• 0
Copy Link

Daina Grazulis

Knowledge Areas : Gardening, Cooking, Healthy Eating, General Outdoor Questions, Hiking, North America, Roadtrips, Basketball

Reputation Score: 95

Related Questions
Answer this Question

Submit An Answer

Answers ( 2 )

 
  1. J Starr 4425

    Is it possible you have an old mattress or pillow which is contributing to your pain upon waking?  I would check those two factors, also, along with trying the following:


    • Change your sleep spot.  Meaning, place pillow and all at the foot of the bed, or head for the couch or an air mattress on the floor, and try sleeping there a few nights.  You have to do this a few nights in a row to allow your body time to get used to it. Once when a young adult, very poor, my bed was two blankets folded into a pad on the floor for a mattress, and by the end of the first week, it was amazing how soft that "mattress" felt to me.
    • Use self suggestion (sometimes called auto-hypnosis)  each night as you go to sleep in your chosen position. Simply tell yourself, over and over as you go to sleep, that you will sleep on your back/without turning over/on your stomach/whatever all night long, and awaken refreshed in the morning.
    • If your body stubbornly resists any but the side-sleeping position, consider why you believe it to be unhealthy, when it is also called the "recover position" in First Aid/CPR. 

    I find nothing with medical evidence behind it that indicates side-sleeping is unhealthy outside of some very specific medical issues; in fact, the fetal position is considered the best for the spine.  Before you work yourself into insomnia over this, try to falsify the belief you have that side-sleeping is causing your aches; these sites might help with that:
    https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/best-sleep-positions
    https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/best_sleeping_positions_sleep

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/choosing-the-best-sleep-position


    Personally, I'd check out my pillow and mattress before I worried about and tried to change my sleeping position.

    UTC 2020-10-07 07:27 PM 0 Comments
  2. K Grace-Lily 3000

    Sleeping on your side is a good position to sleep in. Though if you're waking with soreness and pain it could be the bed that's not as comfortable, you may have worn a spot in it that is causing it not to be as supportive. And there could be other reasons for soreness. If you changed pillows recently, that could be a factor. If you've been in lockdown and isolation like many of us have, you could be sore from not moving as much as we all did before this started. 


    But yes, you can train your body to sleep in a different position, but what is likely to happen is that sometime during the night, your body will move to what is most comfortable for it. 


    I've done a few things myself to change body position in sleep - including moving my bed to another spot in the room, adding a mattress topper, and rotating or flipping the mattress to get a fresh spot.  I also had to do something more drastic for about two years after I'd sprained my neck, I couldn't sleep the way I usually did, turning on my side would stress the neck, so I started wearing my glasses on my head at night - the deterrent of having something on my head kept me from turning sideways. You can use tricks like that to discourage movement. I also tried wearing a scarf around my neck as added support, and that helped a lot. 


    You can try a few different things, but I think you need to trick the mind and body a bit - move to the other side of the bed is one of them, we tend to get into a pattern of sameness by routine, so change the routine. Enter the bed from the other side, and try lying down on your other side for a bit when you go to bed. But what's most natural for us is what's most comfortable, and your body may just like that position - you need to think of what's causing the pain. If it's the belief that side sleeping is bad for you, that's wrong - it's not "bad" for you, but it may cause shoulder pain - and that can be a product of not enough movement, sore muscles, dehydration, and even mineral deficiencies. 


    They say sleeping on your back is the best - not for me it isn't, it causes me a lot of pain, so you have to find what works for you. Your body may on its own start to change position if enough pain is generated, but for now, I'd try mixing things up a bit to get out of the pattern you are stuck in, and see how it does for you. You might even consider using a different pillow too. 



    UTC 2020-11-26 01:18 AM 0 Comments

To answer this question, you must be logged in.

Create an account

Already have an account? Login.

By Signing up, you indicate that you have read and agree to Sage's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy