What Does Your Sleep Position Say About You?

If you sleep in a fetal position, you’re probably sensitive or shy. If you sleep on your stomach, you are probably amicable enough with others but you hate criticism.

If you sleep on your side with your arms outstretched, on the other hand, you are probably stubborn and suspicious. So, do these personality traits match you based on your usual sleeping position?

Don’t worry if the answer is ‘No.’ These are the inferences drawn by Professor Chris Idzikowski, a sleep expert. He surveyed around 1,000 British people to arrive at this conclusion. This sample size might not have seemed too small for a regional study but since he was trying to arrive at universal conclusions, the sample size was insufficient. Also, the same result could not be obtained when the study was repeated. Another enormous flaw with the study was that it depended on the participants themselves to report their personality and sleeping position.

Many other studies like these have been conducted but the gist of them have remained the same- no strict relationship can be found between one’s sleep position and personality. However, there are legitimate medical studies that have discovered a link between one’s sleep position and their health. This article is going to elaborate on that, rather than focusing on personality traits.

What Does Your Sleep Position Say About You?

1. Fetal Position

Most women sleep in the fetal position, that is, on their side with their knees bent upwards and their arms tucked in. People who sleep in this position are the healthiest because this position is the best for those who have sleep apnea and spinal problems.

2. Free Fall Position

When you lie face-down on your mattress with your hands tucked in beneath your pillow, that is known as the free fall position. This one isn’t as healthy as the last position because it is almost guaranteed to cause neck problems. Your head is positioned at a higher level than the rest of the body. And several people make this position even worse by turning their heads to the side to prevent their faces from squishing against the pillow.

If you are determined to maintain this position, you should invest in a quality natural latex mattress futon. This is because a natural latex mattress futon adjusts its shape according to your body. Make sure you avoid a pillow or use a very thin and soft natural latex pillow while sleeping in this position.

Facing downwards might make you feel like you are suffocating initially but it’s the only way to keep your airways open in that position. Also, since a natural latex mattress futon doesn’t get heated like memory foam, the breathability of the mattress is much higher.

3. Soldier Position

Lying straight on your back with your arms angled downwards is known as the soldier position. Though this position seems like it should be healthy, it isn’t. That’s because in this position your head (rested on your pillow) is higher than the rest of your body. Thus, the normal spinal curve is not maintained. This also worsens the problems of snoring and sleep apnea.

To avoid these issues, opt for a natural latex mattress futon. It will make sure your spinal curve is correctly aligned when you fall asleep, even if you’re in the soldier position.

A natural latex mattress futon also balances the seven pressure points of your body: head, shoulder, hip and back, lumbar, pelvic, upper and lower leg, feet. Keeping a natural latex pillow under your knees also helps you support the lower half of your body so that you don’t get backache.

4. Starfish Position

This is similar to the soldier position, except here, your arms and legs are spread outwards. The ones who sleep in this position have the same health problems as those who sleep in the soldier position, since sleeping on one’s back is bound to aggravate one’s sleep apnea and snoring. But this starfish position does help with your acid reflux. A high-quality natural latex mattress futon can alleviate the back pain that you might suffer, due to sleeping in this position.

In Conclusion

You might think the worst that can come out of a bad sleeping position is a stiff neck or an aching arm, but that’s far from the truth. While snoring might not be considered a serious problem, it does have long-term effects on your health.

Chronic snoring thickens your carotid artery, which supplies blood to your face, brain, and neck. Thickening of the carotid artery reduces the blood flow to these parts and severe atherosclerosis can even block the blood flow to the brain completely. This is exactly why it is necessary to ensure that you are sleeping right and not snoring.

You cannot change your sleeping position in a day, because this is how your body is used to aligning itself while unconscious. However, you can help reduce the problems associated with each position by investing in a good natural latex mattress futon.