How to Sleep on Your Back for Optimal Rest
Medically reviewed by Valerie Cacho, MDMedically reviewed by Valerie Cacho, MD
Sleeping on your back with your face up, called the supine position, provides a range of health benefits. While it's not the most favored position, It can help ease back pain, prevent headaches, and help you avoid wrinkles.
While sleeping on your back may be helpful for some people, it's not the right choice for everyone. People who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and women in the late stages of pregnancy should not sleep on their backs. Based on your preference, you may enjoy better sleep quantity and quality sleeping on your side, in the fetal position, or on your tummy.
This article describes why sleeping on your back is worthwhile and how to train your body to do it. It also explains when sleeping on your back is not advised and sleep hygiene tips for getting quality sleep.
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Health Benefits of Sleeping on Your Back
The health benefits of sleeping on your back include improving how you feel and look after a good night's sleep. While any one position is not right for everyone, sleeping on your back has been linked with the following benefits:
Easing Neck and Back Pain
Easing neck pain and back pain while you sleep involves maintaining these body parts in a neutral, or straight, position. Extending your muscles, tendons, and ligaments too far in any one direction while you sleep can cause stiffness, muscle spasms, and pain when you awaken.
Sleeping on your back puts your spine in neutral alignment with the least amount of stress on your neck and back. It evenly distributes your body weight to avoid exerting pressure on your joints and preventing aches in your neck or back. In addition, a supine position allows outstretched ligaments to shrink and recover back to their normal positions.
When sleeping on your back, use these strategies to ensure your neck and back remain pain-free:
Keep your arms in similar positions to maintain evenness in your spine.
Use a pillow to support the natural curve of your neck while allowing your head to sink deeper. Or, roll a towel under your neck and use a flatter pillow for your head.
Using a pillow under your knees can support your spine's natural curve and take some pressure off your lower back.
Avoiding Headaches
While your sleep posture can contribute to neck and shoulder disorders, it can also contribute to the onset of headaches. Poor posture while you sleep can exert more pressure on your cervical spine (neck region of your spine), causing pain and stiffness.
Tension headaches occur when your neck and scalp muscles become tense or contract. These muscle spasms can be triggered by any activity that causes your head to be held in one position for a long time without moving. Sleeping with your neck in abnormal positions can trigger the spasms that cause tension headaches. The neutral alignment that occurs with sleeping on your back may help reduce these spasms.
Possibly Preventing Wrinkles
Sleeping on your back vs. other positions may help prevent wrinkles. In this position, your face is free from direct contact with your pillow, which reduces your risk of waking up with sleep wrinkles. Instead, sleeping on your back allows the skin on your face to remain evenly distributed without the threat of having more pressure on one area than another.
Sleeping on your side or stomach can allow your skin to become squeezed and crushed throughout the night. The effect can pull your skin in all directions as gravity presses your face against the pillow.
While sleep wrinkles are temporary and disappear soon after waking, they can become persistent if you consistently sleep on one side. At the same time, the natural loss of skin elasticity (your skin's ability to stretch and bounce back into place) that occurs with age makes it harder for these wrinkles to self-correct. Over time, you may develop a flatter face and more visible wrinkles on your sleeping side.
Learn More: Finding the Best Sleeping Position for Your Lower Back Pain
How to Train Yourself to Sleep on Your Back
If you do not regularly sleep on your back, it may take some time for your body to adjust to this new position. Or, you may find it easy to fall asleep on your back, but difficult to maintain this position. Try these strategies to train yourself to sleep on your back and stay comfortable throughout the night without flipping over while you sleep:
Allow your arms and legs to stretch out comfortably along your sides. This can help evenly distribute your weight on the mattress.
Place a pillow under your knees. Adjust the pillow as needed to maintain proper neck and spine alignment and comfort.
Place a pillow of an appropriate fullness under your lower back. A pillow that is too large can cause discomfort and disrupt your sleep.
Place pillows around your hips and midsection to create a barrier that keeps you in place. Strategically placed pillows can prevent you from rolling over onto your side or stomach as you sleep.
Practice breathing exercises to help you relax and fall asleep easier.
Ensure that your mattress and pillows provide the support necessary for proper alignment when sleeping on your back. Consider replacing a worn mattress or pillows with ones that provide support.
Learn More: How Back Pain While Sleeping Could Be Your Position
When Sleeping on Your Back May Not Be Right for You
No specific sleep position is right for everyone, and sleeping on your back may not be right for you if it aggravates preexisting problems, such as low back pain or neck pain. You may also want to avoid this position if you have one of the following medical conditions:
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Obstructive sleep apnea is a problem in which breathing pauses for short periods during sleep. These episodes reduce your oxygen intake, causing you to gasp and awaken at night. The problem can increase your risk of excessive daytime sleepiness, depression, hypertension (high blood pressure), insulin resistance, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), and other health problems. Research indicates that many people with OSA sleep on their backs for a substantial proportion of time.
