Are you a side sleeper, self-confessed starfish, or do you prefer to lie on your front?
Most of us are specific when it comes to our preferred position for a good night’s kip.
But experts say three small changes could prove beneficial for both your overall sleep cycle and health — specifically if you sleep on your side.
According to Dr Trisha Pasricha, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, the simple tricks can reduce pressure on the hips and even naturally straighten out the spine.
In an Instagram video liked over 25,000 times, she explained that not doing them could also worsen neck pain.
She said: ‘First, flex your legs slightly and place a pillow between the knees to help with your back alignment.
‘This also helps reduce pressure on your hips.
‘Second, take the arm that’s below you and give yourself a little hug while you’re sleeping.
According to Dr Trisha Pasricha, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School the simple tricks can reduce pressure on the hips and even naturally straighten out the spine
‘See how that naturally straightens out my spine.
‘A 2021 study found that side sleepers who didn’t incorporate these tricks woke up with worse neck pain.’
Experts have long warned that dozing off lying on the stomach can strain the neck as it is permanently twisted to one side throughout the night.
Dr Pasricha also recommended one other sleeping position, that depending on whether or not you take medication, could increase your chance of a deep, long-lasting sleep.
‘Sleeping on your left side is actually a great way to help with heartburn,’ she said.
‘Researchers have found that when we sleep on our left side, less acid is able to make its way up the esophagus.
‘That’s because when we sleep on our backs or on our right side, the stomach actually becomes positioned a little bit above the esophagus so contents can flow up into the esophagus more easily.
‘Sleeping on your right side, though, does have some advantages — especially if you’re someone who takes medications at bedtime.’
Sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, memory loss, diabetes, heart disease, heightened and unstable emotions, impaired ability to learn and a reduced immune response, leaving you vulnerable to disease
One 2022 study in the journal Physics of Fluid, by John Hopkins University, found that leaning to your right side when sleeping could speed up absorption of medications by about 13 minutes.
Leaning on the left side, meanwhile, was said to slow down absorption by more than an hour.
‘That’s because leaning to your right side allows medications to take the short cut out of your stomach into the small bowel, where they get absorbed,’ Dr Pasricha added.
It comes as research last year found that around around one in six Brits suffer insomnia, yet 65 per cent never seek help for their sleep problem.
The poll of 2,000 people, by The Sleep Charity, found nine in ten experience some sort of sleep problem, while one in two engage in high-risk or dangerous behaviours when unable to sleep.
Poor sleep has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer, stroke and infertility.
Experts have long advised that waking up during the night does not necessarily mean you have insomnia, which figures suggest affects up to 14million Brits.
Still, sleep deprivation takes its own toll, from irritability and reduced focus in the short term, to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
According to the American Sleep Association, nearly 70 million Americans also have a sleep disorder.
