Benefits to Sleeping on Your Back
Sleeping on Your Back is not the easiest if you are not used to it and this position is not the most popular position YET… it has the MOST benefits.
Note: back sleeping is not for pregnant women, people with sleep apnea, and certain types of back pain.
The Most Benefits to Sleeping on Your Back Include
💟 Benefit ONE. Fewer wrinkles and fine lines on your face. When sleeping on your side or stomach, your face is up pressed into a pillow which can develop wrinkles over time. Especially if you are noticing more prominent wrinkles and fine lines on the side of your face that you sleep on. Referred to as “sleep lines”.
According to dermatologist Kachiu Lee, MD, “these lines often appear in parallel along the temples, around the eyes, the lateral cheek area and around the mouth.” — Dermatologist Kahiu Lee, MD
By sleeping on your back, face-up, you can prevent tossing and turning; prevent your face from rubbing up against your pillow, and even prevent something called facial asymmetry which comes from years of sleeping on the same side and creates unevenness in the texture or volume of your facial muscles and skin.
Side Benefit to Back Sleeping. Back sleeping can help your entire body relax. Relaxation helps reduce inflammation allowing better results for cell turnover in the face. Cell turnover is your skin’s way of getting rid of dead skin cells allowing new skin cells to grow.
💟 Benefit TWO. Fewer wrinkles and fine lines on your neck and decolletage. As with facial wrinkles, sleeping on your side smooshes the skin on your neck and decolletage, creating fine lines and wrinkles over time.
Further, pressure to the same area of skin breaks down collagen for both the face and the neck, which leads to unwanted lines. When your neck is extended, it prevents the skin from being compressed in a way that causes wrinkles.
💟 Benefit THREE. No more wasting skincare products on your pillow! I love my skincare products and really hate sharing them and ultimately wasting them on my pillowcase. Back sleeping allows products to sink into the skin and not get rubbed off.
Further, sleeping on your back helps prevent breakouts caused by your pillowcase which often has bacteria, sweat, dirt, and other debris.
Tip: Always let your nighttime skincare products absorb for at least 20 minutes before bed.
💟 Benefit FOUR. Less puffy eyes and swollen facial features.
“Oftentimes we wake up with our face puffy or swollen,” says dermatologist Dr. Sameer Bashey, “especially in the areas of the upper cheek and around the eyes. This is significantly minimized when people sleep on their back with a pillow underneath their neck. When you lie down on any particular area or side of the face, fluid can pool in those areas and give the impression that those areas are more swollen—which, of course, is temporary.” — Dermatologist, Dr. Sameer Bashey
💟 Benefit FIVE. Helps your neck and back / relieves neck pain. Back sleeping can help alleviate muscle tension in your neck and shoulders as it keeps your head, neck, and spine in a neutral position and prevents shoulder stress. Thereby relieving muscular pain and helping you sleep better. Relaxed muscle tension can improve your quality of sleep too.
Back sleeping keeps your body straight and your weight more evenly distributed which may help take the stress off your lower back. Using a pillow under your knees helps here.
This may also help reduce tension headaches.
Another Side Benefit to Back Sleeping! Hair won’t get flattened from the weight of your head during sleep.
💟 Benefit SIX. Reduces heartburn and acid reflux. Sleeping on your back, with your head and chest slightly elevated, is the best position for helping to eliminate heartburn while in bed. The goal is the get your esophagus above your stomach.
Because sleeping on your back puts less pressure on internal organs, this helps reduce heartburn and other digestive problems too.
Tips and Tricks — Summary for Benefits to Sleeping on Your Back
Be patient. If you are not currently a back sleeper, this may not happen quickly. You are changing a lifelong habit.
If you are finding you are not back sleeping all night, keep going back to it. You will get the habit and love it!
Place pillows under your knees as this helps keep your body still and helps build the habit.
Remember: Sleeping on the back is not the most popular position but it has the most benefits.
Use a Pillow Product designed for back sleeping such as Back to Beauty Sleep Pillow – Available on Etsy
I personally have had one of these Back to Beauty Sleep Pillows for 9 years now and continue to use it for not only back sleeping but for neck alignment. I use this pillow on top of my regular pillow and not only have I learned to sleep on my back but I love the way it feels and supports my head. — Signe
About Back to Beauty Sleep Pillow
- + Woman-designed product
- + Woman-owned and operated small business
- + Hypoallergenic down alternative fiber retains luxurious feel and fluffiness
- + Extended base design provides neck support without being too bulky; conforms for a personal fit
- + Can be used alone or on top of your favorite pillow(s)
- + Compact size allows versatility in use and packs easily for travel
Watch my wonderful friend Helene explain how to use her Anti-Wrinkle Head Cradle beauty sleep Pillow
*Important Disclaimer About Back-Sleeping from Back to Beauty Sleep Pillow
Training yourself to become a back sleeper isn’t easy, takes time, and ultimately is not for everyone. (Please be sure to view my “Instructional Video” to see if back sleeping with Back To Beauty is right for you.) Although back-sleeping is considered one of the healthiest sleep positions to promote proper spinal alignment and combat acid reflux; and many users of the Back to Beauty Anti-Wrinkle Head Cradle beauty pillow have described personal beneficial experiences that assisted with their neck, jaw, sleep apnea, GERD, and back issues; the pillow was not designed, nor promises, to be a remedy for those specific conditions. Pregnant women, those with sleep apnea, spine/back or cervical/neck problems or any other medical condition, should consult a doctor before deciding to start back-sleeping. The Back to Beauty Anti-Wrinkle Head Cradle beauty pillow is not intended for children, and should never be used to secure a baby for sleeping.