Most people have often wondered if sleeping on your stomach has any health effects. Although there are benefits to sleeping on the stomach – as in, it can help with snoring and reduce sleep apnea – it can be detrimental to your back and neck.
India Today spoke to Dr Arun Chowdary Kotaru, Consultant, Respiratory/Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon about the complex idea of a sleeping position and its relation to health.
“Sleep is a complex condition for the respiratory muscles which involves both the primary muscles and accessory muscles to work fine. So, in simple terms, for a person to breathe, you require primary muscles like the diaphragm and the ante cursory muscles, but while sleeping, a person uses accessory muscles more. Lungs will not get adequate space to expand, which may result in hypoplasia. Eventually, a person may end up having respiratory issues,” said Dr Kotaru.
Accessory muscles include the abdominal muscles and the neck muscles which function when a person is sleeping on their stomach.
“If you ask a person to lay down on their stomach, you are restricting the movement of the abdominal muscles and other accessory muscles which are used as accessory muscles. Even the diaphragm, which is the primary muscle for respiration, is hampered because these muscles will not have any flexible movement over the stomach,” he added.
According to Dr Asmita Mehta, Professor, Respiratory Medicine, Amrita Hospital, Kochi, if you’re lying on your stomach, it puts strain on your back and the spine. “Because your weight is in the middle of your body, the pressure is on your back. Back pain or neck pain can increase during the daytime. This means that your back and neck muscles are neither getting rest in the daytime or during the night,” said Dr Mehta.
She added that sleeping on your back, on the other hand, evenly distributes the body weight. But besides lying on the back, lying on the left side seems to be the ideal position for sleeping.
Dr Kotaru explained that the only health benefit of lying on your stomach is when you want to avoid snoring.
“The common passage in the throat, where the air and the food meet called the pharynx, gets compromised when lying down supine (as in, on your back). There is a gravitational pull from the neck area. The chin, which is the only bone movable in the skull, moves slightly back and exerts pressure on the windpipe, leading to some amount of respiratory compromise. This is one of the reasons why people snore,” he said.
WHAT IS THE BEST POSITION TO SLEEP IN?
Once you sleep on the left lateral, the gravitational pull on the chin and the windpipe is taken off. “The right lung has a major role in respiration, which is why keeping it on the top part while sleeping on the left is great for the respiratory system,” said Dr Kotaru, adding that on the right side could add pressure on the right lung and even cause acid reflux.
Dr Mehta added that lying on the left side, especially in a foetal position, could also be an ideal position to sleep in. Besides this, pregnant women can find lying on the side the best way to get sound sleep.
“During pregnancy, you should lie on the side when you’re sleeping by adding a pillow under the belly because lying on your back will be painful,” said Dr Mehta.
A 2012 medical study suggests that “sleeping on your left side when you’re pregnant can increase healthy blood flow and provide the optimum oxygen levels for you and your baby.”
If you have a sinus problem, too, lying down on the back could be an issue. Therefore, lying on the side is preferable.
Dr Mehta said that the benefits of sleeping on the back, however, relaxes the spleen, a tiny organ that filters the blood.
She added that when a person sleeps on their back, one should use a pillow with a small width. When sleeping on the side, one should use a pillow with a bigger width.
