I feel like the human body is really poorly designed for sleeping.
If I sleep on my back, I start snoring and wake up with a dry throat.
If I sleep on my side, my arm goes numb and my shoulder hurts.
If I sleep on my stomach, my neck and/or ribs feel broken the next day.
No matter what I try, something always ends up hurting.
So now I’m wondering—what does science say about this, and how did nature actually intend for us to get some shut-eye?
Comments
Fetal position
You should look at buying a different mattress more suited for your body. There is quite a bit of variety out there and it can make all the difference. Go to a store to try them out and see what suits your body best.
I too wonder this often. I’ve had people throughout my life tell me this or that position is harmful and yadda yadda, so I just don’t worry about it.
Lowkey, I don’t think there is one, and if there is, it’s a person to person thing.
The left side is the best sleep position for humans. It’s about your internal organs and the asymmetry inside your body. Mainly, digestion is better and your right lung is a bit larger for better breathing. Yogis discovered this long ago. Check it out.
I have no answer, but this question validates my theory of Unintelligent Design.
The human neck and spine. Mental disorders. Allergies. Cancer. The entire human birthing process. Yes, God may have created us. But he is a shit creator.
Is it possible that your mattress sucks?
Sleep suspended in liquid with a oxygen mask. Maybe make the liquid out to be lotion so you don’t get dry skin and what not from being in water all the time.
Problem solved now gimme a nobel prize
With eyes closed of course
On the floor, on your back. No pillow, just a soft surface for your skull not to hurt.
Maybe it’s bed designs that suck. Ive always felt like i need one of those massage beds so i can lay on my front while being able to breathe. I would use pillows under armpits-ish to push the shoulders back and cushion the ribs
Back or side, just not stomach.
You need a mattress that better suited you. And a sleep consult for the snoring.
Snoring isn’t normal, get a sleep study.
Nothing is optimal imo, but I will tell you I get awful sleep paralysis if I sleep on my back. Hallucinations and everything. 0/10 don’t recommend
I had frozen shoulder on both arms and now I use camp pillows on each side at night and it helps reduce the arm and shoulder pain. Thank the stars for those steroid shots as fs hurts like a mother fucka.
Doggy style
Try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs and another pillow to hold. I have a big squishmellow for this lol
The correct answer is probably “in a tree, hoping you don’t get eaten by a leopard in the night”.
Though, really humans were probably originally sleeping in burrows, considering how much we like to be covered up and in the dark while sleeping.
Sleep science is still a burgeoning field, and many of the studies that you will find are commercially sponsored to back up why you should buy their mattress. Since I’ve sold mattresses, the only definite answer is that there is no answer that completely encompasses any individual’s sleep needs. Many legit sleep studies really only focus on how sleep affects an existing health condition, such as the following sleep study on intraocular pressure and sleep position:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161642013000134
Here is a more recent generalized study on sleep quality that suggests side sleeping is most common, but man do I hate the sample size:
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/16/6220?trk=public_post-text
As far as cultural preferences for sleep throughout history, consider that humans are a social creature and that we likely denned with a family or mates. Here is another pretty detailed study I like to reference when speculating for the biological and social needs that lead to sleeping:
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anthro-010220-075523
It’s a pretty long read, but the idea is that *what* we sleep on matters far less than *how* we sleep.
Sorry to really get into this dude, but I hate hearing sales pitches that start claiming numbers and put people like you looking for a good night’s sleep in a funky position where you have to start doing mattress math to figure out whether it’s more worthwhile to spend another $1000 on 4 extra degrees of cooling at night using hyperflex spider silk coolMAX technology or whatever bullshit they’re getting me to pitch.
Again, not really my place, but if you really are in pain after waking up, and especially if you’re excessively snoring, I can’t recommend going to a sleep study enough if you can make your way to your doctor and get penciled in. They can figure out what you’re gonna need before you decide to dump thousands of dollars on whatever some loud guy in a polo with slicked back hair who drives a modest Toyota to work told you to get. (Unless you want to buy a mattress from me. Please dump thousands of dollars on me, papa needs the cash.)
Hope this helps and doesn’t sound like rambling, good luck trying to get some shut-eye!
Suspended like a bat. You’ll be taller in the morning.
I keep hearing sleeping in a hammock is the best position for sleeping. Anyone can confirm?
whatever position lets me sleep is the proper position.
my friend, it sounds like the issue is your mattress, not your sleeping position. when’s the last time you got a new bed?
I sleep in whatever position I want and always feel fine. The gods have blessed me!
Fetal position on the left side is said to be best for the heart and kidneys 🤷♀️
‘Nature’ doesn’t give a damn about how comfortable our lives are, only that we breed successfully.
