Healthy Sleeping Positions

If sitting for too long is bad for you, is holding the same position during sleep even worse? It depends on your sleeping posture. We at the Carolina Chiropractic Center treat lots of people who have unwittingly strained their back and neck muscles by maintaining a strenuous posture for hours, and we want to teach people to sleep in a way that will actually help them rest.

The most dangerous position to sleep in is on your stomach. Doing this puts your back out of alignment, forces your head to turn away from your torso, and pushes the neck backward. It also puts pressure on the front of the body, which is not built to support the rest.

The best position to sleep in for spinal health is on your back. Doing this keep the entire spine in alignment and minimizes pressure on the body. However, it also creates a risk of sagging throat tissue blocking your airways. Snoring and sleep apnea are most common in people who sleep on their backs, though they are the least likely to suffer back pain.

Sleeping on your side may be a good compromise position. The main thing you need to be cautious of is not to curl up too much. Ideally, the neck should hardly bend forward at all. Many people also hold a pillow between their knees to maintain skeletal alignment.

Dr. James Huggins operates the Carolina Chiropractic Center at 1627 Suite C, South Irby, Florence, South Carolina, 29505. To set up an appointment, call 843-665-9192 or visit CarolinaChiroCenter.com and fill out a contact form.