Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHealth BenefitsTraining YourselfWhen to Avoid ItOther Sleep Hygiene Tips
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Health Benefits
Training Yourself
When to Avoid It
Other Sleep Hygiene Tips
Sleeping on your back with your face up, called the supine position, provides a range of health benefits. While it’s not the most favored position, It can help ease back pain, prevent headaches, and help you avoid wrinkles.
While sleeping on your back may be helpful for some people, it’s not the right choice for everyone. People who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and people in the late stages of pregnancy should not sleep on their backs. Based on your preference, you may enjoy better sleep quantity and quality sleeping on your side, in the fetal position, or on your tummy.
skaman306 / Getty Images
Health Benefits of Sleeping on Your Back
The health benefits of sleeping on your back include improving how you feel and look after a good night’s sleep. While any one position is not right for everyone, sleeping on your back has been linked with the following benefits:
Easing Neck and Back Pain
Easingneck painandback painwhile you sleep involves maintaining these body parts in a neutral, or straight, position. Extending your muscles, tendons, and ligaments too far in any one direction while you sleep can cause stiffness,muscle spasms, and pain when you awaken.
Sleeping on your back puts your spine in neutral alignment with the least amount of stress on your neck and back. It evenly distributes your body weight to avoid exerting pressure on your joints and preventing aches in your neck or back. In addition, asupine positionallows outstretchedligamentsto shrink and recover back to their normal positions.
When sleeping on your back, use these strategies to ensure your neck and back remain pain-free:
Avoiding Headaches
While your sleep posture can contribute to neck and shoulder disorders, it can also contribute to the onset of headaches. Poor posture while you sleep can exert more pressure on your cervical spine (neck region of your spine), causing pain and stiffness.
Possibly Preventing Wrinkles
Sleeping on your back vs. other positions may help prevent wrinkles. In this position, your face is free from direct contact with your pillow, which reduces your risk of waking up with sleepwrinkles. Instead, sleeping on your back allows the skin on your face to remain evenly distributed without the threat of having more pressure on one area than another.
Sleeping on your side or stomach can allow your skin to become squeezed and crushed throughout the night. The effect can pull your skin in all directions as gravity presses your face against the pillow.
While sleep wrinkles are temporary and disappear soon after waking, they can become persistent if you consistently sleep on one side. At the same time, the natural loss ofskin elasticity(your skin’s ability to stretch and bounce back into place) that occurs with age makes it harder for these wrinkles to self-correct. Over time, you may develop a flatter face and more visible wrinkles on your sleeping side.
Finding the Best Sleeping Position for Your Lower Back Pain
How to Train Yourself to Sleep on Your Back
If you do not regularly sleep on your back, it may take some time for your body to adjust to this new position. Or, you may find it easy to fall asleep on your back, but difficult to maintain this position. Try these strategies to train yourself to sleep on your back and stay comfortable throughout the night without flipping over while you sleep:
Why Does My Back Hurt When Lying Down?
When Sleeping on Your Back May Not Be Right for You
No specific sleep position is right for everyone, and sleeping on your back may not be right for you if it aggravates preexisting problems, such as low back pain or neck pain. You may also want to avoid this position if you have one of the following medical conditions:
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Obstructive sleep apneais a problem in which breathing pauses for short periods during sleep. These episodes reduce your oxygen intake, causing you to gasp and awaken at night. The problem can increase your risk of excessive daytime sleepiness,depression,hypertension(high blood pressure),insulin resistance,arrhythmias(irregular heartbeats), and other health problems. Research indicates that many people with OSA sleep on their backs for a substantial proportion of time.
The risk of OSA may be higher when sleeping on your back. OSA can occur during sleep when the muscles that keep your throat open become relaxed. In most people, this does not interfere with oxygen flow into your body. However, if you have a narrow throat, your airway can become blocked as these muscles relax. Having a large tongue, which may fall back and block your airway as you recline, can also increase your risk of sleep apnea while sleeping on your back.
Snoring
Snoring is the rattling, whistling, snorting, or grunting that occurs when airflow is restricted as you sleep. It can occur as a symptom of OSA, though not everyone who snores has this condition. However, most people with OSA snore.
Sleeping on your back can contribute to snoring because of gravity. When you sleep fully reclined, the base of yourtongueandsoft palatenaturally collapse back toward your throat, narrowing your airway. Research indicates that sleeping on your side can reduce the frequency and intensity of snoring in some people.
There is evidence that positional therapy, which encourages people to avoid sleeping on their backs, can help modify this habit. Devices such as a head positioning pillow can be successful in keeping your head to the side and reducing snoring.
How Sleep Position Might Impact Your Snoring
Pregnancy
The Best and Worst Sleep Positions for Health Conditions
Sleeping on your back is the best way to keep your spine naturally aligned while you sleep. However, there’s more than your sleep position involved in getting a good night’s sleep. Sleep hygiene is a set of healthy habits, behaviors, and environmental factors that can help you achieve better sleep quality and quantity.
Summary
Sleeping on your back may be right for you if you suffer from neck pain, back pain, or headaches. It can also help you prevent sleep wrinkles that can add long-term lines to your face.
However, sleeping on your back isn’t advised for everyone. It can create and worsen problems for people who have OSA. It can also worsen symptoms in people who have OSA or snore. Sleeping in this position in late pregnancy has also been linked with a higher risk of stillbirth.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of sleeping on your back. Overall, the quantity and quality of your sleep can affect your general physical and mental health. Finding a position that helps you sleep without increasing health risks is ideal.
