And sleeping on the left side is best because it keeps pressure off internal organs and promotes healthy blood flow.
Reflux and heartburn: If you suffer from heartburn, sleeping on your right side can make symptoms worse, Salas says. That's true for people who have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and for people who have heartburn for other reasons, such as pregnant women. Flip to your left side to cool the burn.
"Sleeping on the side seems to have the least negative impact on health," Dr. Pirtle says. Side sleeping is associated with several potential health benefits. Interestingly, the side of the body a person sleeps on can affect what benefits they may receive.
For those who have experienced a heart attack, lying back with the head raised a little seems to be fine as it lessens the load on the heart. They might also find sleeping on their left side more comfortable. However, sleeping on the right side is rather not recommended as it's possible to squish the heart by doing so.
It was suggested that sleeping on your left side might be bad for your heart because gravity makes the organ spin. The study found that this risk wasn't present when people slept on their right side. ECGs were taken of 10 healthy people while they slept, which is what the writers used to come to their results.
Drain the sides of your lungs by lying on your side.
Make sure your chest is lower than your hips. Place two or three pillows under your hips. Use a small pillow under your head if it helps you feel more comfortable. While you rest in this position, do belly breathing.
South-facing sleep is preferable and believed to encourage longevity, while north-facing sleep is considered detrimental to a person's health and should be avoided.
Back Sleeping
Sleeping on your back places less stress on your spine and offers better weight distribution than side sleeping. This position is known to support better blood flow and help stabilize blood pressure.
No clinical evidence suggests any particular sleeping position may help a person lose weight.
According to astrology, the wife sleeping on the left side of the husband strengthens emotional harmony... Read More. In Sanatan Dharma, during a marriage, the wife is asked to sit on the left side of the husband. This practice continues during pujas and religious rituals, where the wife always sits on the left side.
Summa notes that sleeping on the left side also helps minimize the effect of trapped gas in the stomach. There is often a gas bubble on top of food in the stomach, he explains. Lying on your left side allows for the gas bubble to be more easily released by belching. “That can minimize bloating and discomfort,” he says.
But Mayo Clinic experts say sleeping on your back is actually the worst sleeping position, especially if you have sleep apnea. "Sleeping on the back means that your tongue and jaw can fall down and crowd your airway. And many people snore more on their back," says Dr. Krahn.
Women who share a bed tend to sleep on the left side for safety and security. They also are more likely to sleep closer to the radiator.
Is It Healthy to Sleep Sitting Upright? Sleeping upright is neither inherently healthy nor unhealthy. As long as you're able to rest comfortably and get enough sleep, the upright position might be the best option.
People with heart failure might experience discomfort on their left sides and instead prefer to sleep on their right sides. Studies show that many people with heart failure naturally choose to sleep on their right side and avoid sleeping on the left side, and this effect is greater in people with an enlarged heart.
Specifically, sleeping on the side or back is considered more beneficial than sleeping on the stomach. In either of these sleep positions, it's easier to keep your spine supported and balanced, which relieves pressure on the spine and enables your muscles to relax and recover.
Elevating your legs and sleeping on your back are ideal positions to prevent clots. Avoid curling tightly in a fetal position or sleeping with restricted blood flow. Hydration, light movement, and medical tools like compression stockings can support vascular health during sleep.
A commanding position means you can easily see the door to your bedroom while lying in your bed. But the bed should not be directly facing the door. For good bedroom feng shui, the door should ideally be diagonal to the bed, as the diagram above shows.
Heart Health
Because of gravity, left-side sleeping may slightly shift the heart's position in the chest.
However, in more susceptible individuals, this may lead to a significant systolic blood pressure drop and inadequate heart rate compensation, which can drastically reduce blood supply to the central nervous system, leading to more pronounced lightheadedness and possibly fainting.
In addition to honey, lemon, herbal teas, and broth, many foods have anti-mucolytic properties that help reduce mucus buildup and relieve chest congestion. Some congestion-fighting foods include: Fatty fish (like salmon): Packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and improve lung health.
Bacteria land on the mucus-lined surface of the lungs and get trapped. Then little hairs called cilia go to work. They push the mucus up and out of the lungs with all the trapped bacteria, viruses, and dust. “It comes up at sort of a nice slow rate to the back of the throat,” Boucher says.