Here is another thing we all do (noticing a theme yet?), SLEEP. How we sleep, position-wise, is very important. How often do you spend 7 hours in the exact same position without moving? The answer isn’t never. It’s every day. Every single day, except for maybe my shift worker patients. Hopefully you catch up somewhere along the line.
Back to sleep, we need to talk about positioning when sleeping. If we can potentially be sleeping like a rock in one spot for 7 hours, we had better make sure it is a good position. The fun line I say about sleeping is, “the trouble with sleeping is you’re not awake.” You can’t know how stupidly you are laying if you are unconscious. This poor positioning adds up over time (7 hours, remember?). The facts on sleep are relatively simple, so that is good news. An easy problem to fix.
First off, sleeping on your stomach isn’t good. No more detail needed there. Ok some detail. Your neck is cranked one way or the other. Just imagine sitting looking as far to the right as you can for 7 minutes, let alone 7 hours. Not a good idea. Then there’s the loading on your spine, blah, blah. Don’t do it.
Side sleeping is good. Now a few posture/alignment tips that are easy (look at the photos). Have your legs at the same amount of bend as pictured with the thickest pillow in the house between your knees. This helps your back alignment. Second, you will do the same thing for your arms, for essentially the same reasons. Easy.
Sleeping on your back is also good. Put our aforementioned pillow under your knees (also pictured). This will bend the knees a little relieving tension on the back for 7 hours. Not a bad thing. Keep your arms from going over your head and you are all set. (For fun, ask me my space station analogy next time you see me to explain this all in more detail, it’s fun).
Until next time, sleep well and proper.