18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).Sleeping with neck pain: advice from a pain specialist.Keck Medicine of USC.The best -and worst - sleep positions for back pain.Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Best sleeping positions for pain.The Sleep Foundation.Best sleeping positions.Mount Sinai.Tension headache.The Better Sleep Council.Sleep positions and facial wrinkles: how sleep habits affect your skin.The University of Queensland.Sleep wrinkles are real. Here’s how they leave their mark.The Sleep Foundation.How to sleep on your back.Joosten SA, O’Driscoll DM, Berger PJ, Hamilton GS.Supine position related obstructive sleep apnea in adults: pathogenesis and treatment.Sleep Med Rev. 2014;18(1):7-17. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2013.01.005MedlinePlus.Obstructive sleep apnea - adults.Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.Treating mild sleep apnea: should you consider a CPAP device?The Sleep Foundation.Why do people snore?Houston Methodist.What causes snoring and when to see a doctor about it.Chen, WC., Lee, LA., Chen, NH.et al.Treatment of snoring with positional therapy in patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.Sci Rep5, 18188 (2015). doi:10.1038/srep18188National Guideline Alliance (UK).Maternal sleep position during pregnancy: Antenatal care: Evidence review W. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Aug. (NICE Guideline, No. 201.)The Ohio State University.Should you sleep on your back while pregnant?Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Sleep hygiene: 7 tips for a better bedtime routine.The Sleep Foundation.Mastering sleep hygiene: your path to quality sleep.
18 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).Sleeping with neck pain: advice from a pain specialist.Keck Medicine of USC.The best -and worst - sleep positions for back pain.Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Best sleeping positions for pain.The Sleep Foundation.Best sleeping positions.Mount Sinai.Tension headache.The Better Sleep Council.Sleep positions and facial wrinkles: how sleep habits affect your skin.The University of Queensland.Sleep wrinkles are real. Here’s how they leave their mark.The Sleep Foundation.How to sleep on your back.Joosten SA, O’Driscoll DM, Berger PJ, Hamilton GS.Supine position related obstructive sleep apnea in adults: pathogenesis and treatment.Sleep Med Rev. 2014;18(1):7-17. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2013.01.005MedlinePlus.Obstructive sleep apnea - adults.Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.Treating mild sleep apnea: should you consider a CPAP device?The Sleep Foundation.Why do people snore?Houston Methodist.What causes snoring and when to see a doctor about it.Chen, WC., Lee, LA., Chen, NH.et al.Treatment of snoring with positional therapy in patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.Sci Rep5, 18188 (2015). doi:10.1038/srep18188National Guideline Alliance (UK).Maternal sleep position during pregnancy: Antenatal care: Evidence review W. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Aug. (NICE Guideline, No. 201.)The Ohio State University.Should you sleep on your back while pregnant?Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Sleep hygiene: 7 tips for a better bedtime routine.The Sleep Foundation.Mastering sleep hygiene: your path to quality sleep.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).Sleeping with neck pain: advice from a pain specialist.Keck Medicine of USC.The best -and worst - sleep positions for back pain.Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Best sleeping positions for pain.The Sleep Foundation.Best sleeping positions.Mount Sinai.Tension headache.The Better Sleep Council.Sleep positions and facial wrinkles: how sleep habits affect your skin.The University of Queensland.Sleep wrinkles are real. Here’s how they leave their mark.The Sleep Foundation.How to sleep on your back.Joosten SA, O’Driscoll DM, Berger PJ, Hamilton GS.Supine position related obstructive sleep apnea in adults: pathogenesis and treatment.Sleep Med Rev. 2014;18(1):7-17. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2013.01.005MedlinePlus.Obstructive sleep apnea - adults.Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.Treating mild sleep apnea: should you consider a CPAP device?The Sleep Foundation.Why do people snore?Houston Methodist.What causes snoring and when to see a doctor about it.Chen, WC., Lee, LA., Chen, NH.et al.Treatment of snoring with positional therapy in patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.Sci Rep5, 18188 (2015). doi:10.1038/srep18188National Guideline Alliance (UK).Maternal sleep position during pregnancy: Antenatal care: Evidence review W. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Aug. (NICE Guideline, No. 201.)The Ohio State University.Should you sleep on your back while pregnant?Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Sleep hygiene: 7 tips for a better bedtime routine.The Sleep Foundation.Mastering sleep hygiene: your path to quality sleep.
Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).Sleeping with neck pain: advice from a pain specialist.
Keck Medicine of USC.The best -and worst - sleep positions for back pain.
Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Best sleeping positions for pain.
The Sleep Foundation.Best sleeping positions.
Mount Sinai.Tension headache.
The Better Sleep Council.Sleep positions and facial wrinkles: how sleep habits affect your skin.
The University of Queensland.Sleep wrinkles are real. Here’s how they leave their mark.
The Sleep Foundation.How to sleep on your back.
Joosten SA, O’Driscoll DM, Berger PJ, Hamilton GS.Supine position related obstructive sleep apnea in adults: pathogenesis and treatment.Sleep Med Rev. 2014;18(1):7-17. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2013.01.005
MedlinePlus.Obstructive sleep apnea - adults.
Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.Treating mild sleep apnea: should you consider a CPAP device?
The Sleep Foundation.Why do people snore?
Houston Methodist.What causes snoring and when to see a doctor about it.
Chen, WC., Lee, LA., Chen, NH.et al.Treatment of snoring with positional therapy in patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.Sci Rep5, 18188 (2015). doi:10.1038/srep18188
National Guideline Alliance (UK).Maternal sleep position during pregnancy: Antenatal care: Evidence review W. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Aug. (NICE Guideline, No. 201.)
The Ohio State University.Should you sleep on your back while pregnant?
Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials.Sleep hygiene: 7 tips for a better bedtime routine.
The Sleep Foundation.Mastering sleep hygiene: your path to quality sleep.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