The risk of OSA may be higher when sleeping on your back. OSA can occur during sleep when the muscles that keep your throat open become relaxed. In most people, this does not interfere with oxygen flow into your body. However, if you have a narrow throat, your airway can become blocked as these muscles relax. Having a large tongue, which may fall back and block your airway as you recline, can also increase your risk of sleep apnea while sleeping on your back.
Mild OSA may be relieved by lifestyle changes that can improve symptoms. These changes may include avoiding back sleeping, losing excess weight, and avoiding alcohol and medications that can make you sleepy before bed. Some people benefit from wearing an oral appliance that keeps their jaw forward and their airway open while they sleep.
For moderate and severe OSA, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is considered first-line treatment. The machine keeps your airways open by blowing in pressurized air through a hose and mask that you wear while you sleep.
Snoring
Snoring is the rattling, whistling, snorting, or grunting that occurs when airflow is restricted as you sleep. It can occur as a symptom of OSA, though not everyone who snores has this condition. However, most people with OSA snore.
Sleeping on your back can contribute to snoring because of gravity. When you sleep fully reclined, the base of your tongue and soft palate naturally collapse back toward your throat, narrowing your airway. Research indicates that sleeping on your side can reduce the frequency and intensity of snoring in some people.
There is evidence that positional therapy, which encourages people to avoid sleeping on their backs, can help modify this habit. Devices such as a head positioning pillow can be successful in keeping your head to the side and reducing snoring.
Learn More: How Sleep Position Might Impact Your Snoring
Pregnancy
Women who are pregnant are often advised to avoid sleeping on their back late in pregnancy. Research indicates that sleeping on your back after 28 weeks of pregnancy (the start of the third trimester) can double your risk of stillbirth. It can also triple your risk of having a small for gestational age baby (a baby smaller or less developed than is typical for the number of weeks of pregnancy).
By 28 weeks of pregnancy, the uterus is much larger and heavier than normal. Lying on your back puts the weight of your uterus on your inferior vena cava. This major vein runs up the right side of your spine and carries blood from your lower body to your uterus. Compressing this vein can reduce blood flow to your unborn baby. If you experience this drop in blood pressure, you may be warned by symptoms of nausea, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
Sleeping on your side during pregnancy is often advised because it promotes the greatest blood flow to your unborn baby. It also improves kidney function. However, research indicates that sleeping on your left side vs. your right side or any other sleeping position does not impact your risk of stillbirth.
Learn More: The Best and Worst Sleep Positions for Health Conditions
Other Sleep Hygiene Tips
Sleeping on your back is the best way to keep your spine naturally aligned while you sleep. However, there's more than your sleep position involved in getting a good night's sleep. Sleep hygiene is a set of healthy habits, behaviors, and environmental factors that can help you achieve better sleep quality and quantity.
Follow these sleep hygiene tips to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of a good night's sleep while sleeping on your back or in any position:
Maintain a consistent schedule of sleep and wake times: By keeping a regular schedule, you are training your body's natural internal clock, or circadian rhythm, to go to sleep and awaken at the same time. This can help you fall asleep faster and awaken feeling more refreshed.
Prepare for bedtime with a calming routine at least an hour before you get into bed: This prepares your body and your mind to relax and wind down.
Calm your mind before bedtime to promote falling asleep faster: Try stress-relieving practices such as meditation, yoga stretches, or progressive muscle relaxation. Complete plans for the next day before bedtime so you won't have racing thoughts about tomorrow's responsibilities while trying to fall asleep.
Avoid using electronic devices such as TVs, phones, and laptops in the hour before bedtime: Using these devices can cause mental stimulation that is difficult to shut down even after you've closed your screen. Instead, concentrate on activities like reading or journaling. A warm bath or shower can also be calming.
Maintain a comfortable sleeping environment by keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and free from noise: A temperature between 60 and 67 degrees F is optimal. Use earplugs or a white noise machine to drown out distractions.
Stop eating the three hours before bedtime: Also, limit caffeine and alcohol late in the day since these substances can interfere with the quality of your sleep.
Use the type of mattress, pillow, and bedding you find most comfortable: These details can ensure that external factors such as a lumpy mattress or scratchy sheets do not cause discomfort that can prevent quality sleep.
Learn More: Supine Position to Relieve Back Pain
Summary
Sleeping on your back may be right for you if you suffer from neck pain, back pain, or headaches. It can also help you prevent sleep wrinkles that can add long-term lines to your face.
However, sleeping on your back isn't advised for everyone. It can create and worsen problems for people who have OSA. It can also worsen symptoms in people who have OSA or snore. Sleeping in this position in late pregnancy has also been linked with a higher risk of stillbirth.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of sleeping on your back. Overall, the quantity and quality of your sleep can affect your general physical and mental health. Finding a position that helps you sleep without increasing health risks is ideal.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
