Is Sleeping On Your Stomach Healthy
There are conflicting opinions regarding the potential health benefits and risks of sleeping on your stomach. If its true that stomach sleeping indicates something negative about your psychology, sleeping in a different position could possibly change how you feel about life. Its also possible that sleeping on your stomach could pose risks to your health.
According to the Mayo Clinic, sleeping on your stomach can lead to neck and back pain. Other sleep experts suggest, however, that stomach sleeping is only harmful if youre sleeping with your head on a pillow. Dr. Stephanie Estima, for instance, insists that sleeping on your stomach is the healthiest way to sleep as long as you ditch your pillow for good. According to Dr. Estima, sleeping on your back can lead to reduced blood oxygen levels while sleeping on your side robs you of the head-turning action that is, according to her estimations, one of the best benefits of stomach sleeping.
Not enough research has been conducted into stomach sleeping to develop any firm conclusions regarding the relative safety or danger of sleeping in this position. If stomach sleeping feels right to you, try it without a pillow, and if you experience back or neck pain, try sleeping in a different position.
What Makes The Winkbeds Plus Stand Out
- This is the firmest of the WinkBeds mattresses, and contains very supportive coils as well as latex foam. Both are zoned, which makes the center of the mattress firmer than the rest. This is similar to the Zoned Support system on the Casper.
- Its a very durable mattress. Larger people can put more pressure on a bed, causing it to break down more quickly. This shouldnt be too much of an issue with the WinkBeds Plus.
- While it is a supportive coil mattress, the WinkBeds Plus also features a plush pillow-top, making the mattress quite comfortable as well. All of this and more has led us to rank the WinkBeds Plus as one the best mattresses for heavy people.
The all-foam Plank from Brooklyn Bedding is flippable, letting sleepers choose between a firm side and an extra-firm side. While firmness can be a bit subjective, we found the firm side to be about an 8/10 and the extra-firm side to be a 9/10. For comparison, the industry standard for firmness is 6.5/10, so both sides of this mattress are far above the average.
How To Choose The Best Mattress For Stomach Sleepers
Stomach sleeping is the least recommended position. This is because of the amount of strain that it exerts on the spine. But what if this is the only position that promises you the recommended deep sleep? Well, theres nothing much that you can do besides getting the best mattress for stomach sleepers. Luckily, theres no shortage of mattresses that work well for front sleeping in the market.
How to Choose the Best Mattress for Stomach Sleeping
When sleeping on your stomach, most of the weight tends to be concentrated around your midsection. This means that the stomach pulls the spine towards the front throughout the night. This could throw the spine out of its neutral position causing back pains. Also, tummy sleeping keeps your neck twisted for hours, which causes the neck muscles to feel stiff and sore when you wake up. With this in mind, lets get into what makes the best front sleeper bed
Firmness
Proper support is all that you want as a stomach sleeper. You want a bed with enough pushback to prevent your stomach from digging too much into the mattress. For this reason, we recommend going for a mattress that is medium to medium-firm in feel. Think of a mattress in the range of 5-8 on the firmness scale assuming that 1 is super soft and 10 is firmest.
Mattress type
Memory foam
Latex
Hybrid
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What Makes The Ghostbed Original Stand Out
- The Ghostbed scored an 8/10 on our firmness scale, so it should provide ample support for stomach sleepers. The firmness also makes it one of the best mattresses for back sleepers.
- Its great at isolating motion, plus it has a responsive feel, both of which make it easy to move around on.
- The bed has many cooling features. The gel-infused latex will help prevent heat buildup, and the added ventilation promotes airflow.
Read our fullGhostbed mattress review.
Your Sleep And Your Health
Sleep is one of lifes necessities. It can also be one of lifes simple pleasures. When you awaken in the morning after a long and refreshing night of sleep, you might feel capable of doing almost anything you set your mind to. When you dont sleep well, even small tasks can seem overwhelming.
Sleep is also very personal. What helps you to drop into sleep might not be right for someone else who needs to rest. That is why its so important for you to do your research about sleep needs, sleep health, and mattresses. We make that research easy. We have collected information about studies related to sleep and sleep health, and we have reviewed mattresses from all sorts of manufacturers, so you can make an informed choice. We encourage you to look through our articles and get informed before you buy.
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Stomach Sleepers With Back Neck And Shoulder Pain
Stomach sleepers using the wrong type of mattress mattress may experience pain in their back, neck, shoulders, and other body parts.
Since stomach sleepers frequently crane their head to the side rather than sleeping face-down, they often experience neck pain. Adults also often carry a lot of their weight near their midsections. Without proper support, a stomach sleepers heavy midsection might dip too deep into the mattress and lead to more aches throughout the body.
