Anonymous poll How many people sleep on thier back

[TromboneAl]

When I went to college I forgot to bring a pillow. I was too cheap/stubborn to buy one so I decided to learn to sleep without a pillow. I slept on the front, with face turned to the side for the next 30 years.

Then I decided that wasn't good for me, and changed to sleeping on my side. I found that changing your sleeping position is extremely difficult to do. But I did it -- aren't I amazing?

 

[Martha]

When I went to college I forgot to bring a pillow. I was too cheap/stubborn to buy one so I decided to learn to sleep without a pillow. I slept on the front, with face turned to the side for the next 30 years.

Then I decided that wasn't good for me, and changed to sleeping on my side. I found that changing your sleeping position is extremely difficult to do. But I did it -- aren't I amazing?

Why did you think it wasn't good for you?

 

[TromboneAl]

Why did you think it wasn't good for you?

IIRC, I was wondering if it was causing my neck pain or back pain, and research turned up things like this:

Sleeping on your stomach is not one of the recommended sleeping positions for back pain unless a pillow is used under the hips for support.

It did seem to make a difference for me. I sleep on my side with two foam pillows under my head and a pillow between my knees.

 

[mickeyd]

Dumb poll, but an active amount of replies, huh?

I go to sleep on my side (R or L) and stay there until my ear begins to hurt from the pressure, than I roll over the the other side. I may sleep on back or front during the night, but I'm asleep... so how would I know for sure?

 

[CuppaJoe]

I have to have a blanket or sheet covering at least my feet.

Otherwise the under the bed monsters might nibble on my toes.

<--- That's "Fluffy's" favorite game.

OK, I sleep on my side but don't ask what I'm wearing.

 

[Westernskies]

It depends on what I was doing when I fell asleep...



"When I die, I hope to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did. Not wide-awake and screaming like the passengers in his car"

 

[summer2007]

Want2retire

You brought up something that I thought only bugged me about sleeping on my back!

When I was about 14 or so I was sleeping over my friends house and he had two big dogs. His little brothers would open up his door so the dogs would run in and jump on us...just to be jerks.

Well the one time I was laying on my back and was asleep and his little brothers opened the door and I will let you guess where the dog jumped on me at.

This is a horrible way to be woken up. I went from being sound asleep to being in horrible pain and it was not fun.

So I do for sure feel vulnerable sleeping on my back after that.

Jim

 

[NW-Bound]

I thought with the current bear market, many forum members would sleep like babies ...

waking up, crying every 2 hours.



I toss and turn, barechested in bed, no cover. Fan's running, AC's running, I'm snoring, wife's kicking. Temp outside still 97 deg F. Temp inside 78. I am so used to having a fan blowing directly on me that I need it even in the winter to sleep (though I would have a cover, of course). I need a breeze on my face at least, plus the noise to go to sleep.

 

[TromboneAl]

I was sound asleep two hours ago, until someone set of some firecrackers.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i also nap on my back but sleep on my side. i wake up on side, stomach or back. when i need a nap i just fall right out. but when i try to sleep (not just nap) on my back the mind races.

i've always had trouble falling asleep at "normal" bedtime and since retirement i've let my extreme night owlism rule. all my family & friends consider that i have a sleep disorder but i was vindicated this year when british researchers discovered a genetic component to circadian rhythm. when i let myself sleep according to my body's normal cycle, it seems to favor vampire time, only i'm not on a 24-hour cycle but more of a 27-hour one.

i think being in different sync from the 9-5 world helped to hone my dreaming skills, as up until now i, almost every night, i had to remember how to fall asleep to get to sleep. falling asleep was always a very conscious act for me. it has never been like napping though now that i don't have to be up at any certain hour, falling asleep comes more naturally. this is a good thing. falling asleep should not be the cause of stress.

when i blew out discs l4 & l5, i splurged on the most comfortable bed i could find and i learned to sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs which relieves pressure on the spine. it is so comfortable that i now sleep with pillows on either side for when i roll-over.

also i learned to work on my abdominal muscles. yes, there's a six pack under all this lasagna. also stretching as mentioned is wonderful. as is swimming. between all that i have no back problems at all and almost all of my symptoms have dissipated but for a small bit of numbness down one leg and a reflex point that will likely never return.

when i was a little little kid i used to flatten my hair against the pillow on my way to bed so that my hair would not curl during the night like my brother's must have. i'm not familiar with the o.p.'s particular back condition but i can tell you that trying to keep my hair flat didn't work.

 

[popowich]

I might start on my back if on the couch, but in bed I need to be on my side or belly.

-Raymond

 

[StJohnsWood]

If I sleep on my back, I wake up with my wife's elbow in my side!