The Best Way to Sleep
Hey, Dr. Rae with Pro Holistic Care. Today I want to talk to you about something that I get asked all the time in the clinic from patients: Which way should I be sleeping?
A lot of people wake up with pain in the morning, and they definitely know that something happening at night is contributing to that pain. So, I want to show you the best ways to lie down. This is better for your neck, and this is better for your lower back.
The best way that you can sleep is on your back. I know a lot of people don’t love sleeping on their back, but for your spine and your posture, it’s the best way.
Sleeping on Your Back
I’m going to have Sarat here be our model. I’m going to have you lie face up, Sarat.
You want to have a pillow. This is a cervical pillow with a little divot for the head here. You’ll notice that when your head and neck are in that little divot, your neck is straight with the rest of your spine.
You do not want your head propped up too far, and you don’t want your head flopping down either. That can put pain or pressure on the nerves in the neck all night long, and that will cause pain.
Second, we want to make sure that the low back is feeling really good and is nice and flat. So, we’re going to lift this up right here. We’re going to put a little bit of lift under the knees. That’s going to straighten out the low back and make your whole back more comfortable all night long.
Now, to make sure your shoulders stay nice and relaxed, we’re also going to give Sarat a pillow. Go ahead and just kind of hug that pillow. This is a nice way to rest your arms, rest your shoulders, and make sure that during the night you’re feeling good.
Sleeping on Your Side
Now, I also want to show you how to lie when you’re on your side. So, I’m going to take the pillow, Sarat. Again, the goal is to keep your neck and your low back straight.
I’m going to have you roll to the side. If you have a pillow with a divot in it, you’re going to want to move it over so you sleep more on the edge. Go ahead and lift your head up for me. Perfect, right there, so that your neck is nice and straight.
This time, we’re going to give her this roll to hold between her arms so she can relax her shoulders. We will put this between the knees so that her pelvis can relax while she’s sleeping.
You can see that the whole goal is for our spine to be nice and straight. The head’s not propped up. The pelvis isn’t twisted. If you sleep like this, you’re going to wake up feeling great in the morning.
Avoid Sleeping on Your Stomach
The absolute worst thing you can do is sleep on your stomach. Imagine if you walked around for eight hours with your head turned to the side. You’re not going to be feeling very good.
The same thing happens when you’re sleeping. Lying on your stomach can hurt your neck and your low back, so you should really avoid that.
Try these tips and see if you can wake up feeling good tomorrow.