Additionally, when a mattress does not help the sleeper keep their spine and joints in proper alignment, their muscles may work overtime during the night in an attempt to better align the spine. Since these muscles cannot relax, the sleeper may wake up with more aches and pains.
If you wake up with pains that tend to diminish during the day, your mattress could be the root cause of the problem. The right mattress may be able to provide better spinal support, preventing undue strain and allowing your muscles to relax during the night.
Get The Support You Need With Casper
For stomach sleepers, side sleepers, and everyone in between, Casper has the mattress youve been dreaming of. While our Zoned Support designs make every inch of your bed a restful wonderland, our innovative AirScape® technology keeps your temperature regulated throughout the night. This means you stay supported, comfortable, and cool while you sleep, so that you can wake up feeling well-rested and rejuvenated.
Ready to give up on aches, pains, and restless sleep? Get a Casper mattress today.
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What Firmness Level Should Stomach Sleepers Look For In A Mattress
For stomach sleepers, the firmer the better, Dr. Baxi says. A firm mattress will help with optimizing your spine position, keeping it as neutral as possible. A softer mattress, by comparison, encourages sinkage around your shoulders, hips, and knees. When these points sink too low, your back arches more. A mattress thats on the firm side wont let your body sinkrather, itll provide pressure relief through these parts of your body.
For those who are curious, back sleepers will also benefit from a firmer mattress. Side sleepers, on the other hand, should sleep on a medium-firm mattress.
Iv Ghostbeds Mattress Pick For Stomach Sleepers
So, which GhostBed mattress is best for stomach sleepers? All 4 options are in the ideal range of firmness, with the top 2 firmest choices being the original GhostBed and the GhostBed Flex.
The GhostBeds layers of springy latex and gel memory foam offer cooling comfort, while the GhostBed Flex features individually-wrapped coils topped with gel memory foam and our exclusive GhostBounce layer. Both have a high-density base layer that provides ideal support, durability and longevity. Not too soft but not too firm, GhostBed will keep your pressure points happy while keeping your spine aligned.
Compare them below and check out some of our helpful reviews:
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Why You Should Consider Your Sleep Position When Buying A Mattress
If you often wake up feeling stiff and achy all over, the problem might be that youre sleeping on the wrong mattress for your sleeping position. The trickiest part of stomach sleeping is the twist of your neck unless you sleep face down on a massage table with a donut-style neck rest to breathe though, sleeping prone will subject your neck to some strain. Additionally, your hips and lower back can fall out of alignment with your spine on a mattress thats not supportive enough. The best mattress for stomach sleepers is one thats firm enough to support the hips while not being so firm that your joints hurt. Keep in mind that even the best bed may not fully fix your sleep woes, but certainly may be a worthwhile step toward getting back on track.
Which Is The Best Type Of Mattress For Stomach Sleepers
A foam mattress is going to be the most adaptable for all body types and sleepers. Foam mattresses also offer other benefits that other mattresses dont:
1. Pressure point relief: memory foam adjusts to your body to relieve pressure, so its great for all body types and sleepers. Its especially good for stomach sleep.
2. Support: a foam mattress will support your body evenly, even when youre sleeping on your stomach. Foam allows your spine to remain aligned as you sleep.
3. Pain prevention: Memory foam is great for pain relief, especially pain in your back, hips and shoulders. Less pain means better sleep.
4. Low motion transfer: A foam mattress is going to give you the least amount of motion transfer, which is especially great if you or pet. In fact, the Leesa mattress passes the red wine testyou can jump, dive, or roll into bed without spilling a glass of wine placed on the mattress.
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What Mattress Types Are Good For Stomach Sleepers
Stomach sleepers should favor beds that offer ample support like hybrid mattresses that combine coils and foam, or supportive foam beds. There isn’t a particular type of foam that works best for stomach sleepers, as it primarily depends on the feel you’re looking for. There are plenty of firm memory foam, poly foam, and latex foam mattresses on the market.
Ideal Mattress Characteristics For Side And Stomach Sleepers
If you sleep on your side, youll want a mattress that helps maintain good spinal alignment by contouring your shoulders, lower back, and hips. Softer mattresses may not offer enough support, while firmer mattresses wont provide enough pressure relief.
Stomach sleepers, on the other hand, need a firm mattress that supports the spine. We kept these needs in mind when selecting our top picks.
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Best Sleeping Position For Snoring And Sleep Apnea
To minimize the risk of snoring, itâs usually best to sleep on your side. Sleeping on your back may aggravate snoring, but for a smaller number of snorers, back sleeping helps them feel more restful the next day.
Tips to Stop Snoring
If you snore, but still want to sleep on your back, try stacking a few pillows underneath your head to reduce the risk of snoring. If snoring wakes you up or if you wake up gasping or feel tired during the day, itâs time to see your doctor.
