A sleep study has revealed the best side to sleep on with experts sharing why each side is beneficial depending on what your worries are, if any. A recent took a group of healthy individuals to look into left and right-side sleeping as well as how often they tossed and turned.
To carry out the trial, a flexible wearable sensor system was developed to monitor sleeping positions and turning frequency, helping to analyse their impact on sleep quality. The device, incorporating a flexible angle sensor and a six-axis motion sensor, was tested on 13 healthy subjects over 15 nights, 7 of which were male and 6 female.
Participants wore the device alongside a wristband sleep monitor and completed sleep questionnaires. Each also were noted as having no sleep disorders.
Which side is best to sleep on - left or right?
Results indicated that sleeping-position preference and turning frequency significantly affect sleep quality, with those who preferred right-sided lying and turned less frequently experiencing better sleep with them noting that "subjects with a right-sided preference experienced the fewest awakenings."
The reads: "They performed more than 50 sleeping-position changes to ensure the accuracy of the monitoring device. Subjects slept in their beds for 8 h per night for 15 nights.
"The results show that the most critical influencing factors are sleeping-position preference and frequency of turning. Data analysis reveals that subjects with a preference for right-sided lying and a lower frequency of turning had better sleep quality."
Which side should I sleep on to stop snoring?reveals that whilst the side you sleep on is down to personal preference, but either position can actually help you snore less and reduce back pain. It can also help reduce the risk of sleep apnea and improve overall health.
So if you want to stop , try and avoid sleeping on your back. The reason for this, according to the experts, is that if you sleep on your back, it's easier for your tongue to fall back into your throat, creating an obstruction that can result in snoring.
Because of this, side sleeping allows your airways to stay open, making snoring less likely to happen. In fact, the left side may be the best side to sleep on, particularly for those who are pregnant, or experience gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as sleeping on this side improves blood flow between the heart, fetus, uterus, and kidneys, while keeping pressure off the liver.
Why is sleep important?
The study explains that whilst we all know sleep is crucial for our health and recovery to allow us to restart again the next day, a lack of sleep is "associated with a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, incidental arterial calcification, and changes in inflammatory markers.
"Chronic sleep deprivation raises the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, obesity, and impaired glucose regulation, all of which impair judgment and cognition."
