It can be quite difficult to fall asleep during these stressful times. That’s why you want your sleep to be of the best possible quality. While there are many different suggestions, from avoiding blue light to counting sheep while reading, the position we sleep in can also have a huge impact on our sleep quality and health.
During sleep, we can lie facing left or right. But which side is better for you to sleep facing?
When you lie on your right side: Beware of the risk of reflux
Most people’s stomachs are located on the left side of the abdomen. Therefore, its contents are more likely to stay in place with the help of gravity when you lie on your left side. When you turn to your right side, the elevated position of your stomach can put you at risk for reflux. However, this may not apply to everyone.
Reflux occurs when stomach contents back up into the esophagus, causing a burning and painful sensation that can cause severe discomfort or even ulcer formation. Giving your body some time to digest food before bed is one way to reduce your risk of reflux.
Lying on the right: Not always bad
While the left side may seem like a good choice for people with certain stomach issues, sleeping on the right side has been associated with easier breathing in people with sleep apnea. The 2011 study took a group of people with this condition and evaluated how it was to sleep on the left side, right side, and on the back in terms of the severity of breathing difficulties.
“We found that sleep position had a significant effect on apnea events and [right-side sleeping position] reduced the frequency of obstructive respiratory events in patients with moderate to severe disease,” write the study’s authors.
Heart patients prefer to sleep on the right.
The precise mechanisms of how sleeping on the right side is associated with better breathing are not entirely clear, but were further examined by a 2018 study that examined echocardiographic changes in sleeping positions. They found that patients with heart failure preferred to sleep on their right side. This suggested that there was a self-protective mechanism for improving heart function that the person was probably unaware of doing.
The worst thing is to lie face down?
There seem to be conflicting arguments about sleeping on the left and right side depending on your health. But things are a little clearer in the case of prone sleeping. Sleeping on your stomach causes a significantly higher increase in intraocular pressure (fluid pressure in the eyes) than sleeping on your side, which can lead to glaucoma, optic neuropathy and vision problems.
Sleeping on your face is also more likely to affect your skin, putting you at greater risk of developing wrinkles compared to alternative positions that put less pressure on your face. These scars, known as sleep lines or sleep wrinkles, are caused by the tension coming from our pillow and crush our face at the points where gravity and resistance meet pressure and tension.
On average, we change our sleeping position 20 times during the night, and the longer we stay in one spot, the more chance it has to affect our skin. Sleep wrinkles tend to form in slightly different places than the wrinkles we get from facial expressions. While sleeping on your back is the best way to avoid these, the supine position can cause breathing difficulties, leading to snoring and sleep apnea.
As always, if you’re experiencing pain, breathing or digestive issues, it’s best to talk to your healthcare provider. But making sure you have a good sleep pattern and change your position throughout the night can be an important way to improve your sleep.
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