SLEEPING ON YOUR SIDE
Dr Ehrlich believes sleeping on your side is one of the better positions you can fall asleep in.
He recommended using a supportive pillow for the head and down the side of the body.
‘From a structural, neurological and muscular perspective, as well as for your airway it is kinder to the body,’ he said.
‘It also happens to be better for digestion, particularly lying on the left side, considering where the oesophagus enters the stomach.’
LYING ON YOUR STOMACH
According to Women’s Health, in his book, A Life Less Stressed, Dr Ron Ehrlich reveals the positions he thinks we should and shouldn’t avoid in bed.
‘Stomach sleeping is the worst. It places strain on the muscles of the head, neck and jaw, strains the jaw joints, can also twist the lower back and pelvis,’ he said.
‘Imagine wringing out a wet towel and that’s pretty much what you do to your muscles and joints while you are asleep on your stomach. It can also restrict your ability to breathe well while sleeping.’
Shelby Harris, a sleep medicine expert and a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine agrees.
She told Business Insider that sleeping on your stomach puts pressure on your entire body.
‘You’re likely to wake up with numbness and tingling, and it can increase the chance of muscle and joint pain,’ she said.
FALLING ASLEEP ON YOUR BACK
Many sleep experts have said they think the overall best position for people to fall to sleep in is on their back, including Dr Mark T. Brown.
Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, he said people want to sleep on their back with their neck, head and upper chest slightly elevated.
‘This provides rest for shoulders and back and also helps acid reflux, (in which stomach acid flows backward into the oesophagus),’ he said.