As most of us know, we spend about one-third of our lives asleep, or for some of us, trying to be. During a healthy sleep cycle, the body has the opportunity to reach all levels of sleep including light, deep, and Rapid Eye Movement or REM sleep. Each level of sleep is essential to a healthy sleep pattern that repairs the body and heals the mind during each vital stage.
Bed Tech sleep experts are aware that many of us are spending much of our time sleeping on our sides, a position that can impose up to 30% more pressure on the curves of the body, like the hips and shoulders. According to the Sleep Foundation, in comparison to sleeping on your back or stomach, side sleeping is the most common naturally comfortable position.
No matter which position you're in, proper posture and spinal alignment play such a large role in getting good sleep each night. To help improve your sleep quality, consider being more conscious about which positions your body is most comfortable in. The Global Spine Care Initiative explains “a potentially modifiable risk factor that aggravates spinal symptoms is sleep posture.”
Research surrounding sleep posture and spinal symptoms in adults has discovered on average most people spent about 54% of the night on their sides, about 37% of the night on their backs, and merely 7% of the night was spent stomach-sleeping. Medical News and Life Sciences also says side-sleeping is naturally the most comfortable position for the majority of people. Most people gravitate towards sleeping on their sides for most of the night, and in most scenarios using an adjustable bed frame can allow the sleeper to be even more comfortable than before.
How Pain Affects Sleep Position
In the US, chronic pain has increased steadily, leaving us wondering, could the popularity of side sleeping be an effect of the severity of aches and pains that many Americans experience?
"I know many people find it [side-sleeping] to be comfortable because they're not putting weight on their joints," states Dr. Lois Krahn, a sleep specialist with the Mayo Clinic.
It's safe to say because flat or firm surfaces are less forgiving, they can cause unwanted pressure. Sometimes sleepers naturally turn to the side to take the body weight and gravitational pull off of the spine and lumbar curve. This can help alleviate pressure points by releasing tension, discomfort, or numbness, and allowing for a boost of blood circulation throughout the spine.
The home furnishing that most people are missing though, is an adjustable bed base to help make sleeping on the hips and shoulders more comfortable by cradling the hips and spine. The adjustable base, like the Bed Tech 6500 is quintessential to protecting your spine by helping you avoid laying flat to sleep.
A summary of the global burden of low back and neck pain studies and the Global Spine Care Initiative concluded overall that “Waking pain and stiffness were the most common symptoms explored and side-lying was generally protective against spinal symptoms.”
Unfortunately, chronic pain is on the rise, perpetuating stiff and sore joints and muscles. An adjustable bed, like the BTX5, can offer a convenient remedy for your aches, pains, or tension, or simply help you relax in bed more enjoyably. If you happen to sleep on your side to try to help alleviate back pain or pressure, look no further than a Bed Tech adjustable bed frame to boost muscle relaxation, manage pain, and enhance individual comfort while side-sleeping.
How Do Adjustable Bed Frames Work For Side Sleepers?
Our necks and backs may be out of whack, but luckily, side-sleeping has numerous benefits to healing the body, a sort of rejuvenation that is only accomplished through adequate sleep. A lounging position, like in a reclining chair, makes sense to most people. But being in bed sleeping on your side with your head and feet tilted up may seem senseless to some, but it can actually heighten your overall comfort quite considerably. If you’re one of the many who suffer from aches, back pain, or sleep deprivation, finding a comfortable position may seem next to impossible. Fortunately, a couple of simple adjustments to the base using your adjustable bed remote can make all the difference.
Elevating your adjustable bed frame by lifting the head and feet just slightly, helps you to better achieve ergonomic comfort and support to the curvature of the back and body. Sometimes lifting the base into a more upright position with legs lifted can be very comfortable to relieve back pain.
The hidden truth is that most people don't realize that while using an adjustable base with your mattress, a lightly contoured position from the base is actually perfect for side sleeping.
