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Sleeping position can affect your health. Choosing a good sleeping position will improve the quality of your sleep and you will get its health benefits. Conversely, a bad sleeping position will lead to fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, stomach ulcers, and back pain. Well, there are various good sleeping positions for you to apply, one of which is sleeping on your side. You can apply sleep on your right side as well as to the left, but which one is better? Should it tilt left or right?
Benefits of sleeping on your side
In general, it is recommended that you sleep on your side, so that the force of gravity can be maintained to keep your stomach contents. Side sleeping position can prevent neck pain and back pain, reduce the rise of stomach acid, reduce snoring, and is beneficial for people who have obstructive sleep apnea (cessation of breath while sleeping).
Oblique position is also recommended for pregnant women. This sleeping position is good for the spine. The reason is, in this position the spine can be elongated, so it will help relieve back pain during pregnancy.
Which tilt to the right or left is better?
The direction of the side sleeping position also has certain benefits. Sleeping on your right side can relieve pressure on your liver, lungs, and stomach. Meanwhile, sleeping on your left side can reduce stomach acid reflux. Sleeping on your right side can protect your heart from being crushed or stressed by other organs.
A study contained in The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology reports that sleeping on your left side is the best position for those of you who have digestive problems. When you sleep on your left side, the junction between your stomach and esophagus stays above the acid reflux.
Meanwhile, if you sleep on your right side, the circle of muscles that hold stomach acid will stretch so that stomach acid can flow into the esophagus. This can cause symptoms such as a burning chest (heartburn), cough, and mouth feels sour. In some people, the symptoms can be severe enough that you suddenly wake up from sleep.
Sleeping on your right side makes esophageal sphincter (the channel between the stomach and esophagus) weakens which makes stomach acid rise into the esophagus so that it makes a sore in the stomach. Sleeping on your right side for people with acid reflux will increase stomach acid and the esophagus takes longer to get rid of it.
For pregnant women, tilting the left side is also the best position because it helps blood circulation.
If you frequently change sleeping positions at night, try supporting your back with a bolster or pillow. That way, it will make it more difficult for you to change positions and sleep on your right side. If you have acid reflux, it is advisable to sleep on your left side so that you sleep better.
