Best sleeping positions for your health

By Kelly Frances

You may have caught yourself wishing for more hours in the day. Surprisingly, we spend one third of our lives, or approximately 27 years, in slumber. But not all sleep is equal. Experts say there are simple ways we can ensure that our down time is "time well spent."

"Think of sleep as having two main factors at play; time and gravity," explained chiropractor Sean Kim, owner of Sky Wellness Center in Itaewon, Seoul.

According to Kim, the goal is to maintain a neutral position while sleeping. Kim discussed the differences between common sleeping positions, and tips to consider when choosing bedding.

"The medical community accepts two positions as being healthy," he said. "Lying on your back or side. Sleeping on your stomach causes the neck and spine to remain twisted for a long period of time. This may reduce snoring, but it's not healthy for your spine."

Kim says that people tend to focus on pillows.

"A common mistake is choosing too high or too soft a pillow. I am against feather pillows," he said. "They don't support the neck, but they're soft, so people like them."

Instead, Kim advises a form fitting, supportive pillow such as a fiber filled pillow or roll.

"These are cheap and won't change the curvature of the neck, which could lead to headaches and shoulder tension. Gravity pulls in the spine as people sleep, so both the position of the body and the sleeping surface are important."

A good mattress, according to Kim, is worth the investment.

"Mattresses have been getting better," he said. Those with individual pocket springs rather than connected springs are best because they won't allow the lumbar (lower) back to sag, which is a significant cause of back pain.

Sky Wellness patient Joseph Raymond agrees.

"I used to wake up with a sore back no matter what kind of sleep I had," he said. "While traveling for business, I noticed that some hotels had high quality mattresses which affected my back pain. Eventually, I invested in a memory foam mattress. It was worth every penny."

Kim added that sleeping on the floor isn't necessarily unhealthy, but providing support under the knees is critical to ensure that pressure is not applied to the spine.

"Sleeping on the floor is fine, so long as you lie on your back, and a pillow is placed under the knees, otherwise the middle of the spine begins to sag," he explained, adding that many of his older Korean patients have flattened spines, or lack the notorious "S-line, referring to healthy curvature.

"The 'S-line' is the result of proper posture. The buttocks are affected by the spine. A flat spine leads to a flat butt. Whenever we lie on our back, it is best to put support under the knees to take the strain off the ligaments in the pelvis."

When sleeping on your side, the height of pillow is especially important.

"Use a slightly higher pillow when sleeping on your side. You only need enough height to cover the distance between you shoulder blade and your neck."

Is there anything else to keep in mind when it comes to getting a good night's sleep?

"Caffeine", he said. "I feel that many people don't consider that caffeine has a 6 hour half life. For a healthy sleep, limit stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine."

The writer is a guest columnist from Ontario, Canada, and is currently living in Seoul. She welcomes topic suggestions from readers and can be reached at kellyfrancesm@gmail.com