This is especially true if you happen to snore or have difficulties breathing from asthma, allergies, or other respiratory conditions. Potential advantages and specific benefits for left and right-side sleeping are:
Adjustable Bed Advantages for Side Sleepers
- Alleviates symptoms of snoring or obstructed breathing (Sleep Apnea)
- Can help reduce the risk of Varicose Veins through increased circulation
- Can help minimize inflammation through boosted blood flow
- Assists alleviating congestion or allergy symptoms
- Reduces aches, pains, or tension in the neck, back and hips
Advantages of Left-Side Sleeping
- Lymphatic drainage
- Can help to decrease pressure on liver
- Recommended the best position for pregnancy due to nutrient distribution
- Can assist the digestive process
- Can make it easier for the heart to circulate blood
- Can help control symptoms of reflux
Advantages of Right-Side Sleeping
- Easier breathing due to less pressure on the chest cavity
- Reduced pressure on the heart
- Potential to decrease nervous system activity
- Can help lower blood pressure and heart rate
- The heightened ability for brain waste removal during sleep
How Does Elevating Your Head and Feet Help Alleviate Problem Areas for Side Sleepers?
Enhancing your mattress with an adjustable bed frame, like the Bed Tech 2500, will give you the unique ability to customize the support and comfort of your sleeping surface. A perk like this one added to your bedtime routine can help alleviate many symptoms of health issues, or painful areas that can affect sleep quality. By elevating your legs using your adjustable base remote, you can tremendously reduce pressure on your lower back and hips, versus lying down flat. Lifting the pillow and head portion of the adjustable bed frame also opens up the airways for better breathing and reduced snoring.
Sleep restores the mind, and heals the body, and it is critical to feel loose, refreshed, and in a good mood when waking up in the morning. Getting good sleep is paramount to our overall quality of life. So, if you need help managing symptoms of health issues, don’t hesitate to look into an adjustable bed frame.
The innovation found with the Bed Tech 3000 adjustable bed frame with app capability can conveniently help you ease your symptoms of the following conditions:
- Sleep Apnea
- Acid Reflux
- Restless Legs
- Chronic Pain
- Inflammation
How to Promote a Neutral Spine While Side Sleeping
You can significantly improve your posture and support the curvature of your spine with an adjustable bed. While lifting your base into a more upright and ergonomic position, the middle curve of the adjustable bed frame cradles the hips, lower back, and bottom. Elevating the mattress, along with your head and feet can help drastically reduce pressure on the lower lumbar, neck, and shoulders. Evenly distributed body weight and space between the discs in the spinal column can help ease pain or discomfort, and neutralize the spine to provide muscle tension release and work towards the goal of total body relaxation.
Another comfortable position to soothe aches and pains with your adjustable bed frame is Zero-G. Although this feature is not usually enjoyed while side or stomach-sleeping, the Zero-Gravity position can help you feel like you're ‘floating like an astronaut’ by lifting your legs above the hips and heart. Allowing for little or no pressure weighing you down, or causing pain, this preset position on many Bed Tech adjustable beds delivers a dependable and convenient way to relax and take it easy before bed.
A relaxing nightly routine using an adjustable bed can help you wind down before sleep by gently experimenting with different angles and positions to see which can provide the best relief to your problem areas.
Adjustable Beds Offer Convenient Comfort for Side Sleepers
Undoubtedly, there is an art to accomplish total body comfort and posture for the best sleep possible. Bed Tech sleep professionals understand that there is an art and science behind your individual formula for sleeping better each night. Each person achieves their best sleep cycle differently, and your needs for support and comfort can also vary from night to night.
Bed Tech believes that sleep is just as important as the foods that we eat. ‘You are how you sleep,’ and each individual's needs to achieve it are unique. An adjustable bed frame can help ensure the routine you implement helps you feel rested and rejuvenated when you wake up in the morning.
In the past, the assumption has been that adjustable bed frames will only benefit sleeping on your back, but the experts at Bed Tech are here to clarify that is just not the case. An adjustable base is an innovative piece of bedroom furniture that can fulfill the needs of back and side sleepers alike.
Innovated with modern design, Bed Tech adjustable bed frames are part of a versatile
sleep system, offering a convenient way to ever-lasting, adaptable comfort for you and your mattress. Supporting the natural curve of the back by balancing the spinal column and evenly distributing body weight is what an adjustable bed does best. And, for side-sleepers, a slightly contoured and more ergonomic surface to align with the curves of the body is the ideal way to release tension or pain.
So, don’t hesitate to start by customizing the best fit for your body shape with an adjustable bed. Complement a Bed Tech mattress with an adjustable base to provide yourself with proper body positioning for people of all ages and sizes.
An adjustable bed can help you add support to your one-of-a-kind shape and complete your unique formula to recover from sleep deprivation and restore deep sleep. It's easy to check out the signature variety of adjustable bed friendly Bed Tech mattresses, adjustable bed frames, pillows, and sheets to build your unique sleep system to fulfill better sleep and improve your quality of life for many years to come.