If you sleep on your stomach, you might experience lower back pain, neck pain, or general achiness due to overstretching your spine, putting to much pressure on your hips and abdomen, or twisting your neck.
Many medical professionals recommend that you switch sleeping positions, but if you don’t want to stop sleeping on your stomach, there are many ways you can reduce the negative effects of your preferred sleeping postion.
Many doctors recommend using an additional, thin pillow under your pelvis if you’re a belly sleeper. This extra pillow helps eliminate that uncomfortable strain your back gets because its stuck in that stretched, curved position when you sleep on your stomach.
One option for belly sleepers to reduce spinal pain is to get a firmer mattress. Mattresses without sag or softness can offer more support to your midsection and spine and can help stomach sleepers more naturally align their bodies.
If, despite your best efforts with extra pillows and a better mattress, you still find yourself waking up with back, neck, or general achiness or numbness, try a few simple morning stretches when you wake up to reduce the tension and stress in your muscles and tendons. Remember not to overstretch though, as that can lead to more pain!
A great yoga stretch for belly sleepers is the child’s pose.
Another way you might decrease the stress on your spine that can cause your back and neck to ache is to try sleeping without a pillow. A high or too-firm pillow will increase the strain on your neck muscles and the twisting of your spine when you sleep, so no pillow is better than a firm or tall pillow.
Even better than no pillow is a great pillow made specially to reduce the negative effects of sleeping on your belly!
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