Zhang, a doctor of chiropractic medicine in the United States, said that although the wrong sleeping position will not directly lead to insomnia, it will aggravate the original soreness, pain and bad posture of the body and may interfere with the quality of sleep. I can't sleep well for a long time, and my body has been in a state of overwork or stress. My spinal joints and muscles not only can't relax well, but also often send out painful protest signals, and other chronic diseases will follow.
Guess! Which sleeping position is more comfortable and healthy?
A healthy and happy life begins with a good sleep, but the question is: what is a good sleeping position? Which sleeping positions easily interfere with sleep quality?
Dr. Zhang said "sleeping" is the worst posture! Lying in bed will press your stomach, and your head will turn to the left or right limit. In this way, the spine will bear the double pressure of bending and rotation at the same time, which is particularly easy to cause pain. This posture runs counter to the goal of "sleeping can relieve spinal pressure" and is recommended to be avoided. While office workers and students lie prone on the table during lunch break, it is suggested to choose a pillow with a hole in the middle, so as to lie forward and not oppress the nose and mouth, so as to avoid turning the head to the left or right, which will cause relatively little pressure on the spine.
Although the posture of "sleeping on your back" looks the most comfortable, there is no need to worry that sleeping on your stomach and sleeping on your side will oppress your face and form wrinkles. It suits everyone, but it's not. People with sleep apnea are easily blocked by a loose and fat tongue when sleeping on their backs, and air cannot enter the lungs smoothly, which easily leads to hypoxia in the brain and affects the quality of sleep; Patients with gastroesophageal reflux are prone to gastric acid reflux when lying flat.
As for "lateral sleeping", it is considered as an active sleeping position in the medical field at present, which can not only overcome the shortcomings of prone sleeping position and supine sleeping position. A new animal experimental study published in the Journal of Neuroscience even found that extracellular β -amyloid protein, a product of brain metabolism, was eliminated more smoothly through the "glial lymphatic pathway" of the brain dredging system, which may help to reduce it.
Dr. Zhang added that sleeping on the side is the same, and it is recommended to sleep on the left side. Although it will compress the heart, the aorta will turn left after extending from the junction with the right ventricle, which is completely consistent with the downward direction of blood, which is more conducive to the normal circulation of blood. In addition, sleeping on the left side can also help the venous reflux of lower limbs, which can avoid the swelling caused by venous hemorrhage of lower limbs, especially for pregnant women. Holding a pillow between your legs also helps to keep the balance between your spine and pelvis.
Improve the quality of sleep ~ 2 actions before going to bed to help the spine relax!
Good sleep quality, in addition to mastering the directionality of side sleeping, the pillow used by the side sleeper is also the key. A little higher, you can choose the engineering pillow with "low middle and high periphery", which has the function of supporting and relieving the pressure of cervical vertebra. In addition, it is not difficult to spend 20 minutes before going to bed to do sleep-helping exercises, relieve the pressure on the spine, restore the intervertebral disc to a good state, and pursue "painless sleep" with normal spinal curve!
Dr. Zhang described that the intervertebral disc is located between vertebrae, and its structure is like jelly, supporting two-thirds of the body's weight. Its fine structure allows the pressure on the body to be evenly distributed to the next vertebra. In order to keep the intervertebral disc in a good jelly shape and not too stiff, it is recommended to do the following two actions before going to bed.
Action 1: Hold your chest with both hands or insert your waist, sit on a chair or bedside, slightly lift your head by 5 degrees to 10 degrees, and then slowly turn your whole body left and right, including waist, trunk and neck to the maximum, and repeat it for about 25 times. Through repeated rotation, metabolism is accelerated, and at the same time, thermal effect is generated, so that the intervertebral disc is close to the liquid, and the effect of relaxation is achieved.
Action 2: Take two towels and roll them into towel rolls. After lying flat, put the towel roll on the back of neck and waist respectively, and lie flat 15 minutes. This action helps to support the proper curve of the spine, restore the intervertebral disc to a jelly-like state, maintain the normal curve of the spine more effectively when sleeping, and avoid the situation that the more you sleep, the more painful it is.
The wrong sleeping posture will not directly lead to insomnia, but it will aggravate the original soreness and bad posture of the body and may interfere with the quality of sleep. Action 1. (Photo courtesy of dr. zhang) Action 2. (Image courtesy of dr. zhang)