Sleeping on your stomach can be very harmful to your overall health.
It ruins sleep quality and also leads to several health issues in no time.
Read ahead!
Most people, as it turns out, don't usually care much about their sleeping position. But as research has found, which side you sleep on is highly important for your sleep-wake cycle, and also overall health.
Stomach-sleeping is extremely detrimental to your health. It feels comfortable and can reduce sleep apnea to some extent. But the potential drawbacks it has are contagious. Below, we have discussed the reasons why you should never sleep on your stomach.
It may cause strain on your spine
When you sleep on your stomach, most of your weight is in the middle part of your body. This stretches your spine, making it go out of the neutral alignment. This causes a severe strain through the spine, which may further cause stress in several other parts of your body.
It may cause neck problems
Needless to say, that while sleeping on your stomach, you need to turn your head to one side throughout the night. This causes your spine and head to go out of alignment and puts severe stress on the muscles of your neck. This may lead to numerous critical neck problems in the long run.
Herniated disk is a common neck problem among people who sleep on their stomachs regularly. It occurs when there is a rupture of the gelatinous disk inside your spinal vertebrae. This causes the gel to leak out of the disk and irritate the nerves.
It may cause back pain
Stomach-sleeping puts additional pressure on your back muscles. Also, it keeps your spine stay curved in a precarious position for long hours throughout the night. This causes stress in your back, and the result is back pain.
It may cause wrinkles and several other skin issues
When you are sleeping on your stomach, it puts pressure on one side of your face for a long time. This may compress your skin and lead to several issues including rashes, wrinkles, and more. This is more evident in adults, as younger individuals have higher amounts of collagen in their skin.
If you still want to sleep on your stomach, do use a thin pillow and choose a mattress that is specifically made for stomach-sleeping.
