Sleep story: How position in bed can impact health

Sleep is something we cannot go without. Like water and food, if you don’t sleep, your systems will eventually shut down.

Nowadays, we often treat sleep as a weakness. Have you ever heard a colleague mention they never sleep more than five hours a night? That they work 12-hour days? You might get a twinge of self-doubt or wish you could do something similar.

We shouldn’t be impressed, because internally their body is struggling to function. They will age faster, have a weakened immune system, be less interested in sex, store more fat, and be at a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. Doesn’t have the same ring to it now, does it?

Sleep is the ultimate recharger and chance to reset after a stress response. It also helps to heal and repair our bodies. The best place to start is with eight hours sleep, but some people will need slightly more and others less. The minimum you should be having is six hours a night and it’s likely that your body will need more.

After one night of little or no sleep, we will be tired and often short-tempered. If this rolls on for many days, weeks, or months it will affect our general health and mood. We won’t be able to think as clearly, and our immune system will become compromised. If you can, you could try topping up your sleep with naps during the day, but it’s better to have it all in one go at night.

This is because the quality of our sleep is also important. If we are constantly waking up, then we can’t access the deep sleep, where the body repairs, nor the later REM sleep, which aids our mental processes. We cycle through the four stages of sleep throughout the night and if we are woken up, the cycle must restart and there is less balance between them.

We tend to have more deep sleep in the first hours and more REM in the later ones. Research shows that we get more deep sleep before midnight and therefore eight hours of sleep that includes time before midnight is better than eight hours after midnight.

In the last few years, I have been treating most of my clients in their homes. This means that I can assess how they sit on their sofa or at the dinner table, their sleeping position and how many pillows they use during the night. I’m always asked what the best type of mattress and pillows are.

My advice is that it isn’t as simple as just mattresses and pillows. What’s really important is our sleeping position and whether it is right for any of the medical conditions we might have. The position in which we sleep can affect blood flow, oxygen supply, and hormone production. It can also affect our ability to heal, our digestion, and blood pressure.

The older you get, the more important your sleeping position is. In an ideal world, a therapist will assess how you sleep and whether this is aiding or even causing any health conditions that you have. If this is outside of your budget, here are a few tips on how you could adapt your sleeping position to the messages your body is sending.

SIDE-SLEEPING

Most of us sleep on our sides, sometimes curled up as we would have been before we were born. I am a side-sleeper and try to sleep on my left side. There are pros and cons of side-sleeping:

Pros

l Side-sleeping is good for stopping snoring as it helps improve our breathing through clearer airways.

l Sleeping on the left can help with issues, such as acid reflux and heartburn.

l Sleeping in the foetal position can help with lower-back pain, particularly if you place a pillow between your knees.

l It is the recommended sleeping position for the later trimesters of pregnancy.

Cons

l Sleeping on your right side can increase issues, such as acid reflux and heartburn.

l Side-sleeping can cause pins and needles or numbness in your hands because the blood flow is disrupted. Try to move your shoulder slightly forward to alleviate this.

l It’s not very good for weak shoulders.

BACK IS BEST

In general terms, it is thought that sleeping on our back is the best position, but this depends on the health conditions you have.

Pros

•l Sleeping on your back is good for the spine as it allows all the nutrients to flow freely into your discs overnight.

l It is also beneficial for your hips and knees.

l It’s good for digestion.

l Reduces the risk of acid reflux.

Cons

l It can sometimes feel uncomfortable with lower-back pain. One way to alleviate this it to place a pillow underneath your knees as this takes the pressure off your lower spine.

l It can sometimes feel uncomfortable for neck pain.

l There is a greater likelihood of snoring and sleep apnoea in this position.

l Sleeping on your back is not recommended for women in their third trimester of pregnancy.

FRONT DOWN

Sleeping on your front is generally thought of as the worst position to sleep, but some negatives can be reduced with a few simple adjustments.

Pros

l Reduces snoring and sleep apnoea.

l If you sleep face-down, rather than turning your head to the side, it keeps your upper airways clear and open.

Cons

l This can be a damaging position as one side of the neck muscles lengthen, while the other shortens. There is also the risk of your neck joints locking.

l It can also put strain on your spine, which can put strain on your muscles, tendons, and joints.

If you can’t change position, then it’s better to have one of your knees lifted to the side and keep your arms raised rather than by your side. There will also be a lot of pressure on your spine if you have high pillows in this position, so it is better to have a lower pillow. You can also place a flat pillow underneath your stomach to take the pressure off your lower back.

James Davies is osteopath to stars including David Beckham. This is an extract from his latest book Body, published by Harper Collins