Dangers of sleeping on your stomach
Fthe Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, sleeping on your stomach is bad for your back, as it places a certain amount of strain and pressure on your spine. The reason behind this is the fact that the middle part of your body is exactly where most of the weight is, making it difficult to maintain a neutral position of the spine during the night.
The other damage it does is that it causes pain in your neck. Just like with the spine, sleeping on your stomach may also cause neck problems. When you sleep on your stomach, you have to turn your neck and this causes your neck to twist, putting your spine and head out of alignment-leading to some severe damage. You probably won’t notice this damage after only one night, but the problems will unquestionably become evident over time. One of the biggest neck problems that you certainly don’t want to experience is the so-called herniated disk. This issue appears when the spinal vertebrae shift enough to cause a rupture of the gelatinous disk inside, causing the gel to leak and irritate the nerves. This is very painful and requires professional treatment. or most people, lying face down is a habit, but it’s an unhealthy habit. Lying on your stomach is quite dangerous to your spine and your back muscles. Although, there’s an exemption for babies. Sleeping flat on the stomach is actually best for babies as this position helps them sleep better because their spines haven’t stiffened. For overweight individuals, hypertensive individuals and people struggling with heart related issues, it is best to sleep on your left side.
The first damage that this sleeping position does is placing a sprain on your spine. As you’ve probably heard, many people who sleep on their stomach experience some kind of pain; whether it is in their joints, back, or neck. It is sure to affect how much sleep they get during the night. Such pains usually lead to waking up in the middle of the night, directly affecting the amount of sleep that you’ll get, which then leads to a feeling of discomfort during the day. It also flattens the natural curve of the spine, which can lead to lower back pain and other long term problems.
According to Dr. Ikechukwu Amadi of