What is the best way to sleep?

Sleeping, front, side, back, does it really matter? The answer is yes, yes it does. If you wake up in pain after a night's sleep, something is wrong, something is definitely wrong. When you lay down to go to sleep and you generally feel good or just a little soreness from the day but you wake up and you are stiff, sore or in pain, this points to a real problem and it could be as easy to fix as changing the way you sleep.

Type of mattress does matter

The first thing that you need to consider is the age of your mattress and the type of mattress. If your mattress is more than 10 years old you need to really consider getting it replaced; or if after you get up there is still a divot where you were laying, it is most definitely time to get a new mattress. And unfortunately the type of mattress does matter. There are many different mattresses to choose from and finding the best one is difficult. By far the best are Tempur-Pedic and Sleep Number, but those also are not for everyone's budget.

You need to find a mattress that is comfortable. Pillow top mattresses are too soft and not advisable, but you do not need to go with one that is stiff as a board either. Most mattress companies will allow you to try out the mattress for 30 days which you should take full advantage of and do not be hesitant to return it if it is not working for you.

What kind of sleeper are you?

Besides replacing the mattress there are other things that can be changed if you are waking up with more pain than what you went to bed with. First of all, the statement that makes me just as unpopular as when I tell people not to wear flip flops, if you are a stomach sleeper, you need to stop. Or you need to invest a lot of money in products to make it healthy for your body to be able to handle sleeping on your stomach.

Stomach sleeping puts your head and neck in an awful position. In order for you to lie on your stomach you have to have your head turned completely to one side. This puts incredible strain on muscles, ligaments and joints. It also can interfere with proper blood supply depending on how far you turn your neck. Also, when you lie in this position you hyperextend your back, meaning that your back is arched. This will put your discs and your spine in a position where they will be irritated all night, so if you wake up with a stiff or sore back or suffer from headaches, numbness or tingling in your hands, neck pain or a stiff neck, your sleeping habits could be the reason why. Even though it may feel like a comfortable position, it is in fact the worst position you can sleep in.

Back sleeping is generally considered the best although it may not work for everyone. The biggest problem people encounter when sleeping on their back is they wake up with a sore lower back. The best thing to do is to place pillows underneath your knees and not just one pillow but several pillows so it helps raise up your legs and flatten out the lower back. If your shoulders bother you in this position you should place a rolled up towel underneath them. But this is rare that the shoulders would bother you in this particular position.

Side sleeping is just as good as back sleeping, but generally people have a harder time getting comfortable sleeping on either shoulder. Usually the difficulty lies in the fact that their pillow is not thick enough. To be perfectly aligned when you side sleep you need a pillow between your knees and a thick pillow under your head. Some people can get away with not having the pillow between their knees but if you have hip pain or back pain adding this in will put the body into better alignment. If you wind up with shoulder pain still, you may want to hug a pillow or a significant other. This will prevent the shoulder from falling forward or backward causing throbbing or pain. Again this pillow is not necessary unless you are waking up with pain in the shoulder that you have not been laying on.

Expensive pillow not necessary

And this finally brings me to pillow choice. I have vendors that try constantly to bring in fancy pillows and have me sell them at upwards of $100. Let me tell you that I have access to any pillow that I would want and could get a sample for free and the pillows that I use are buy one get one free pillows from a department store. Nothing fancy. And I know everyone will talk to someone that purchased an expensive pillow and it cured everything.  But for every one person like that, there are 50 that have spent thousands of dollars on pillows and have no success in relieving their pain. The idea behind a pillow is that when you lay down your neck should be in the same position as it is when you are sitting up.

For example, I am a side sleeper and an ex-swimmer so I have very broad shoulders. So I need a very thick firm pillow to fill the size of my shoulder. Down pillows or feather pillows are terrible for your neck and shoulders. If you find yourself scrunching your shoulder up to be able to raise the height of your pillow so it is more comfortable, you are setting yourself up for neck pain, shoulder pain, numbness and tingling. If you are a side sleeper you need to find a thick firm pillow that when you lay down your neck stays straight and does not dip down. If you sleep on your back, you just need a pillow that is not too thick so your head juts forward. People like to buy the pillows with the holes in the middle but again I think a medium sized pillow from a big box store will save you a lot of money and provide you similar and even better results.

Changing your sleeping habits will take time, and yes, even though you may not wake up in the best position, you will at least get a few hours where you are not damaging your body.

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.