What is the best sleeping position to protect your spine?

Have you ever paid attention to your sleeping posture? Do you like to sleep on your back, side, or stomach? Don't underestimate your sleeping posture, it has a great impact on your health, especially your spine.

The spine is one of the most important structures in the human body. We need the support of the spine when we walk, stand, exercise, and even lie down. More importantly, the spine also protects the spinal cord. The spinal cord is a very important nerve pathway in the human body. The brain's signals for action are transmitted to the limbs through the spinal cord; and the sensory signals from the limbs are also transmitted to the brain through the spinal cord.

Therefore, any injury to the spine can lead to serious problems, ranging from back pain and numbness in certain parts of the body to restricted movement or even paralysis. What's more troublesome is that spinal cord damage is almost irreversible. When other parts of our body, such as bones and skin, are injured, the body will have a self-healing process, and the bones will slowly grow back and the skin wounds may heal, but after the spinal cord is injured, a large amount of glial scars will quickly form, which will prevent the damage from further expanding, but also hinder repair or regeneration.

Therefore, it is particularly important to protect the spine and the spinal cord in the spine. So, back to our original question, which sleeping position is best for the spine?

Studies have shown that lying on your back is the most spine-friendly posture.

When lying on your back, your entire shoulders, back, and pelvis will be in contact with the bed, so the pressure on the spine is minimal at this time, only about 25% of your body weight. When we stand, the spine will bear a pressure equal to the gravity of our body weight. When sitting at a desk, the pressure on the spine may even reach 150% of your body weight. Therefore, we should get up and walk around more when we sit to work.

In addition, when lying on your back, because the body is relaxed, the pelvis and shoulders are parallel, and the spine can maintain a natural physiological curvature. Note that our spine is not a straight line, but has a certain curvature. The cervical part is convex forward, the thoracic part is convex backward, the lumbar part is convex forward, and the sacrum (that is, the part below the lumbar spine and above the coccyx) is convex backward, presenting a large S shape as a whole. Therefore, when lying flat, it is best to choose a mattress with moderate hardness to support the spine to maintain a natural curvature.

When lying on your side, the pressure on your spine is about 75% of your body weight, which is a little greater than when lying flat, but it is also a good choice. However, when lying on your side, you need to keep your neck and hips in a straight line, and don't curl up and sleep like a "shrimp", otherwise the spine will not be able to maintain its natural curvature. In addition, when lying on your side, it is best to bend your legs slightly and stack them up, and don't stretch the upper leg forward, otherwise it will cause the lumbar spine to rotate, which can easily lead to scoliosis over time.

The prone sleeping position is the least recommended. In order to breathe smoothly, the head will tilt to one side when sleeping on the stomach, which is easy to cause a stiff neck. In addition, when sleeping on the stomach, the spine is not supported by the bed surface, and it is not easy to maintain a natural curvature.

In summary, the best sleeping position is supine, and you can also alternate between the two positions by sleeping on your side. However, as we all know, although you can try to use the correct position before going to bed, once you fall asleep, your position will be out of shape. Therefore, to protect your spine, you still need to pay attention to the details in your daily life, exercise regularly, avoid sitting or standing for long periods of time, maintain a good sitting and standing posture, and it is best to squat when picking up heavy objects, rather than bending over to pick them up. Only by forming good living habits can we effectively and permanently protect our spine.

This article is a work supported by Science Popularization China Starry Sky Project

Author: Duan Yulong

Reviewer: Zhang Qinghua (Chief Physician of Orthopedics Department, Shougang Hospital)

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.