Why you should sleep on your back
This post goes out to my side and belly sleepers (and to the man who put me on ;)), y’all...we’ve been sleeping wrong. Your sleeping position is such a personal and automatic thing that a lot of us never think about it. As a former side sleeper, I never really thought about the effects my sleeping position would have on my face. Sleeping on your slide can actually lead to premature wrinkles, eek! And this makes perfect sense, you are constantly pulling at your skin and adding pressure to it when you’re on it for eight hours. The madness has got to stop!
Not only will sleeping on your back help avoid unnecessary wrinkles, but it’s great for your back health, it allows your head, neck, and spine to rest in a neutral position. This neutral position will ensure that your back isn’t feeling additional pressure, which could help if you’re feeling any back pain. It’s also great for acid reflux, just make sure that your pillow is elevated enough so that your stomach is below your esophagus to prevent acid or food coming up. You shouldn’t sleep on your back if you have sleep apnea or snore, as it could worsen both conditions.
I didn’t start sleeping on my back until about a month and a half ago (which is when I got this handy tip). Now, up to this point, I never really thought that it was possible to change sleeping positions. Don’t we just fall asleep in whatever position your eyes decide to close? Unless I can’t sleep, I never really think about ‘how to fall asleep’. The thought intrigued me, and I’m always down to try things out so I gave it a shot. I laid on my back, and as soon as I felt the urge to turn on my side, I shifted my legs and arms a bit until I found the perfect position to fall asleep in. This process probably took me about 5 minutes, but I am older and can’t stay up like I used to. It took me about a week to get to a point where I didn’t have to think about shifting my arms and legs to the ‘perfect’ position. Now, I just lay on my back, close my eyes and sleep as much as I can.
One side effect of sleeping on my back that I noticed was that I rarely get breakouts on my cheeks anymore! No matter how much I washed my pillow cases, I would always get a random breakout and it would just throw me off my game that day. This is no longer the case, as my face doesn’t even grace my pillows. One more reason to stick with my new sleeping position.
