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View Poll Results: Do you sleep on your back
I sleep only on my back 3 3.09%
I sleep on my back almost all night 16 16.49%
I can only sleep on my back for a short while 46 47.42%
I can't sleep on my back at all 32 32.99%
Voters: 97. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-24-2008, 01:07 AM   #21
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Thanks for all of the replies!

I'm surprised by the results. I guess I watch too much tv with people sleeping. I figured I was one of the few who didn't sleep on my back.

It ends up that most people seem to sleep just as I do. And maybe my crooked spine is more of the result of something else than sleeping position.

Martha

I won't go on a tangent about chiropractors here because for some people it's like a religion! But I will just say that I'm not a big fan of them to say the least.

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I went into my HMO for another reason and was just sitting there when a MD just by looking at me asked if I was ever checked for it. He tested me and of course I had it. My back never feels straight and one pant leg drags on the ground and my shoulders are uneven. I get a lot of mid back ache/pain with it and I loose a little height....that really dosen't matter since I'm a 6 footer even with it but I would be at least an inch taller with a straight spine.

I wouldn't have cared what a chiropractor told me!

Nords

Thanks. I am doing some stretching now. I need to start taking action because this definitely gets worse over time.

Jim
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Old 07-24-2008, 01:55 AM   #22
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I can only fall asleep on my stomach. There is no other option. However, over the last couple of years, I find myself waking up on my back more and more. But if I wake up on my back (during the night or early in the morning) I can only fall back asleep my rolling onto my stomach again.

I can't sleep on my side at all. I find that very uncomfortable and never fall asleep or wake in that position.

I also can't fall asleep without a blanket or sheet covering me.
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:15 AM   #23
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I can only sleep on my tummy, one leg over the body pillow, arms under my head pillow, and with a sheet or blanket.
This makes it hard when I get involved.....I ususally try to kick the other person out of bed!
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:21 AM   #24
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I have to have a blanket or sheet covering at least my feet.

Otherwise the under the bed monsters might nibble on my toes.
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:46 AM   #25
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I have to have a blanket or sheet covering at least my feet.

Otherwise the under the bed monsters might nibble on my toes.
Speaking of those under the bed monsters (such as the wolves that lived under my bed, when I was a little girl?)...

If you lie on your back while asleep, you are exposing your tender, delicious belly and vital organs to any wolves or predators that might like them for a midnight snack!!

I sleep with one leg straight, and one leg bent with the knee nearly up to my chin, on my stomach (but that bent leg tilts me towards sleeping on my side, so I checked that one). That way, I feel like I am poised for a lightning fast exit if the belly-snacking wolves appear in my sleep.

Seriously, I think it's instinctual with me and even though I am perfectly safe in my nice, secure house I can't imagine feeling safe, cozy, or calm while sleeping on my back.
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Old 07-24-2008, 09:37 AM   #26
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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?
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Old 07-24-2008, 10:18 AM   #27
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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?
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Old 07-24-2008, 11:28 AM   #28
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Quote:
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.
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Old 07-24-2008, 02:36 PM   #29
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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?
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Old 07-24-2008, 04:03 PM   #30
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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.
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Old 07-24-2008, 05:56 PM   #31
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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"
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:17 PM   #32
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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
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Old 07-25-2008, 12:23 AM   #33
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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.
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Old 07-27-2008, 01:02 AM   #34
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I was sound asleep two hours ago, until someone set of some firecrackers.
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Old 07-27-2008, 11:18 AM   #35
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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.
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Old 07-28-2008, 03:30 PM   #36
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I might start on my back if on the couch, but in bed I need to be on my side or belly.

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Old 07-30-2008, 06:28 AM   #37
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If I sleep on my back, I wake up with my wife's elbow in my side!
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