Sleep position

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title: "Sleep position" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sleep", "human-positions"] description: "none" topic_path: "general/sleep" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_position" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

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::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Artasoff._Sleeping_girl._1903.jpg" caption="''Sleeping Girl'' by Lazar Artasoff (1903)"] ::

A sleep position is the body configuration assumed by a person during or prior to sleeping. It has been shown to have health implications, particularly for babies.

Sleeping preferences

A Canadian survey found that 39% of respondents preferred to sleep in the "log" position (lying on one's side with the arms down the side) whilst 28% preferred to sleep on their side with their legs bent.

A Travelodge survey found that 50% of heterosexual British couples prefer sleeping back-to-back, either not touching (27%) or touching (23%). Spooning was next, with the man on the outside 20% of the time compared to 8% with the woman on the outside. 10% favoured the "lovers' knot" (facing each other with legs intertwined), though all but 2% separated before going to sleep. The "Hollywood pose" of the woman with her head and arm on the man's chest was chosen by 4%.

Effects on health

In infants

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Baby_sleeping_2929_Nevit.jpg" caption="A baby sleeping on its back"] ::

In the 1958 edition of his best-selling book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, paediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock warned against placing a baby on its back, writing, "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." However, later studies have shown that placing a young baby in a face-down prone position increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A 2005 study concluded that "systematic review of preventable risk factors for SIDS from 1970 would have led to earlier recognition of the risks of sleeping on the front and might have prevented over 10,000 infant deaths in the UK and at least 50,000 in Europe, the USA, and Australasia."

Glymphatic system clearance

The brain parenchyma rids itself of harmful proteins through the glymphatic system, especially during sleep.

Snoring

Snoring, which may be (but is not necessarily) an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, may also be alleviated by sleeping on one's side.

Gastroesophageal reflux

The right lateral sleeping position results in much more reflux in the night than the left lateral position and prone position.

Sleep paralysis

Sleeping in the supine position has been linked to an increased occurrence of sleep paralysis.

References

References

  1. (20 May 2019). "Good health rests on a good night's sleep/".
  2. (7 October 2006). "Couples' sleeping poses uncovered". BBC News.
  3. (May 2021)
  4. (2022). "Fluid transport in the brain". [[Physiological Reviews]].
  5. "Snoring and Sleep Apnea". [[American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons]].
  6. Khoury RM, Camacho-Lobato L, Katz PO, Mohiuddin MA, Castell DO. Influence of spontaneous sleep positions on nighttime recumbent reflux in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 1999 Aug;94(8):2069-73
  7. (2013). "Gastroesophageal reflux disease and sleep". [[List of Elsevier periodicals#G.
  8. Cheyne, J. A.. (June 2002). "Situational factors affecting sleep paralysis and associated hallucinations: position and timing effects". Journal of Sleep Research.

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