There are so many positions of sleep, and to be honest half the time you don't remember how you sleep, just the position where you start and where you wake up.

Some positions may be more ideal for your body than others and there are certain positions which are better suited for people with different injuries than others (Check out our other blog about how to sleep with injuries).

Often as an Osteopath I often ask about people's position of sleep as it can give a good gauge of some of the strains on different aspects of the body. 

Often people ask if sleeping on your stomach is bad or say “I know I shouldn’t sleep on my stomach” so let's go through some pros and cons of tummy sleeping.

Some of the cons about tummy sleeping is based around the position of your neck. Sleeping on your tummy with a pillow under your face causes you to extend your neck. This is not good for your neck let alone the fact that you have to rotate your head all the way to one side so you can breathe.

Your lower back is also put into an extended position creating a less optimal curve through your back. This may contribute to lower back and pelvis complaints. Often people who sleep on their tummy will bend one leg up resulting in a twisting or over stretching through their hips and lower back. Your normal movement of your ribs also needs to adapt because there is a greater weight with gravity on the front of your chest as well as the bed restricting the expansion of your ribs at the front. 

However, the positive of tummy sleeping is that for some people it is very comfortable and it means they have a higher chance of getting a good night's sleep. This is really important for many factors of health. 

How do you change sleeping positions? Well it’s not easy because it’s a habit and the other positions may feel strange. So give yourself some time to get used to it and cut yourself some slack. 

Make sure you set yourself up to succeed before trying a new position, so make sure you are tired and ready for bed, you haven’t had too much caffeine before bed or are trying a new pillow or mattress or bed. Try to start in the new position. If you wake up and noticed you’ve moved, that is ok, adjust to the correct position you want to sleep in or try again the next night.

If you can’t avoid sleeping on your stomach, then try to sleep with a flat pillow or even no pillow at all. This can help avoid you extending your neck. You can also place a small pillow under your hips to bring your lower back into a more neutral position.

If you have any aches and pains which you think sleep may be contributing to and would like some advice you can call us on 0416 161 411. 

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Dr Mariella Berry (Osteopath)

BSC (Osteopathy), MHSc (Osteopathy)