3 Danger of frequent sleeping on your stomach for health

What is your favorite sleeping position? Do you sleep on your back, on your right or left side, or on your stomach? The answer is definitely different. However, if you are accustomed to sleeping on your stomach every night, you should immediately change this habit. Not only does it make the body sick, often sleeping on your stomach can actually lead to serious illness, you know.

Why should you avoid the prone sleeping position?

You may have tried various sleeping positions to sleep more soundly and comfortably. Some people claim that sleeping on their stomachs can help them sleep better.

Unfortunately, the prone sleeping position has been named the worst sleeping position for health, you know. Although it can help prevent sleep apnea and habits snoring, experts agree that sleeping on your stomach provides more risks than benefits for health.

Some of the health hazards of sleeping on your stomach include:

1. Spinal pain

People who often sleep on their stomach every night often complain of pain when they wake up. The location of the pain varies, starting from the neck, back, or joints.

This is of course a result of the wrong sleeping position. Reporting from the Mayo Clinic, sleeping on your stomach can change the natural curve of the spine which causes stiffness and tension.

Meanwhile, your weight is centered on the midsection, aka the spine. When you sleep on your stomach, the pressure on your midsection becomes unbalanced, triggering spinal pain.

What's more, the spine is the main channel that is filled with many of the body's nerves. If the spine is experiencing pain, the nerves in the body will automatically be disturbed. That is why you may experience tingling and even numbness in some parts of the body after waking up.

2. The neck is stiff

Sleeping on your stomach also makes you unconsciously twist your neck to the right or left during sleep. As a result, the length of your neck and spine is not straight and this can be fatal.

Indeed, you may not feel neck pain the first time you sleep on your stomach. However, a chiropractic specialist from Cleveland Clinic, Andrew Bang, DC, revealed that the neck joint will shift little by little and lead to serious damage if not treated quickly.

You can experience severe neck stiffness, which in medical terms it is calledherniated disc. Herniated discis a condition when a disc in the cervical spine protrudes and ruptures. This leaky disc will secrete the gelatin in it which can then irritate the spine. You will feel excruciating pain and need immediate treatment if you experience this.

3. The fetus is squashed

Pregnant women often find it difficult to find a sleeping position that can keep them comfortable and safe. In fact, you need quality sleep so that the health of the mother and baby is maintained.

However, you should avoid sleeping on your stomach during pregnancy. This is because extra weight on the abdomen can put pressure on the spine and actually trigger back pain.

Not only does it have an impact on the mother's side, your baby will also be squashed if you force sleep on her stomach. As a result, the growth and development of the fetus in the womb is disrupted.

Sleeping on your stomach is fine, as long as …

In fact, it's okay to want to sleep on your stomach. However, provided that you do not have a history of certain diseases that can aggravate it. For example heart disease or shortness of breath.

However, as much as possible avoid this one sleeping habit so that you sleep more soundly and are safe for health. If you still find it difficult to change it, you can still sleep on your stomach by obeying the following rules:

1. Use thin pillows or even no pillows while sleeping. This method can help maintain the natural curve of the spine so that it does not tighten or stiffen.
2. Put an extra pillow under your pelvis (pelvis). Its function is to keep your spine straight and reduce excess pressure in the back area.
3. Stretch in the morning. A little stretch in the morning for 5 minutes can restore tense muscles in the body and help provide freshness in the morning.