Optimal Sleep Series- Part 1
The best sleeping positions, the mattresses, sheets, and pillows to help you recover optimally.
How is your sleep going?
We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping and, if the quality of our sleep is low, the entire body will be affected. If you read that and are concerned because your sleep isn’t the greatest, don’t worry! We are going to provide several tips to help you improve your sleep over the next two posts.
Today I am covering:
“the best” mattresses
optimal sleep positions (side, back, and stomach)
what to sleep in (sheets/clothes).
In part two, we will be covering how sleep can be affected by light, temperature, stress, etc. and how you can improve each of these things to boost the quality of your sleep. Keep in mind, sometimes it isn’t so much about the QUANTITY of sleep as it is about the QUALITY of your sleep. So, even if you can only get 5 hours of sleep, let’s at least improve the quality of that 5 hours and, if possible, the quantity.
“What is the best sleep position?”
The best sleep position is the one that you naturally want to sleep in - with a bit of help from bolsters/pillows. Stomach sleeping can, by far, have the biggest impact on discomfort for the neck and jaw than the other two sleep positions, but if you find yourself constantly going there, we will talk about a great support structure for you.
You can train your sleeping positions over time and, if you aren’t used to using pillows around you when you sleep, you may find that your pillows don’t stick with you at first. The good thing is that, eventually, you can train yourself to keep them in position even as you toss and turn.
Before I dive into each sleep position, it’s important to understand that there is no “one size fits all” approach to sleeping. Everyone will need to experiment with different size pillows, positions, and layouts. The images below may not be how you look while sleeping, and they are just a general guideline. It is also natural to switch between all 3 of these positions or only ever use one. It is also unrealistic for the arms and legs to stay perfect as they do in the pictures - they may twist and contort into numerous positions, which is fine and normal.
Back Sleeping
You will need two, maybe three pillows for this position - one under the head, one under the knee(s), and maybe one that you lean back against.
Back sleepers often complain about neck, upper back, or lower back pain while sleeping. You may want to use a very soft or thin pillow for the head as it may not feel great to have a large object pushing your head upward and forward. It is often suggested to have a bolster/thick pillow under the knees to help alleviate pressure on the back, but I find that this doesn’t last long for people.
I personally switch between all three positions, so if I am sleeping with a pillow between my knees for side sleeping, how the hell is it going to end up under both of my knees for back sleeping? It usually doesn’t. Therefore, the pillow may only end up under one knee, and that may be all the support you need.
Lastly, some people benefit from using the “hug” pillow from side sleeping as a backrest. This involves having the pillow underneath one of your shoulders so that you aren’t laying completely flat but are instead at a diagonal angle. I do not do this variation but have found that it can alleviate some upper back pain (achiness, throbbing, tightness) while sleeping.
Side Sleeping
Side Sleeping
Three pillows work amazingly for this position - one under the head, one to hug, and one between the knees. A fourth could be used for the back to lean against, like with the back sleeping above.
Side sleepers often complain of hip, neck, shoulder, back, knee, and leg pain. For the head, you may want a thicker pillow. (Wait, a thinner pillow for back sleeping and a thicker for side sleeping? How is that going to work when moving around? I will talk about that in the pillow section below). Depending on your size, the head can be very far from the mattress when side sleeping. If the pillow is too thin, the head will bend downward, and people may experience neck and shoulder pain as a result. Wedging a thicker pillow or rolling up your thinner pillow and jamming it against the top of your shoulder can feel absolutely amazing and keep your shoulder and head from collapsing downward.
Put a pillow lengthwise between your legs (this may be a thick or thin pillow depending on your weight). You can have the pillow start at the knee and end at the ankle or have it start at the middle of your thigh, cross between the knees, and end in the middle of your shin (obviously, pillow length and limb length play a role here). This helps people a lot with hip and back pain and obviously prevents the knees from pressing together. I often sleep with the bottom leg straight and the top knee bent - thus, you can just put the pillow under the top knee to keep the leg from dropping down and twisting the pelvis. Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with “not being in alignment” while sleeping, I am just trying to offer some solutions to help alleviate pain and allow you to sleep better.
