When it comes to sleep, most people focus on one number: how many hours they spend in bed.
But there’s another question worth asking: How are you sleeping?
Your body doesn’t simply switch off when you close your eyes. While you’re resting, your digestive system continues working, your heart keeps circulating blood, and your body carries out the ongoing processes involved in recovery and repair.
The position you sleep in may influence how comfortable those processes feel.
For many people, sleeping on the left side is a simple adjustment that may offer several benefits, particularly when it comes to digestion and comfort. It isn’t a miracle solution, and it won’t be the best position for everyone, but research and clinical guidance suggest that side sleeping can be useful in certain situations.
One of the most commonly discussed advantages of lying on your left side involves acid reflux.
Because of the way the stomach is positioned, sleeping on the left side may help keep stomach contents lower in the stomach, potentially reducing nighttime reflux symptoms for some people. By comparison, lying on the right side may worsen symptoms for certain individuals.
If you’ve ever gone to bed after a late meal only to wake up with uncomfortable heartburn, changing your sleeping position could be one small adjustment worth trying.
Keep reading…