If sleeping position was a significant contribution to that, we’d all sleep the same way.
Humans naturally slept on the ground, in trees, on rocks etc. Don’t look to nature.
Personally I found that the rescue position with a pillow under my head is the easiest because I also snore. Keeps the airway as open as possible but isn’t hard on the back.
https://onlinefirstaid.com/recovery-position-saves-lives/
you should do a sleep test, you might need to use a CPAP while sleeping
I believe archeological finds suggest that ancient humans slept in a fetal position on their side. We’ve been using something like a mattress for so long now that we’ve probably evolved away from being able to sleep on the ground somewhat comfortably.
Chest / stomach is bad because it compresses your chest, right side isn’t always great because now you’re angling your stomachs opening downwards so if you have any sort of reflux issues or heart burn that’s gonna get worse.
So, GENERALLY the left side is best with the pros and cons listed; however, depending on your own specific physical needs others can be better. For instance perhaps your heart is weak, sleeping on the right side would let gravity assist a little when you’re in bed. Some back issues are better on the back but if you’re a snorer then being on your back is gonna make that worse.
All this being said, my body is only comfortable and able to fall asleep if I’m on my right side. If I’m sick or have reflux issues I’ll prop some pillows up and probably take NiQuill to force slwpw
The prophet mohammed used to sleep on his right in many historical narrations or rest lying on his right side. Due to this I’m guessing there will be benefits physically as he had a lot of insights into things that benefit humanity.
Find one of the online sleep apnea testers, do that, and then get a sleep doc who will get you a cpap and you can sleep on your back with no snoring or sore throat when you wake up.
People can have sleep apnea in their 30s I’m sure it’s rarer the younger people get but it’s definitely a thing but usually associated with old people.
I have figured out that I have to sleep about 3-4 hours in my computer chair after falling asleep playing a game, then I can move to the bed where I proceed to become a rotisserie chicken for the rest of the night. If I do that I only wake up in a normal amount of pain vs the lots of pain when I trying to just sleep in my bed like a crazy person.
Use a pregnancy pillow even though you’re not pregnant
Might need a new mattress.
An anthropological study has been done on it
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1119282/
You’re not supposed to have trouble breathing when sleeping on your back. Do you still have your tonsils and adenoids? If so, have they been looked at to see if they’re obstructing your airway?
The best theoretical sleeping position is on the side with a pillow between your legs.
I have a sleep number adjustable bed and this has been 1000% better than my second best bed because you can change every aspect to address all of those things.
Fall asleep on your right side. Have a pillow for arms, and knees, if that feels comfortable. I always wake up on my back though
I’m a side sleeper but my head isn’t resting on my arm, my arms are usually hugging my stuffed dog that chin rests against
You mean some well needed shut-eye?
You need exactly 3 golden globes. Good luck!
A good short-term solution to waking up with dry mouth/throat is a product called Oracoat XyliMelts. You can get them on Amazon. They work really well and last all night. I recommend the unflavored kind – I tried the mint and berry flavors first and found them to be pretty gross.
I think for pillows, you need
2 for side
1 for back
0 for front.
Side or back may be best, but it’s personal preference. Hope you get some good sleep soon.
I sleep on my side with an ergonomic pillow for side sleepers and a body pillow between my legs and supporting my torso. My hips always ached horribly in the morning before I started using the body pillow.
Also, If you snore regularly, it’s not a terrible idea to have a sleep study done. Undiagnosed sleep apnea can reduce life expectancy by something like 10 years. I use a CPAP machine and my sleep quality has improved so much.
It depends on what is wrong, different positions have different benefits. For breathing the best position to sleep is on your left side as your right lung is larger.
Well historically people didn’t sleep for 9 hours straight so we aren’t really designed for this in the first place. We also didn’t have beds and pillows or even perfectly flat and hard ground, so I imagine the answer is we sleep in a crazy variety of positions.
What I remember reading most consistently is that changing sleep position and moving during the night is more important than whatever the individual positions are. If you stay in the exact same position you slept in in you have a much bigger issue
(sample size 1 proof: myself; supporting anecdotal evidence : my partner sleeps in on the stomach, says this is the only true sleep position for her and does not believe that she doesn’t actually stay that position for really long once asleep. She’s fine which she wouldn’t if really laying on the stomach all night).
Your heart needs to do the least amount of work when you lay on your left side, a pillow between your knees will keep your knees hips and spine in alignment, and a huggy pillow will keep your arms aligned.
