Never Sleep on Your Stomach
One of the changes I encourage patients to make in their lives after receiving chiropractic care is to stop sleeping on their stomach. A surprising number of people are shocked to hear that this is detrimental to them.
If you don’t believe me, try walking around with your head turned to one side. It won’t take long for you to begin feeling pain, soreness, dizziness or neck/shoulder tension. Your body doesn’t like this standing up, and I promise you that it doesn’t like it when you’re lying face down with your head on a pillow either.
The fact is, wrenching your head and neck in this way for even just a few minutes while sleeping can significantly strain the muscles and ligaments of the spine. Repeatedly doing so every night for years slowly adds pressure to the joints and nerves, contributing to spinal degeneration and allowing for the development of a variety of health problems.
If you’re currently a stomach sleeper, begin training yourself to sleep on your back or side. While sleeping on your stomach may feel good and seem perfectly acceptable, so does picking your nose to a 4-year-old (and then eating the treasure).
They’re both bad habits, and neither of them are okay!
What about sleeping on your stomach WITHOUT a pillow? I’ve been sleeping like this since childhood (I’m almost 65 now) and sleep like this on the floor, too.
Sorry Vicki, there are no exceptions to the rule
What about the idea of sleeping with your neck straight and not to the side? I do this all the time by merely resting my forehead on the edge of the pillow. My mouth and nose stay perfectly elevated off the ground. As for sleeping on your side, isn’t a person even more likely to not only be bending their neck, but also their spine and hip too? It makes me think of the 80% “unexplained” cases of scoliosis lying around.
I believe that there is an optimal level of wear and tear we put on our bodies and the level isn’t zero. Otherwise we would spend our lives far from the sun and sharp objects, wear helmets at all times, and blend all of our food. The reality is I would rather sleep how I want for 60 years than how I don’t wan to for 75. Enjoy your lives people. Treat yourself and sleep how ever you want.
Brent,
Your point, although very existentialist, is not very practical. If we followed your logic, we would eat what we want whenever, smoke and drink whatever and whenever, exercise only if we felt like it, and not worry about any of our actions because we were too busy feeding our ego. I would suggest that this is not the way to attain health. I believe the good doctor’s point is that our bodies have a certain design and framework, and if we respect that design we will get better performance form our body.
I agree with Brent that you should do what you want. We don’t want to waste our short period of existence on this Earth, and we should do what makes us happy. And I’m sure that people have slept on their stomachs for centuries, but it makes sense that it may hurt our spine.
That being said, switching how you sleep is relatively easy. If you just force yourself to sleep on your side or back for a week or two, I’m sure you’ll be as comfortable as you were on your stomach. It’s much like switching from 2% to skim milk. You taste the difference at first, but you will pretty quickly become acclimated. And maybe you won’t notice a difference, but trust me, back problems are not something for the faint of heart. They will follow you your entire life…IMHO
Jon, it sounds as if you’re describing the act of sleeping on your face. I think you’ve accommodated and compensated to sleep this way… It’s unnatural, however, and I do not recommend it.
As for side-sleeping, that opens the door to a whole new conversation regarding mattress quality and pillow type. Water beds or springy/unlevel mattresses that dip, coupled with unsupportive pillows will cause a variety of structural problems as well.
I invite you to read this guest blog post I wrote for a mattress supplier in St Louis. It touches on this topic – http://bit.ly/tiXw5
Hmm.. my chiropractor always puts me facedown on his adjustment table and sometimes I fall asleep waiting for him. Is this a problem?
Joe, I’m assuming your head isn’t turned to one side or the other, and is actually face-down on a specialized headpiece. If that’s the case, no, you’re okay.
I actually sleep on my stomach because I feel like I got much less sleep when I don’t… I feel horrible when I don’t basically.
What about for cases of sleep apnea? Sleeping on the stomach can keep the tongue from blocking the airway because gravity isnt working against you anymore
Chris, in regards to sleep apnea, it sounds to me like a classic “rob Peter to pay Paul” situation.
Hi, I’m a stomach-sleeper myself…. I’ve noticed some chest pain lately (not anything heart-related but rather muscular, my pectoral muscles seem to hurt some). Can this be a product of sleeping on my stomach? is it normal? I haven’t worked out in some time but when I did I noticed that the hardest part for me to work was precisely my pecs… can sleeping on my stomach for years be a product of this? Thanks
Wow I’ve been experiencing exactly the same thing as Daniel described only just recently after sleeping on my stomach for years. It feels like pain on your chest/ribcage. Obviously sleeping on your stomach is bad for you! I’ve been trying to switch recently but it is hard. I tend to roll back into my normal position!!
I used to be a back and side sleeper. My wife started to work a few nights a week and the nights she didn’t work she couldn’t fall asleep as early as I wanted to. She started reading in bed. To fall asleep I started to lie on my stomach and bury my face in the pillow so the light wouldn’t bother me. After a few nights I discovered that when I slept on my stomach I awoke far more rested. Ever since I’ve been sleeping on my stomach. When I slept on my back if I got crowded on the edge of the bed and couldn’t roll over to my side part of the night a awoke with a backache. When I sleep on my tummy I sleep in the same position all night and never awaken with a backache.
