Have you ever felt increasingly tired lying down, uncomfortable sleeping, or even waking up with back pain? Sleep is supposed to repair and repair the body, why do many people feel more uncomfortable waking up? This may be a problem with the sleeping position ↓ 1. Supine sleeping position: The most recommended sleeping position is supine, which has the least spinal pressure and is less likely to deviate from the neutral position for the muscles and joints of the whole body. The body is easier to relax and repair, making it the most spine friendly sleeping position. However, there are also issues to be aware of when sleeping on your back. The pillow should not be too high or too low. If the pillow is too high, the neck will be in a bent state, similar to looking down at a phone. The soft tissues on the neck and upper back sides will be in a stretched state for a long time, causing neck and back pain. Similarly, a pillow that is too low cannot provide good support for the neck, and the muscles in the neck cannot fully relax, which can also cause discomfort in the cervical spine. How to use pillows correctly? Li Yanhu, Director of the Sports Health Center at the Institute of Sports Medicine of the General Administration of Sport of China, provided on-site guidance. Don't lie down with bent legs when sleeping. Many people like to bend one leg and lie down on the bed. Keeping this position for a long time can excessively elongate the muscles on the inner front of the hip joint, and also cause pelvic rotation, which can affect the lumbar spine and cause back pain and hip pain. The correct posture for sleeping on the back is that the height of the pillow should not be too high or too low when lying on the back. After compression, it is advisable to keep it at the same or slightly higher than the fist. And the pillow needs to be placed on the back of the entire cervical spine, fully supporting it and allowing it to relax better. When lying on their back, many people may experience a large gap between their waist and bed, which makes it difficult for their waist to relax. It is recommended to place a pillow under the thigh or knee joint to slightly bend the hips and knees of the lower limbs, so that the lumbar spine can be more relaxed and pressed against the bed surface. 2. Side sleeping position: Be good at using pillows. Side sleeping is also a popular sleeping position for many people, but many people do not adopt the correct sleeping position. The possible problems of sleeping on the side are similar to sleeping on the back. When the pillow is too high, the head will be forced to rise, causing the cervical spine to bend upwards. Similarly, if the pillow is too low, the head will cause the cervical spine to bend downwards. Both of these situations can cause the soft tissues and small joints of the cervical spine to elongate on one side and shorten on the other, resulting in imbalance. In addition, many people are used to putting the upper leg in front of the body, so that the leg will twist forward with the pelvis and waist, just like the spine is "twisting Fried Dough Twists". Maintaining this posture for a long time can cause excessive entanglement of soft tissues on both sides of the lower back, leading to lower back pain, back pain, and even hip pain. For the general population, there is no significant difference in the correct position for sleeping on the side, whether it is on the left or right side. For the late stage of pregnancy population, it is recommended to mainly lie in the left lateral position. When lying on the side, the pillow height needs to fully support the cervical spine and head, making the cervical spine parallel to the ground. A pillow can be placed in front of the chest to provide good support for the upper and lower arms, making the shoulder joint plane perpendicular to the bed surface. This ensures that the shoulders do not extend excessively forward and the thoracic spine does not rotate excessively. In addition, pillows can also be placed between the legs to prevent excessive entanglement of the tissues around the upper hip joint, and to ensure that the pelvis and lumbar spine remain in a neutral position, protecting the lower back tissues. 3 Prone sleeping position: The least recommended sleeping position is the prone position. In order to maintain breathing, our head is usually tilted to one side, and the cervical joint on the side facing our face is under tremendous pressure. If this position is maintained for a long time during sleep, the cervical joints will continue to be compressed, causing obvious pain, which may further develop into cervical spondylosis, leading to numbness in the arms and other problems. At the same time, when lying prone, our chest and abdominal movements are restricted, and breathing is to some extent restricted. Just like when lying on one side, when lying prone, one leg is usually opened to the side, which can cause pelvic lumbar rotation and discomfort in the lower back and hip joints. The softness and hardness of the four beds are also important factors affecting sleep. In addition to the sleeping position that may cause back pain in the morning, the softness and hardness of the bed are also important factors affecting sleep. The bed is hard, and for thinner people, it may feel like the bed is pressed against the bones, especially when sleeping on the side, with obvious compression on both sides of the pelvis. This creates excessive pressure on the soft tissue at the site of compression, causing pain or damage. A bed that is too soft, especially for people with poor muscle strength, cannot provide good support for the spine. The muscles around the spine are forced to continue contracting and cannot relax well, resulting in feeling more tired after sleeping. For pregnant women, supine and lateral positions are mainly preferred in early and mid pregnancy, and it is recommended to adopt a left lateral position in late pregnancy. The duration of a single supine position during late pregnancy should not exceed 5 minutes. In addition, when lying on the side during late pregnancy, a thin blanket can be placed under the abdomen to support it and reduce the feeling of abdominal sagging. In addition, maintaining a healthy sleep routine and good muscle strength, as well as keeping muscles and fascia active, can greatly improve sleep quality and reduce morning discomfort. (New Society)