Sleep Apnea
Severe or loud snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea, a condition that causes you to stop and start breathing while you sleep due to airway obstructions. Sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
If you have sleep apnea, the way you sleep is well-known to influence how sleepy you feel throughout the next day.
One large study found that most patients with obstructive sleep apnea slept better on their sides, experienced less interrupted sleep, and were more wakeful the next day. However, this same study found that people with severe OSA actually felt sleepier the next day if they slept on their sides, as compared to their backs. Ask your doctor for sleep recommendations if you think you might have OSA.
Health Concerns For Stomach
Stomach-sleeping isnt great for your body mechanics. Even if you find a mattress thats firm enough to avoid sagging and prevent back pain, experts say youll still have to contend with a few other potential musculoskeletal issues. For instance, anecdotally, people who develop carpal tunnel or degenerative diseases in their necks often end up having to switch from stomach-sleeping to another position, said Raymond Hah, MD, assistant professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery at USCs Keck School of Medicine. Stomach-sleepers may also complain about neck pain or feeling as if their arm has fallen asleep, he added. Thats because when youre on your stomach, youre forced to turn your head to one side, and that narrows the opening through which your nerves leave the neck. You can end up with a pinched nerve, which can radiate down your arm.
If you sleep with your arms raised over your head, you may also wake up in the middle of the night with tingly or numb fingers, sore arms, or weak hands, all of which are symptoms of cubital tunnel syndrome, said Hah. This happens when your ulnar nerve is stretched.
Stick with a thinner pillow to avoid knocking your spine out of alignment and straining your lower back.
Whether youre feeling sore or not, try falling asleep in a different position from time to time. When you change it up, you wont end up overtaxing particular parts of your body, especially if you consider the medium-firm versions of our mattress picks.
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Plank By Brooklyn Bedding Highlights
Finding a mattress firm enough to support the stomach sleeping position can be a challenge, but the Brooklyn Bedding Plank offers two possible solutions. This flippable mattress has a firm side and a very firm side .
The dual firmness options mean this versatile model can accommodate not only stomach sleepers but back sleepers too. The Planks Mattress Advisor score for responsiveness is also good news for combination back-stomach sleepers, since a highly responsive mattress is easier to move around on.
Mattress Advisor testing reveals positive signs for sleepers with back pain, as well. It scores 9/10 in pressure relief and 8.75 in spine alignment. The 8/10 score for cooling is surprisingly strong for an all-foam mattress, although very hot sleepers might want to pay the extra $125 for the optional cooling panel.
The Plank mattress is competitively priced . The 120-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty are in line with industry standards.
180 days
Stomach Sleepings Effects On Your Back
When neck and back pain strike, we may head to the doctor to ask for help. In fact, according to Gallup, one adult in four asked for help with a neck or back pain issue in 2015. You may have ongoing back pain caused by:
- Excess weight.
- Repetitive movements at work.
- Lack of muscle tone.
If you do experience back pain, you are not alone. According to a survey by the National Institute of Health Statistics, lower back pain is the most commonly cited source of ongoing pain. In fact, 27 percent of respondents said they had this type of pain.
Sleeping on your stomach can put additional pressure on your back. Your favorite pillows can raise your head higher than your shoulder blades, forcing your spine to curve in an unusual way while you sleep. Tucking a leg up to your side as you sleep on your stomach can add another unusual curve in your lower back. Together, these two twists can make an existing back issue worse, and they could cause enough strain to encourage a new back pain problem to appear.
Therapies for back pain can include chiropractic care, physical therapy, pain medications, and surgery. While these therapies can and often do provide real relief, looking closely at comfortable mattresses to ease back pain could also be helpful.
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Best Mattress For Stomach Sleepers
Of all the sleeping positions, stomach-sleeping is the least common. Some of us may sleep on our stomachs periodically, but people who do so for the majority of the night are a rare breed. In fact, just 16% of us stomach-sleep on a routine basis. As physical therapist and Sleepopolis Expert Network member Dr. Keith Poorbaugh tells us, the position can also be tricky when it comes to your health. Thats why its so important to find the right bed. Find out more in our roundup of the best mattresses for stomach sleepers!
What Your Sleep Position Means
Jay Summer, Staff Writer
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Many people have wondered if their preferred sleeping position reveals aspects of their personality. Very little scientific research about sleep positions and personality traits exists, and recent studies find a tenuous connection between the two. Although there is some research linking sleep position and personality, study methods and definitions of different sleeping positions vary widely, and thus far researchers are unable to convincingly explain the logic behind the connection.
Despite the lack of rigorous research on sleep position and personality, contemplating your preferred positions could still be interesting and useful. Research about sleep position can provide helpful insights into your health and sleep, as people often consciously or unconsciously adopt certain sleeping positions to help relieve uncomfortable symptoms.
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