How important are sleep postures : The Tribune India

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Dr Manoj Kutteri

We all know children/teenagers love to sleep and most of you must be having a favorite sleep position. Curling up on the side, on your back or your stomach — different sleep positions define different comfort levels and relaxation to everyone. While sleep position is a matter of comfort and choice, it affects one’s mind and body a lot.

Body and sleep posture

How you sleep also trains your body to behave in a certain way.
For someone who sleeps on their sides only, it is but obvious for them to feel the tension on their neck and shoulder blades.
And this grows on to make your body posture the same.
The person will tend to hold tension on their shoulder blades and stand or sit with their back land.
Sleeping straight or on the back aligns the body posture and makes you stand or sit straight.

An average a person sleeps 8 hours a day i. e. 1/3rd of their lifetime they are motionless in certain postures where the mind and body get utter relaxation. Sleeping posture holds a lot of importance in defining our mental balance, emotional well being and health. Our sleeping posture defines our sleeping habits and that has a big influence on our moods, temperament, our personality and how we go about our daily chores.

Impact on mind and health

Sleeping on the back is an optimal sleeping position where the weight of the body is evenly distributed and there is no added stress on the body. People tend to get more deep sleep in this posture making them feel refreshed and recharges after a good night's sleep.

Back sleeping benefits the people with back problems, acid reflux and even saves from getting wrinkles or acne.

Sleeping on the sides, on the other hand, can reduce back and joint pain, helps brain flush out the toxins, and even improves the blood circulation. It extends relaxation and deep sleep but it can put extra pressure on the heart for the cardiovascular disease affected patients. Sleeping on the stomach can cause pain, discomfort and even neck pain. Shifting weight and pressure on body organs, sleep postures can affect your mind and health big time.

Dreaming and personality

It is interesting to see how our sleep postures can define our personality, moods and take towards life. While those sleeping on their back are often found to be confident and comfortable in their skin, the stomach sleepers are found to be protective, sensitive and perfectionists. The side sleepers are found to be open-minded, creative, relaxed.

But when it comes to dreams, these sleep postures have astounding effects on what you dream about. Disturbing dreams are often experienced by the ones who prefer to sleep on their sides, or their back. These people also have a tough time recalling what they dreamt. Stomach sleepers experience more vivid, creative and, intense dreams. They also tend to feel sensual, restrained or limited in their dreams. For someone who is been tackling nightmares or bad dreams changing sleep postures can help reduce their occurrence.

Avoid bad morning with good sleep sleeping postures

Of course, sleep postures and good sleep define the way one feels in the morning. And no one would want to get up surrounded with anxiety, negativity or pain. While comfort is the key to sleeping well, there are certain aspects that one can look into for body and mind health here. Training yourself to sleep in certain positions can help you target your health and a relaxed mind. Take the help of a pillow or comforter to get that extra support and try to sleep consciously with these to shift your focus and have a good night sleep! Sleep postures can define our body postures, mental wellbeing and above all our health concerns. What happens subconsciously is often a result of our conscious choices.

-The writer is Director at Atmantan Wellness Centre