Sleeping on Your Stomach: Best Avoided

The “free fall” position — lying flat on your stomach with your arms around the pillow — might feel comfortable at first, but it often leads to pain in the neck or lower back. That’s because it forces your head to turn to one side for long periods, straining your neck muscles.

If you can’t sleep any other way, use a very thin pillow (or none at all) and place a small cushion under your pelvis to ease the pressure on your lower back.

Sleeping on Your Back: Not for Everyone

Also known as the “soldier” position, this posture involves lying flat on your back with your arms at your sides. It has real benefits for your spine, as gravity helps keep it naturally aligned. It even prevents sleep wrinkles — yes, that’s actually true!

Still, it’s not ideal for everyone. If you snore or suffer from sleep apnea, you’re better off choosing another position. If you do prefer sleeping on your back, try tucking a small pillow under your knees to make it more comfortable.

What About the Starfish Position?

Here, you lie on your back with your arms and legs spread out. It gives a great sense of freedom, but like the soldier position, it can make snoring worse. If this is your go-to, a firm mattress and a supportive cushion under your knees can really help.

Time to Change Your Sleeping Position?

If you often wake up with aches or struggle to fall asleep, your posture might be to blame. Even a single well-placed pillow can dramatically improve comfort. If you’re thinking about switching positions entirely, do it gradually — your body needs time to adjust. But the payoff could be better, deeper sleep.

So tonight, why not try a new position — and see how different it feels?