Back pain can make it tough to get a good night's sleep. At the same time, how you sleep may make things worse — while certain sleep positions put strain on an already aching back, others may help you find relief.Although back pain and sleep problems are linked, the connection isn’t well understood. “There is not a lot of science behind sleep as a major cause of back pain,” says Santhosh Thomas, DO, MBA, a spine specialist with the Cleveland Clinic and associate medical director of the Richard E. Jacobs Medical Center in Avon, Ohio.Experts do believe, however, that people with sleep problems experience more problems with back pain. “Sleep deprivation is known to affect mood and functional ability and negatively impacts perception of pain,” Dr. Thomas says. Pain in turn can affect the quality of your sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation, leading to a lighter sleep state and more frequent waking throughout the night.What's more, there's a relationship between the severity of pain, overall mood, and the ability to function — and a good night of sleep can improve all these symptoms, at least temporarily, according to a study published in the November 2016 issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.Worst Sleep Positions for Back PainSome sleep positions can put added pressure on your neck
, shoulders, hips, lower back, knees, and even your heels, all of which can lead to pain, Thomas says. There’s no one-size-fits-all sleep position to kick back pain, but you can try a few tricks to get it under control so that you can sleep more soundly.The most common offender? Sleeping on your stomach. “Typically, sleeping on your stomach can flatten the natural curve of your spine, putting some additional strain on your back muscles,” Thomas says.Plus, stomach sleeping means that your neck is rotated, which can actually result in neck pain or back pain between your shoulders, says Paul Grous, a physical therapist and spine specialist with Penn Therapy & Fitness in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey.Don’t worry about keeping your body in the same position all night. It’s normal for you to move around a bit while you sleep, and that’s a good thing because a little movement can help ease pressure on your back. “Any sleeping position has the potential to amplify back pain if you maintain it for too long,” Thomas says.
Grous adds that the real culprit may not be sleep position but your daily activity — or a lack of it.“My opinion of the biggest causative factor for back pain in our population is the amount of time we spend sitting during waking hours,” he says. “We sit too long and we don’t sit properly — we sit slouched with our backs rounded.”During daylight hours, try to vary your posture as much as possible, and practice good posture when standing and sitting to help ease back pain at night.Sleep Positions That Help Relieve Back PainFirst, you’ve got to be comfortable to get a good night’s sleep. Thomas suggests making a few simple modifications to your regular sleep position to help take a load off your back:The Right Mattress and Pillow for SleepWhen it comes to selecting a mattress and pillow, Thomas says personal preference and comfort rule. Some people prefer the firmness of a harder mattress, while others are more comfortable on a soft mattress. He suggests spending a night in a hotel that offers options for guests to purchase pillows and mattresses so that you can try before you buy.
Or, see if your mattress store lets you try out a bed overnight or even longer. “If that is not an option, perhaps sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag may mimic a firm surface, and sleeping on a couch may mimic a softer surface,” Thomas says.Grous says that some people may find it helpful to use a contoured pillow to alleviate neck strain or to sleep on just one pillow instead of a stack of several pillows.If a few changes to your sleep position don’t help your back pain or sleep troubles, it may be time to get a medical opinion. If your pain worsens, Thomas recommends meeting with your doctor to check for any potentially serious problems. The sleeping position is the body configuration assumed by a person during or prior to sleeping. It has been shown to have health implications, particularly for babies. A Canadian survey found that 39% of respondents preferring the "log" position (lying on one's side with the arms down the side) and 28% preferring to sleep on their side with their legs bent.
A Travelodge survey found that 50% of heterosexual British couples prefer sleeping back-to-back, either not touching (27%) or touching (23%). Spooning was next, with the man on the outside 20% of the time vs. 8% with the woman on the outside. 10% favored the "lovers' knot" (facing each other with legs intertwined), though all but 2% separated before going to sleep. The "Hollywood pose" of the woman with her head and arm on the man's chest was chosen by 4%. In the 1958 edition of his best-selling book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, pediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock warned against placing a baby on its back, writing, "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." However, later studies have shown that placing a young baby in a prone position increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A 2005 study concluded that "systematic review of preventable risk factors for SIDS from 1970 would have led to earlier recognition of the risks of sleeping on the front and might have prevented over 10,000 infant deaths in the UK and at least 50 000 in Europe, the USA, and Australasia."
champions sleeping on one's side, particularly the left side, for pregnant women, claiming this "will increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and your baby."[4] A couple of research papers[5][6] also link sleeping on one's back during pregnancy with lower birth weight and increased risk of stillbirth, but these results must be corroborated by other larger studies. It is recommended that people at risk of obstructive sleep apnea sleep on their side[7] and with a 30° or higher elevation of the upper body.[8] Snoring, which may be (but is not necessarily) an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, may also be alleviated by sleeping on one's side. The Chinese feng shui and Indian Vastu Shastra systems describe favorable and unfavorable geographical directions (north, south, east, west) for sleeping. Feng shui also factors in the configuration of the bedroom in the positioning of the bed.[10] In Islamic culture, some sleep positions are encouraged while others are discouraged based on the practice (Sunnah) and recommendations of Muhammad.
Thus, many Muslims sleep on their right side, particularly, in the initial part of sleep. Muhammad said, “Whenever you go to bed, perform ablution like that for the prayer, and lie on your right side” [SM 2710).[11] In description of the sleep of Muhammad, a Hadith states, “When the Prophet (pbuh) wants to go to sleep, he puts his right hand under his cheek” [SM 2713]. Modern scientific studies have suggested a beneficial effect of right lateral decubitus position on the heart. In particular, one study assessed the autonomic effect of three sleep positions (supine, left lateral decubitus, and right lateral decubitus) in healthy subjects using spectral heart rate variability analysis.The results indicated that cardiac vagal activity was greatest when subjects were in the right lateral decubitus position. ^ Ruth Gilbert, Georgia Salanti, Melissa Harden and Sarah See (2005). "Infant sleeping position and the sudden infant death syndrome: systematic review of observational studies and historical review of recommendations from 1940 to 2002", International Journal of Epidemiology, Oxford University Press.