3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Sleep Your Stomach

Before you lay down on that bed and fall a sleep, let's look at what you're doing to you body.

I understand that the last thing anyone wants to think about after a long day is how they are sleeping. Does it matter how you are 'RESTING.' Sadly it does. It impacts how you will feel the next day and over time this behavior will compound the symptoms that will become the very thing keeping you up at night and possibly unable to do your job the next day. 

The main problem with this position is that you must turn your head to one side in order to breathe effectively. People tend to consistently turn their head to the same side as a preference: the long-term result can be "wear and tear" on the joints of the cervical spine and unfortunately we also engage our arms while we're sleeping so our shoulder and wrist joints become victims of this whole process as well. 

3 Reasons Why It's Not Good for You

1.  Strain on the Spine

As you've probably already heard, many people who sleep on their stomach experience some kind of pain—whether it is in their joints, back, or neck. It is sure to affect how much sleep they get during the night. Such pains usually lead to waking up in the middle of the night, directly affecting the amount of sleep that you'll get, which then leads to a feeling of discomfort during the rest of the day.

This stress on the spine leads to increased stress on the rest of your body structure and, additionally, to pain in all parts of the body, since the spine could be considered as a pipeline for the nerves. It also leads to sensations such as numbness and tingling, which are rather uncomfortable.

2. Pain in the Neck

Just like with the spine, sleeping on your stomach may also cause neck problems. Unless you manage to find a way to breathe through the pillow, you have to turn your head to one side when you're sleeping on your stomach. This causes your neck to be twisted, putting your spine and head out of alignment, leading to some severe damage. You probably won't notice this damage after only one night, but the problems will unquestionably become evident over time.

One of the biggest neck problems that you certainly don't want to experience is the so-called herniated disk. This issue appears when the spinal vertebrae shift enough to cause a rupture of the gelatinous disk inside, causing the gel to leak out and irritate the nerves. This is very painful and requires professional treatment to heal.

2. Shoulder and Wrist Pain

Most of the belly sleepers I see have spent a life time with their arms wrapped around their head in an effort to find comfort. Over time this wears out the joints and ligaments. They state feeling numbness in arms and wrist pain.

If you must sleep on your stomach, I would recommend placing pillows under your torso and neck. This will at least lessen the amount of neck rotation that you need to breathe.

Conclusion

If you're among those people, I would advise you to try changing your sleep position as soon as possible to avoid these severe consequences. Of course, you don't have to do it immediately—try lying on your back or your side while you're relaxing during the day, and then it might just become your habit during the night. If not - I will see monthly for your lifetime as a maintenance plan for your sleeping habits. 

Nancy 

1.https://www.sleepadvisor.org/reasons-why-sleeping-on-stomach-is-bad/
2.https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/daniel-baumstark-physical-injury-and-rehab/two-sleeping-positions-to-avoid/
3.https://www.healthline.com/health/reading-on-stomach#gut-and-anxiety-problems