Are you
someone who loves sleeping on your left side? If so, you’re improving your
health much more than you may think.
Your
sleeping position can determine how well your body clears toxins, and decides
how well your body will recover from the previous days’ events.
image:
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Sleeping Positions and Your Health
There are
several sleeping positions – your stomach, back, left side, right side – and
they all affect your health. They can even play a role in snoring, heartburn
and wrinkle formation.
Side Sleeping
A vast
majority of people sleep on their sides. I love sleeping on my side, especially
my left. Sleeping on your left side not only improves circulation to the heart,
but it actually allows the brain to remove waste more
easily. This prevents the build-up of Alzheimer’s-related plaques in
the brain.
Sleeping
on the left also takes pressure off the liver, and helps minimize symptoms of
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Holistic medicine designates the left
side of the body as the dominant lymphatic side, and so sleeping on the left is
said to better filter out toxins through the thoracic duct and the lymph nodes.
Sleeping
on the right can have the opposite effect. It can cause the lymphatic system to
run more slowly, resulting in poor toxin elimination and poor lymph flow
throughout the body. A sluggish lymphatic system results in a variety of
chronic diseases, due to build-up of toxins.
Once you
start sleeping on your left side you’ll notice that your body is more efficient
at toxin disposal. Your digestive system will begin functioning at a higher
capacity, and it will be able to extract more nutrients while disposing of
un-necessary toxic waste.
Back Sleeping
If you’re
one of the people who love to sleep in savasana pose, your back and neck will
be incredibly happy. The spine is straight, and not forced into odd
contortions. Of course, choosing the best mattress will affect how well your
spine and neck feel the next day. I swear by the beds produced by intelliBED, who use
Intelli-Gel, a gel that prevents your neck and lower back from misalignment.
Sleeping
on your back also leads to fewer facial wrinkles, because your face isn’t
squished up against a pillow. Sleeping on your back, however, can lead to
snoring and sleep apnea. It is also linked with worse-quality sleep.
Stomach Sleeping
Sleeping
on the stomach will prevent snoring and some cases of sleep apnea, but it is
actually one of the worst sleeping positions you could get yourself into. It
flattens the natural curve of the spine, which can lead to lower back pain.
Sleeping all night with the head turned to one side also strains the neck.
Learning To Sleep On Your Left Side
Breaking
the habit of sleeping on your stomach, back, or right side in exchange for
sleeping on your left will take some time and practice, but the body can
quickly be trained. Here are some tips to help you start sleeping on your left
side:
– Try
lying on your left side and press a full-length body pillow up against your
back. The pillow will prevent you from rolling over during the night, and will
ensure you stay on your left side.
– Keep a
dim light on your right side. Naturally (and un-consciously) your body will
want to turn away from the light during sleep, and so it will make it easier
for you to sleep on your left side.
– Switch
the side of the bed you sleep on, so that when you flip over to the left side,
you can still enjoy the same sleeping experience.
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