping your neck turned for upwards of 8 hours a night is enough to cause pain throughout the next day – imagine working with your head faced either fully turned left or right for a full hour, it’s impossible without straining your neck.
This pressure on your bones can also affect your nerves and blood flow leaving you with limbs that feel like they’re asleep.
What to do if you still want to sleep on your stomach
Of course, the best sleep position is to alternate between sleeping on your back and sides.
However, if you’ve tried sleeping on your side and back and are still not getting comfortable there are some solutions that can relieve this strain:
- Purchase a firm mattress that provides adequate support for your spine
- Use a small pillow beneath your stomach
- Either replace your pillow with a small firm pillow or remove the pillow from underneath your head in order to reduce the upward movement of your spine in the neck
- Avoid sleeping with one leg up – this will help keep your hips aligned and will reduce hip pain from this sleep position
- Try to only use this position when sleeping for a short period of time such as a power nap.
Should you change your sleep position?
The quick answer – yes.
If you sleep on your stomach and don’t experience any of these unpleasant experiences, the likelihood of you developing them is high if you continue to do so. In a study by Desouzart et al. 2015, it was found that sleeping on your stomach is the worst position to sleep in as it can aid the ageing process and cause significant back pain.
We recommend making the switch to sleeping on your back or side – these can both help relieve back pain and lessen your risk of facial wrinkles. However, if you’re prone to snoring and sleep apnea we’d recommend side sleeping as this allows you to naturally keep your airway open opting for a more pleasant night’s sleep.