Lastly, you may need a hug pillow or person/animal (but this gets hot). Holding a pillow (thick or thin depending on your size) helps to take pressure off of the bottom shoulder by allowing you to disperse weight onto the pillow. It is also quite comforting, and you may find that your top arm is less restless due to having something to hold.
You may also put a pillow behind you to lean against and will greatly take pressure off the bottom shoulder and the beck, but this can be a bit technical.
Stomach Sleeping
Stomach Sleeping
You will need two to three pillows for this one- one under the head (but not in the way that you think), one under the shoulder, and maybe one under one knee.
Stomach sleeping often causes problems for people’s necks and jaws when done the traditional way. Let’s go over my favorite way to sleep on the stomach.
The head pillow can be thin or thick. What is important is that you lay on the end of the pillow as shown in the picture. If you are sleeping on your stomach facing to your right, put your head on the end of the pillow so that your left ear and left cheek are on the pillow, but your face is pointed more toward the mattress. This allows the head to be supported but not completely rotated to the side or extended. This can alleviate a lot of pressure on the neck.
Using the same example as above (facing to your right), put a hug pillow underneath your right shoulder/rib cage to tilt the entire upper body back slightly. This will take even more pressure off of the neck.
Lastly, bend your right knee and flex it to about hip height. Doing so will tilt your pelvis back slightly and keep your upper and lower body “aligned.” Some people like to have a pillow under this bent knee as well.
Using the setups above, switching between positions, or rotating to the opposite side, is relatively simple but takes some practice. The only reason I am good at it now is that if I didn’t sleep a certain way when I had my disk injury, I wasn’t sleeping at all.
Let us know if these positions help you!
“What is the best mattress?”
As always, the un-sexy answer is, “it depends on you and how you sleep.” You may not even need to change your mattress if you utilize the sleep position techniques above.
In general, most people benefit from having a more firm mattress (~7/10 firmness) than a fluffy cloud. Although a fluffy mattress is comfortable at first, it isn’t very natural. Humans have been sleeping on lightly cushioned, firm surfaces for millennia. We prefer things that are more solid even if you are convinced that your 5-inch foam topper is the key to better sleep. A super cushioned mattress actually makes the sleep positions above not work as well. A firmer mattress + the bolstered positions above help many people.
Some people are health-conscious about what their mattress is made of (synthetic or natural). Search “best organic mattress” on Google and read through the reviews if this is the case. Katie and I splurged and purchased an Avocado mattress two years ago. It has been incredible, and it literally smelled like a sheep when it was delivered - that’s a good sign.
“What are the best pillows, sheets, and blankets?”
The head pillow is an essential bolster. For this, Katie and I recommend the Berkley Ergonomic Gümmi Latex Pillow. It is an organic pillow that is about $60-90 depending on size, and we have no discount code for it. We have used it for three years, and it is literally the best pillow we have ever owned. It works for all positions when it comes to back, side, or stomach sleeping. The pillow is very pliable and always offers the correct amount of support. If a $60-90 pillow scares you, just remember that we spend 1/3 of our life sleeping. You buy a cell phone for $1200 that gets replaced every 1-3 years.
As for the hug and leg pillows, those don’t need to be as fancy and, depending on your size, you will need to play with thicker or thinner pillows to find what works for all 3 positions.
Sheets and blankets matter. How a sheet feels or how warm/cool you stay is important. For this, Katie and I love Bamboo products. They are relatively low thread count but feel softer than any high thread-count cotton sheet you will ever have against your body. Bamboo also does an excellent job regulating heat and cold. It always keeps things “just right.” We also use a bamboo duvet and duvet cover. My only gripe with bamboo is that it takes longer to dry.
Conclusion
The biggest thing you can shift right is to use bolsters to enhance your sleep positions. If you only have one pillow, grab two descent pillows from amazon or Costco and try sleeping with the recommended positions above. It may be strange at first, but your body will feel excellent, and your sleep will improve.
Remember, the goal here is to improve the quality of your sleep. If applying the above recommendations also helps improve the length of time that you sleep, that is awesome as well!
In part two, we will go over ways to improve sleep by optimizing your lifestyle.
Until Next Time,
Andrew
PS: Our member Seth, a 38-year-old father from Utah, who fell 75 feet from a cliff 20 years ago - IS NOW FREE OF PAIN.
