The sleeping position is the body configuration assumed by a person during or prior to sleeping. It has been shown to have health implications, particularly for babies.
Sleeping preferences
editA Canadian survey found that 39% of respondents preferring the "log" position (lying on one's side with the arms down the side) and 28% preferring to sleep on their side with their legs bent.[1]
A Travelodge survey found that 50% of heterosexual British couples prefer sleeping back-to-back, either not touching (27%) or touching (23%). Spooning was next, with the man on the outside 20% of the time vs. 8% with the woman on the outside. 10% favoured the "lovers' knot" (facing each other with legs intertwined), though all but 2% separated before going to sleep. The "Hollywood pose" of the woman with her head and arm on the man's chest was chosen by 4%.[2]
Health issues
editSleep position in babies
edit
In the 1958 edition of his best-selling book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, paediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock warned against placing a baby on its back, writing, "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." However, later studies have shown that placing a young baby in a face-down prone position increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A 2005 study concluded that "systematic review of preventable risk factors for SIDS from 1970 would have led to earlier recognition of the risks of sleeping on the front and might have prevented over 10,000 infant deaths in the UK and at least 50,000 in Europe, the USA, and Australasia."[3]
Glymphatic system clearance and sleeping position
editThe brain parenchyma rids itself of harmful proteins through the glymphatic system, especially during sleep.[4]
Sleep position and snoring
editSnoring, which may be (but is not necessarily) an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, may also be alleviated by sleeping on one's side.[5]
Sleep position and gastroesophageal reflux
editThe right lateral sleeping position results in much more reflux in the night than the left lateral position and prone position.[6][7]
Sleep position and sleep paralysis
editSleeping in the supine position has been linked to an increased occurrence of sleep paralysis.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Good health rests on a good night's sleep/". 20 May 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Couples' sleeping poses uncovered". BBC News. 7 October 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Ruth Gilbert, Georgia Salanti, Melissa Harden and Sarah See (2005). "Infant sleeping position and the sudden infant death syndrome: systematic review of observational studies and historical review of recommendations from 1940 to 2002"[dead link], International Journal of Epidemiology, Oxford University Press.
- ^ Rasmussen MK, Mestre H, Nedergaard M (2022). "Fluid transport in the brain". Physiological Reviews. 102 (2): 1025–1151. doi:10.1152/physrev.00031.2020. PMC 8897154. PMID 33949874.
- ^ "Snoring and Sleep Apnea". American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Archived from the original on April 7, 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Khoury RM, Camacho-Lobato L, Katz PO, Mohiuddin MA, Castell DO. Influence of spontaneous sleep positions on nighttime recumbent reflux in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 1999 Aug;94(8):2069-73
- ^ Fujiwara Y, Arakawa T, Fass R (2013). "Gastroesophageal reflux disease and sleep". Gastroenterology Clinics of North America. 42 (1): 57–70. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2012.11.011. PMID 23452631.
- ^ Cheyne, J. A. (June 2002). "Situational factors affecting sleep paralysis and associated hallucinations: position and timing effects". Journal of Sleep Research. 11 (2): 169–177. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2869.2002.00297.x. ISSN 0962-1105. PMID 12028482. S2CID 37037694.