I use a memory foam pillow and sometimes I lay with my arms wrapped under my pillow and my head turned sideways and sometimes I sleep with my forehead and eyes burried in the pillow to keep my neck in a neutral position. Either way is comfy.
Brent that is so funny what you said…i am in total agreement
Damiens Its all about INDIVIDUAL choices. if you choose to abuse your body then the consequences will come sooner or later. The information is out there and if its useful to you then you will sleep on your back, if you don’t feel like it then you will sleep on your stomach.. Author your own lives and this is one aspect that the individual has full rights over.
Every now and then, I’ll end up sleeping on my stomach, and arms on the pillow. After this, my chest will be killing me in the morning. But it stops about 20-30 minutes after I get up… anyone else get this?
I think it’s quite funny that you say “you should do what you want. We don’t want to waste our short period of existence on this Earth, and we should do what makes us happy.” This life is not about us. We should take care of the vessels we were given. It’s so irresponsible and lazy to have that attitude. And believe me, it’s the ones dealing with back pain, obesity, diabetes, etc that constantly complain…and can’t figure out why they’ve gotten where they’re at.
I seem to find sleeping on my stomach so much more comfy, though I’m actually dealing with pulled muscles in my lower back right now. So I’ve decided to change my sleeping pattern for better well-being. One slight problem though – sleeping on my side hurts my shoulder and I wake up with a “dead arm”. I can’t seem to win no matter what. Never the less I’m sure sleeping on my side will prove to be better in the long run.
I feel your pain, literally and figuratively. I find sleeping on the side less intrusive in changing the position but I find it hard to adjust to. Having a pillow between your legs when you sleep to your side will help with the shoulder problem you are having. Sleeping on the back seems to be the most natural and safety position but if you’re a stomach sleeper it’s pretty much the complete opposite and therefore hard to accommodate to.
I think there are clearly ways to make sleeping on the stomach less damaging to the body. One would be a pillow under the stomach and that your head is arched down as opposed to up and not on the side.
I think many people are not looking at some reasons why some people may sleep on their stomachs. One is their room may have too much light and sleeping on their stomach would have their eyes closer to a pillow and would make it generally darker than it would be if it were to the side or ceiling. The room may be too cold or hot and they have sensitivities and laying on a pillow as opposed to direct exposure comfort them. People with RLS would probably experience some relief in this position because it restricts their body the most from movement. Some people with anxiety may feel more protected in this position because the front of their body isn’t exposed. These are some theories I have come up with. I think it’s important to know why these people may be sleeping this way rather than just criticize the position.
It’s not a one size fits all situation; Sometimes one has to choose their battle (i.e. medicine in spite of side effects, heavy snoring vs. restful sleep etc.) as illustrated in some of the comments / reports here. It seems sleeping on our back would promote a natural cervical spine arch BUT without the right pillow (I still haven’t found “the one” for my side position) the neck can still be slightly out of line AND one would have to be “still” and sleep in the same position all night. Few of us do. Trying to recreate a curve we have in the standing position while leaning on a pillow may-be unrealistic. Perhaps the best way to do this would be to sleep on our back with our head resting on a small wooden bench as some African tribes do…? OUCH.
I say experiment and figure-it out for yourself. If you wake-up every morning with a relaxed neck rather than a tense one (like I do), that is YOUR answer…isn’t it?
I sleep almost exclusively on my stomach. For one, if I sleep on my side, my leg falls asleep. And I actually don’t fall asleep if I lie on my back. I remember trying a fews times, once when I was dead tired, and I laid awake for almost an hour before deciding to flip over to my stomach. I fell asleep almost immediately. Do you have any advice on how to train myself to sleep on my back without me going sleepless for most of the night?
Liz, over time your body has simply learned the bad habit of stomach-sleeping. You can definitely learn to sleep on your back and/or side, but it will take practice.
You might start by using the “training wheels” of pillows called a Therapeutica. These are designed exclusively for back/side sleeping, and will wake you up if you roll over onto your stomach. They’re available online. Here’s a link to some you can purchase on Amazon – http://is.gd/cVzMy
i find that if i sleep on my back a part of my spine is sticking out and hurts quite badly also when im on my side my neck become uncomfy an i feel the awful need to crack it the only way to sleep comftably is on my stomach
I sleep on my stomach to avoid PAIN in my right leg. My thigh tends to “jump” shortly after I get rested, & ready for sleep. I used to sleep “fetal”. It started causing problems with the nerves in my arms, & causing SEVERE pain from the shoulders down.
I recently realized that if I sleep on my stomach with my left arm above my head, & my right arm by my side. I can get a FULL nights sleep.
Any thoughts or ideas?
I absolutely LOVE to sleep on my stomach. . . .but have gotten a stiff neck over the past three or four years. So much that it hurts all the time. It’s better if I sleep on my side (I can’t sleep on my back) but during the night I turn over on my stomach and my subconscious lets me do it “because it feels good.” Then I start a new day with the same stiffness and pain that I’m trying so hard to cure! Any hints on stopping myself while I’m partial asleep?
You might try investing in a Therapeutica pillow. They’re designed in a unique way that discourages stomach-sleeping. Here’s a link – http://bit.ly/9rjHuN.