Jan 19th, 2013 by Jay Scott
Lexington KY?s Top Personal Trainer discusses sleep positions, and how they affect your looks, health, and vitality.
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Sometimes owning a Personal Training Business requires offering more than fitness, exercise, and nutrition advice. I?ve been discussing back pain with a few of my clients (I used to have this myself) and we finally got onto the subject of sleep position.
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As I type this everyone in Lexington is about to watch Kentucky stomp Auburn (basketball) ? then they are going to go off to bed. However, the position they sleep in when they decide to hit the hay is another matter entirely?
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Honestly, I never really considered my sleep position (not so good considering I?m a Personal Trainer), but after chatting with a few people (one of which is a chiropractor) I decided to alter mine.
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?I was a long time ?skydiver sleeper? ? that?s what I call it anyway; stretched out like I?m in a mid-air free fall ? head to one side or the other ? taking up most of the bed (no, I?m not married). Being forced to shift his position was always a real bummer ? and resulted in a crappy night?s sleep.
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I also had a lot of alignment issues ? sometimes throwing my back out for no apparent reason.
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What are some of these ?no apparent reasons?? Here are a few:
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Stretching in the morning
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Drying my hair in the shower (yeah that really happened)
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Getting things out of high cabinets (yeah, I?m short)
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I would usually throw it out mid-back; right between the shoulder blades. I?d be in pretty severe pain for a few days afterward.
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Never once did it occur to me that my sleep position might be the culprit.
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So now let?s discuss some pros and cons of the different sleep positions:
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Stomach:
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Pros: Good for snoring, open air pathways. That?s about it.
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Cons: Bad for joints, nerve impulses, throws spine alignment out of whack, gives you wrinkles (I noticed this has been much better since I switched from this awful position as well), flattens breasts (I don?t mind this on myself, but I will say as a red blooded male that that isn?t going to help you out on the old attractiveness scale)
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Fetal Position:
Pros: good for snoring; good for pregnancy sleep
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Cons: Restricts breathing, premature facial wrinkles, bad for breast shape, promotes back and neck pain, bad for arthritis
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Side:
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Pros: Does prevent back and neck pain, good for acid reflux, good position during pregnancy and helps prevent snoring, good for overall health
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Cons: Causes facial wrinkles (face pressed into pillow all night), causes breast sag because ligaments are stretched (hey, I researched this ? didn?t know they had ligaments either)
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Back:
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Pros: Helps prevent neck and back pain; keeps you from getting facial wrinkles, keeps breasts from sagging, reduces acid reflux, great for overall health
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Cons: Bad for snoring
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As you can see I researched this a bit ? and the overall winner is: BACK.
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Sleeping on your back will prevent wrinkles, keep your breasts perky, keep down indigestion, prevent back pain, aid with arthritis, and aid in overall health.
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When I read this I was faced with a decision. I slept on my stomach ? 100% the opposite of back sleeping. In fact if I woke up on my back I thought ?whats up ? did I get abducted by aliens or something last night??
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It was that strange for me to ever be on my back during sleep.
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So what to do? I decided that if I wanted to alleviate back pain, and stop wrinkling (the right side of my face was really showing a line from cramming it into the bed all night) I was going to have to bite the bullet and totally switch sleeping positions.
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I did it three months ago. Here are the results:
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1. My back pain is much reduced ? in fact I haven?t even had a ?close call? on throwing out my back (knock on wood) since changing to back sleeping.
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2. My wrinkles are much better. The ?smile line? on the right side of my face was becoming much more pronounced from sleeping on my stomach. I?m 33 now ? so what used to not matter ? now does. Since sleeping on my back it has started to fade and balance out with the other side. I must say it definitely aids in wrinkle prevention.
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3. My digestion is much better. I used to have acid reflux ? especially if I overate late at night (hey I don?t do it that often). Acid reflux was actually becoming a problem for me ? but now I have virtually none! Sleeping on the old back has tremendously helped in that regard as well.
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So how did I switch?
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Miserably. I must admit it took me 6 weeks to get used to sleeping on my back ? and my sleep quality was down for that long. I just wasn?t comfortable. I can sum up the experience in two words. It sucked.
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3 months in I?m fine ? and I sleep well and with comfort. But it was a miserable 6 weeks.
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The way I accomplished it was to sleep on my living room couch. I would put my legs over the arm of the couch to elevate them (you can use a pillow for this in a bed) and pin my side into the back of the couch.
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That?s the only way I could keep myself from rolling over once I was asleep. Now I?m used to sleeping on the couch and sleeping in the bed feels funny.
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I am about to transition back to the bed though ? I think I can control my ?stomach sleeping urge? now.
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This whole thing has resulted in a change of my language as well ? now I tell people ?It?s late; I?ve got to get up early ? I?m going home and going straight to couch.? Haha. I kill me.
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Think about this blog and how it can possibly reduce some of your issues ? then decide if you want to take the plunge and become a back sleeper.
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If you already sleep on your back ? trust me, you don?t know how lucky you are ? as for the rest of us; well, I still think it?s worth the discomfort to change your sleeping habits and to start sleeping on your back. I know it?s been worth it for me.
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nil desperandum ? NEVER GIVE UP!!!!
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Jay Scott
1050 Chinoe Rd. Suite 104
Lexington, KY 40502
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Source: http://www.cefitness.net/personal-trainer-advice-sleep-positions
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