How your posture could prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep

We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but it seems a lot of us get it wrong.

While there’s a lot of focus on your sleeping position, it turns out that your sleeping posture matters too, and bad habits could hurt your sleep.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Michael Bruce gives advice on how to sleep better.

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“Thinking about how you carry yourself when you’re awake is a key factor in how you perform throughout the day,” said The Sleep Doctor, Dr. Michael Bruce, opposite Sunrise.

“If your daytime posture is good… you’ll probably feel fine throughout the day, but if your posture is poor and you’re slumped, you’ll feel pain and be less strong during the day.”

“Sleeping posture is the same idea here and requires three things: you need to have the right sleeping position, you need to have good sleeping gear, and you need to pay attention to your body’s natural alignment from head to toe.

“Poor sleeping posture causes you to wake up with aches and pains, stiffness in your joints and certain pressure points.”

sleeping positions

According to a 2017 study, 54 percent of people sleep on their side, 37 percent on their back, and about 7 percent on their stomach or stomach.

So which is better for you?

“If you’re trying to get the deepest sleep and you don’t have sleep apnea, then lying on your back is probably the best way to go,” Bruce advised.

“If you snore or have sleep apnea, your side will be better off because your anatomy falls toward the front of your mouth.

“If you don’t have sleep apnea, then sleeping on your back is – I’d say – best because it allows you to shift weight across your skeletal frame and stay aligned.”

The best tips for better sleep

“My top tips for better sleep are: Look at your surroundings, what’s happening around you? Is there anything that could stress you out, is there a lot of laundry or work? Declutter your bedroom, create a clean place to sleep,” Bruce said.

“Wake up at the same time at the same time every morning — it’s a big deal.

“And lastly, I’d say if you can, just have a caffeinated drink or two a day and have them before noon and you’ll definitely sleep better.”