-you sound like you may need a sleep study
Best of luck on your sleep journey
I sleep with like 7 pillows and am a side sleeper. I only use one under my head, I have a pillow on either side of the head pillow so if i flip from side to side i have something to rest my arm on (no numb arms) I keep a really small pillow for under my arm thats on top of my body depending which side on on, (again no numb arm) I have a pillow under my blankets for inbetween my knees ( helps with hip pain, i can’t sleep with knees together, ouch) and I have one down below for inbetween my feet. My wife makes fun of me, but I get amazing sleep, so
Now add a cat and two dogs to the equation and the answer is you sleep in whatever space you get 🤣
I’ve heard sleeping on your left side is best for digestion because of the orientation of your organs.
More detail is needed. Body composition plays a huge role. Is your mattress cheap? Do you eat before you sleep?
I’m not sure that we should even be lying down to sleep. For most of history it seems that people slept sitting up to help prevent respiratory disease. But Big Mattress doesn’t want us to know that.
Look up how to properly position a patient in the lateral decubitus position and invest in a few extra pillows.
From what I’ve been told by physical therapists, on your back is best. I shift between back, side, and stomach throughout the night, with nothing feeling that comfortable for long. I will say though, getting a good mattress makes a world of difference. My sleeping issues and body soreness evaporated when I got a nice mattress. Tempurpedic is the gold standard but there’s others out there that are good.
get a new mattress
I’ve heard sleeping on your side is fine, but if you’re prone to back and neck pain, sleep on your back.
Face down, ass up.
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Wait what is the question again?
You should sleep with your hand between two pillows….
The best sleep is side left because of your heart and a pillow between your legs . Source dude trust me
Depends on your body type, mattress, etc. But what I have read is that sleeping on your left side is the best way for your inner organs to settle comfortably. Especially if you have an upset stomach, bowel issues or gas, etc.
I don’t know whether it’s “scientifically accurate” or not, but many of the adjustable bed bases offer a so-called “zero G” position. Essentially it’s the head slightly raised and the knees raised a bit higher. Depending on which breathless sales pitch you believe, they claim it was deisgned by NASA for the astronauts or some other miraculous malarkey. But regardless, I have found that that particular position to be much more comforatble than lying flat on my back. You can legitimately feel a noticeable difference in pressure on your back and shoulders if you start in that Zero G position and then adjust the bed down to completely flat. In my case, I usually eventually swap over to my side (reflux/snoring) but it’s a good “start” to the night to sort of ease the aches of the day.
I sleep like a rotisserie chicken
If you’re snoring on your back, try getting a wedge pillow (has to be at least half your length and a decent height, ours is around 20cm high). It will feel a bit like sleeping in a chair that has been lowered, so takes a bit of time to get used to. But it has helped my husband has completely stopped snoring after getting it, and my acid reflux is gone as well and I can now sleep on any side I wish.
You may have sleep apnoea. CPAP may help. And if it does, the relief is significant.
I use a pillow cube so my neck is at a good angle and a huge body pillow from Buffy and it’s the best I’ve ever slept. Their body pillow is longer than I am tall and I can wrap it all around my body. I pack it in a second suitcase when I travel because I can’t be without it. It cuts down on my body pain by a lot! I also have to stretch a lot now that I’m getting older. It sounds really simple but it helps so much
When I was pregnant I started sleeping in a sort of 3/4 side position (specifically recommended for preggos) and have continued that ever since. Replaced the big belly with a body pillow and it’s great. So arms in front of you, bent however you like, top knee bent and knee resting on the mattress, other leg straightish. Try putting a pillow under your torso to lean forward on.
I believe, the one you’ve had on “zero gravity” chair/bed.
As far as I know, the correct answer is flat on your back on a firm surface with no pillow(s) at all.
Ok, you and I have the same problems. The differences are that I also snore when I sleep on my side and that I don’t sleep on my stomach because of cultural beliefs.—I would also get lower back pain if I ever sleep on my stomach. I think snoring until your throat is dry is just a thing because of your sinus. If you really want to sleep on your side then I would suggest getting a different pillow and mattress. I find firm mattress like the Nectar and the Tempur pedic neck pillow work well. I used to have hurt shoulder when I sleep on my side as well. However, the Tempur pedic neck pillow is a firm pillow that doesn’t go flat and it will keep your head elevated and less pressure on your shoulder. The only complaint I have with the Nectar is that it’s a a foam mattress that makes me hot. I sleep hot and so the mattress doesn’t dissipate heat well. I would have to use a fan. You can opt for the hybrid version that is better at distributing heat.
Laying down.
A key take away for side sleeping is that it’s really important that the legs stay mirrored and together. It’s really easy to throw the top leg far over and put a twist in the body which is terrible for our backs. (My chiropractor)