Determining how someone sleeps affects every aspect of their well-being due to its direct influence on spinal alignment and breathing patterns. Those who sleep on their stomachs tend to do so naturally, yet the sleeping style delivers unexpected harmful impacts to the entire body system.
Stomach sleeping causes various negative effects on the body, resulting in low neck strainer, back pain, excessive joint pressure, and impaired breathing throughout the night.
But is it all bad?
People with sleep apnea might find stomach sleeping suitable as it helps maintain open airways. Yet, for most people, the drawbacks outweigh the advantages.
Knowing how this position affects your circulation system, digestion, and muscle tension will guide your decision-making regarding sleep habits. Scientists have discovered the true effects stomach sleeping has on your body during rest while demonstrating methodologies to reduce associated dangers.
Let’s learn all about the effects of sleeping on your stomach.
How Your Sleeping Position Affects Your Body
Your sleeping position has greater health implications than many people realize. It affects spinal positioning and respiratory health, subsequently affecting pain sensation while controlling your circulation system and digestion process.
According to the following chart, sleep positions influence various aspects of your bodily function. Let’s find out if Is it bad to sleep on your stomach.
1. Sleeping on the Back
- Best for spinal alignment – Keeps your head, neck, and spine neutral, reducing back and neck pain.
- The effects of gravity can lead to blocked airways because the tongue moves downward to obstruct breathing during sleep. The sleeping position is unsafe for pregnant women because it reduces fetal blood circulation, particularly in the late pregnancy stages.
2. Sleeping on Your Side
- The digestive system works efficiently during left-side sleeping, while acid reflux occurs less often.
- Shoulder and hip discomfort might develop from unbalanced pressure, which produces muscle stiffness. The friction from your pillow may result in facial wrinkles since it creates sleeping lines that accumulate gradually.
3. Sleeping on Your Stomach
- Tongue-based airway obstruction cannot occur when using the sleeping position.
- The positioning of your spine will suffer the most while sleeping this way because it causes neck rotation where pain occurs.
- Your ability to breathe can be limited when the chest receives compressive pressure from the sleeping position.
The Anatomy of Stomach Sleeping
Abnormal body position during nighttime sleep leads to physiological changes in several fundamental systems because the alignment distorts their normal functions:
- Spinal Mechanics: The human spine has its natural curves shaped inward at two different locations: the neck area, known as the cervical portion, and the base of the back, called the lumbar. Your body’s natural curves become misaligned due to the stomach’s sleeping position. When the head rests on its side for multiple hours, it creates excessive pressure on cervical vertebrae since an average head weighs 10-12 pounds.
- Respiratory Function: Your respiratory function becomes restricted while in a prone position because the chest cavity becomes compressed, thus lowering lung expansion. Due to this sleep position, the respiratory function of stomach sleepers generally becomes constricted.
- Circulatory Effects: The body’s position during stomach sleep generates pressure on blood vessels, which usually affects circulating blood flow, most notably in the arms that rest beneath the body. Compressed nerves result in “pins and needles” anesthesia during morning wake-ups for many people who sleep on their stomachs.
Long-Term Health Considerations
People who sleep on their stomachs have developed multiple concerning health trends.
1. Spinal Degeneration
The long-term incorrect spinal arrangement might result in several health problems:
- Disc Degeneration: Multiple MRI investigations indicate that people who sleep on their stomachs begin to develop disc-drying problems in their neck area at an earlier time.
- Postural Changes: The human body changes posture because neck muscles restructure during continued spine rotation. Individuals who move their head forward during sleep experience an additional weight load of 10 to 15 pounds per inch as they advance.
2. Sleep Quality Impacts
Being comfortable during sleep makes no difference to the overall sleep quality of stomach sleepers:
- More Microarousals: There are higher brief awakening events during stomach sleeping, which disrupts sleep cycles.
- REM Suppression: Placing the body in a prone position shortens REM sleep periods, which might affect memory storage capabilities.
3. Gastroesophageal Reflux
Stomach sleeping worsens acid reflux:
- Increased Episodes: The natural force of gravity creates a barrier effect against the lower esophageal sphincter, thus leading to increased acid reflux, which results in 40% more reflux events during stomach sleeping.
- Esophageal Damage: People who spend their nights with reflux suffer from a precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus due to persistent harm to the esophageal tissue.
Mitigation Strategies for Stomach Sleepers
People who cannot change their stomach sleeping pattern should use these adjustments to reduce potential damage:
1. Ergonomic Adjustments
- Pillow Strategy: The pillow strategy requires you to omit your head pillow or use a vertical thin pillow and put a pillow under your hips to get better spinal alignment.
- Arm Positioning: To prevent nerve compression, maintain your arms at your sides instead of resting them under your body.
- Head Rotation: Head rotation must alternate between right and left swirling positions to reduce strain throughout nighttime sleep.
2. Supportive Products
- Specialty Pillows: Specialty pillows feature cutouts on their surface to allow for facing-down breathing while providing the correct spinal alignment support.
- Mattress Selection: People who sleep on their stomachs need medium-firm mattresses that deliver perfect support alongside comfortable rest.
When to Consult a Professional
Seek medical advice if you experience:
- Prolonged neck or back pain occurring in the morning that exceeds thirty minutes after waking
- Frequent numbness/tingling in extremities
- New onset headaches upon waking
- Sleep apnea
- Uncontrolled acid reflux symptoms
Conclusion
Stomach sleeping feels comfortable to several people, but the net impact on spine alignment, airflow, and circulation systems leads to drawbacks in terms of health.
Gaining knowledge about these negative effects enables you to make wiser decisions when it comes to sleep position and protective strategies.
Stomach sleepers who wish to minimize their sleep challenges can achieve better results by making minor adjustments to their position.
