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Do You Know How Your Sleep Posture is Affecting You?

We all have a favorite sleep position. Some people prefer to sleep on their backs, others on their side, but some people also like to sleep on their stomach. The latter sometimes gets a bad rap of the three. This is often because sleeping on your stomach can cause your lumbar region of your spine, or your lower back, to forcefully extend beyond its normal limits, straining the ligaments in the back of your spine. This may lead to, or worsen, back pain. 

Here are a few quick tips that, when implemented, can do wonders for your back. We've divided them into the 3 most common sleep positions: Stomach, side and back.

 
Stomach Sleepers:
sleeping on your stomach
If your back does hurt when you try to sleep, try to ease the pain by placing a pillow beneath your belly. This will take the strain off your back and prevent back pain from developing.
Side Sleepers:
sleeping on your stomach
If you tend to sleep on your side, draw your legs up toward your chest and place a pillow between your legs. This simple, yet effective method ought to reduce the strain.
 
Back Sleepers:
sleeping on your stomach

If you sleep on your back, place a small pillow or a rolled up towel under your knees. This will help your lower back maintain its natural curve.

Word of caution: If after adjusting your sleep position your back pain still keeps you up at night and interferes with your quality of sleep or daytime function, talk to your doctor, so that they may examine you further and conduct some neurological testing and imaging to see what's behind your pain, in order to develop a treatment plan.

images: depositphotos.com

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Related Topics: health , stomach , sleeping , sleep position
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