Getting those all-important eight hours is meant to leave us feeling refreshed and well rested.
But if you wake up with aches, pains, and like you’ve aged 30 years overnight, you can regret ever going to bed in the first place.
But one simple change could overhaul your sleep.
According to sleep posture expert, James Leinhardt, there is one sleeping position that can affect posture, and increase aches and pains.
In a recent TikTok video, James revealed that lying on your front is the worst position to sleep in – in fact, he calls it a ‘car crash of a sleeping position.’ Ouch.
He said: ‘You’re rotating your neck, you’re twisting it. You’re putting your head up and you’re fighting all the natural curves of your spine.
‘You’re compressing your vertebrate. You’re getting pins and needles, neck pain and back pain – and you still do it every night.’
James added that it’s not even a comfortable position to sleep in but said, ‘it’s just what your body is used to.’
But when a viewer challenged James, saying ‘it’s so comfy though,’ James explained further.
‘When I’m sat in this chair and slouched, I’m comfortable for about 20 minutes, maybe half an hour max, but then the pressure on the top of my sacrum and the way that my spine is slouched in the chair is going to cause me loads and loads of pain. Eventually I’m going to reposition myself and move up and improve my posture.
‘The familiarity of that position is an association of your sleep, so when you go to sleep this is the only position you’re familiar with that lets you get there.
‘But the second you fall asleep you start to toss and turn and wriggle around because you’re uncomfortable. It’s not comfy – it’s just familiarity.’
So, how should we be sleeping? It’s all about some tactically placed pillows.
James says you need one pillow to rest your head on – that must fill the space between the tip of your ear and the tip of your shoulder.
The next pillow goes between your legs. James said: ‘Put a pillow between your knees and ankles, that’s going to support and stabalise the hip and keep you feeling safer.’
Then you hug a pillow. ‘It keeps you more stable and you’re less likely to roll over,’ he says.
James recommends trying this new technique for 30 minutes every night to get used to the new position.
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