Health Science | Healthy sleep starts with the correct posture

Sleep is a way to repair the body

Why do many people feel worse when they wake up?

Maybe there's something wrong with your sleeping position.

If you like when you sleep

Sleeping on your side + lying on your back + bending your legs

Simply put, it means that the waist protrudes forward when sleeping on the side

Place your other leg on the bed instead of overlapping it

Be sure to pay attention

This is probably after a good night's sleep.

The main causes of back pain and leg pain

People who keep this sleeping position for a long time

Although I slept well at night

But the damage to the lumbar spine is very serious

In the discussion area, many netizens said they had identified themselves with the person and said they had "back pain"

Long-term incorrect sleeping posture

Injury to the cervical spine and waist

Come and learn the correct sleeping position!

01 Sleeping on your back: the most recommended sleeping position

According to @科普中国, sleeping on your back puts the least pressure on the spine, and it is not easy for the muscles and joints of the whole body to deviate from the neutral position, making it easier for the body to relax and repair. This is the most spine-friendly sleeping position. However, there are also issues to pay attention to when sleeping on your back.

× Possible problems with sleeping on your back

1. The pillow should not be too high or too low

If the pillow is too high, the neck will be in a flexed state, which is equivalent to looking down at the phone. The soft tissues of the neck and upper back will be stretched for a long time, causing neck and back pain. It is like bending our fingers towards the back of the hand for a long time. It will not be uncomfortable in the short term, but the fingers will ache after a long time.

Similarly, if the pillow is too low and cannot provide good support for the neck, the neck muscles cannot fully relax, which can also cause cervical discomfort.

2. Don’t sleep with your legs bent

Many people like to lie on the bed with one leg bent and maintain this posture for a long time. The muscles on the anterior and medial side of the hip joint are over-stretched, and the pelvis is rotated, which in turn affects the lumbar spine and causes low back pain and hip pain.

√Correct posture for sleeping on your back

The height of the pillow should not be too high or too low when lying on your back , and the pillow needs to be placed behind the entire cervical spine to fully support our cervical spine and allow it to relax better. Recommended pillow height: After compaction, the height should be as high as or slightly higher than our fist .

When lying on your back, many people may find that there is too much space between their waist and the bed, which makes it difficult for their waist to relax. It is recommended to place a pillow under your thighs or knees, and let your lower limbs bend your hips and knees slightly, so that your lumbar spine can be more relaxed and lightly pressed against the bed surface, helping your waist and back relax.

02 Side sleeping position: Be good at using pillows

Sleeping on your side is also a sleeping position that many people like, but many people don’t sleep correctly.

×Possible problems with side sleeping

Similar to lying on your back, when the pillow is too high when sleeping on your side, the head will be forced to rise, so that our cervical spine will bend upward. Similarly, if the pillow is too low, the head will cause the cervical spine to bend downward. Both of these situations will cause the soft tissues and facet joints of the cervical spine to be stretched on one side and shortened on the other side, causing imbalance. Usually, the stretched side is more likely to have symptoms, just like a rubber band will have small burr injuries when it is stretched all the time.

In addition, many people are used to crossing the upper leg in front of the body. If you have a lover, congratulations, you can put your legs on him/her and basically keep your pelvis neutral. But if there is no one for you to put your legs on, it is likely that your legs will twist forward with your pelvis and waist, as if your spine is twisting.

If you maintain this posture for a long time, the soft tissues on both sides of the waist and back will be over-stretched, which will cause low back pain, back pain and even hip pain.

√Correct posture for side sleeping

For the general population, there is no significant difference between lying on the left side or on the right side. For people in late pregnancy, it is recommended to lie on the left side .

When lying on your side, the height of the pillow needs to fully support the cervical spine and the head, and keep the cervical spine parallel to the ground . You can place a pillow in front of your chest to support your upper arms and forearms , and keep the shoulder joint plane perpendicular to the bed surface, so that the shoulders are not overextended and the thoracic spine is not over-rotated. In addition , you can place a pillow between your legs to prevent the tissues around the upper hip joint from being overly pulled , and to keep the pelvis and lumbar spine in a neutral position to protect the back tissues.

03 Prone: The least recommended sleeping position

When lying prone, in order to maintain breathing, our head usually tilts to one side, and the cervical vertebrae joints on the side where the face is facing are under tremendous pressure.

At the same time, the activities of our chest and abdomen are restricted when we lie prone. During sleep, breathing efficiency is reduced, which weakens the body's ability to repair itself at night. This also results in reduced breathing efficiency during the day, and overcompensation of the muscles lifting the shoulders, causing neck and shoulder discomfort.

When lying prone, one leg usually opens to the side, which can also cause rotation of the pelvis and lumbar spine, leading to discomfort in the low back and hip joints.

Share and forward! Say no to back pain

Healthy sleep starts with the correct posture