Stop Stomach Sleeping, Seriously
July 21, 2023 11:26 AM Subscribe
I sleep on my stomach with my face smashed into the bed and I really want to stop. I think it's aging my face, it's definitely bad for my neck and it has to be obstructing my breathing.
I start off the night sleeping on my side while holding a pillow against my abdomen, like a normal person. Then at some point after I fall asleep I switch into the face smash position with my head sort of buried under my head pillow. The weird part is, I am not physically comfortable but it's like I'm compelled to be in this position. I've tried taping a tennis ball to my shirt but then I just...take off my shirt in the night. I sleep reallllyyy hot and live in Florida where it is 1 billion degrees so I don't want to do anything that will make me warmer while sleeping. Any ideas or product recommendations that can help?
I start off the night sleeping on my side while holding a pillow against my abdomen, like a normal person. Then at some point after I fall asleep I switch into the face smash position with my head sort of buried under my head pillow. The weird part is, I am not physically comfortable but it's like I'm compelled to be in this position. I've tried taping a tennis ball to my shirt but then I just...take off my shirt in the night. I sleep reallllyyy hot and live in Florida where it is 1 billion degrees so I don't want to do anything that will make me warmer while sleeping. Any ideas or product recommendations that can help?
I've always been a stomach sleeper and have tried to change to side-sleeping, to help with back and neck pain mostly.
Having a body pillow (nothing special, just the $20 Target special) helps. I hold it to my chest and keep it in between my legs. I usually ditch it sometime during the night while turning over, but it helps me stay comfortable.
Sometimes I still wind up on my stomach. You can sort of be halfway between stomach and side though, laying on the body pillow, and sometimes that helps.
This isn't related to side-sleeping, but you did mention temperature: I have found that I like being cooler at night. We have switched our house to time-of-use electric rates, so we have super-off-peak hours between midnight and 6 AM, peak hours between 2 PM and 6 PM on weekdays, and off-peak at all other times. We run our A/C to cool the house during super-off-peak to 70 degrees between midnight and 6 AM, when electricity is cheapest. It helps us sleep better during the summer months, and usually it takes all day for the house to warm back up to 78°, which is where we'd keep the thermostat normally, so the A/C doesn't run much or at all during the day.
We have to watch our usage of electricity (e.g. no laundry or A/C or running a dehumidifier between 2 PM and 6 PM), but we've saved money and are more comfortable at nights. If your utility allows you to do this, it's worth a thought.
posted by vitout at 12:00 PM on July 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Having a body pillow (nothing special, just the $20 Target special) helps. I hold it to my chest and keep it in between my legs. I usually ditch it sometime during the night while turning over, but it helps me stay comfortable.
Sometimes I still wind up on my stomach. You can sort of be halfway between stomach and side though, laying on the body pillow, and sometimes that helps.
This isn't related to side-sleeping, but you did mention temperature: I have found that I like being cooler at night. We have switched our house to time-of-use electric rates, so we have super-off-peak hours between midnight and 6 AM, peak hours between 2 PM and 6 PM on weekdays, and off-peak at all other times. We run our A/C to cool the house during super-off-peak to 70 degrees between midnight and 6 AM, when electricity is cheapest. It helps us sleep better during the summer months, and usually it takes all day for the house to warm back up to 78°, which is where we'd keep the thermostat normally, so the A/C doesn't run much or at all during the day.
We have to watch our usage of electricity (e.g. no laundry or A/C or running a dehumidifier between 2 PM and 6 PM), but we've saved money and are more comfortable at nights. If your utility allows you to do this, it's worth a thought.
posted by vitout at 12:00 PM on July 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Seconding body pillows. My partner gave me one when I had eye surgery. Googling brings up a style called a "contour swan." Sometimes I pile a smaller pillow on top, depending on how I want to lie but it keeps my face from pressing into anything.
posted by BibiRose at 12:28 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by BibiRose at 12:28 PM on July 21, 2023
The thing that solved it for me, which was accidental and not the reason we bought it, but was an adjustable bed. You really have to work to sleep on you stomach if you have the adjustable bed pitched up enough at the head part. AND THE FEET part.
I recommend it, but admit that's buying a whole new bed.
posted by atomicstone at 12:42 PM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
I recommend it, but admit that's buying a whole new bed.
posted by atomicstone at 12:42 PM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
I had persistent muscle spasms in my neck and upper back, and made the transition from stomach to side sleeper. It wasn't easy. I basically did the "turn over every time you notice you're on your stomach" thing BlahLaLa mentioned and it took quite a while before it really stuck. The upside is that my neck issues are totally gone!
posted by that's candlepin at 12:58 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by that's candlepin at 12:58 PM on July 21, 2023
I know you're trying to find solutions that won't make you warmer, but I will share that I couldn't make any dent in my stomach sleeping until I started using a weighted blanket. I think it mimics some of the pressure I was used to feeling on the front half of my body when falling asleep face down. Maybe you could try a weighted lap pad just draped over your abdomen instead of covering your whole body, while still getting some of the same effects? Good luck!
posted by deludingmyself at 2:23 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by deludingmyself at 2:23 PM on July 21, 2023
You might need something smushed into your face, at least during the transition. I managed to sleep on my back one night with my arm laying on my face (but I don't like having my arm out of the covers and haven't found a replacement face weight).
posted by Baethan at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Baethan at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
The thing which did it for me was getting sleep apnoea and having to wear a full face mask to sleep. You just can't mush a hard plastic mask strapped to your face with a hose coming out of it into your pillow. Well, not if you want to sleep.
Although I am not suggesting developing sleep apnoea, you might have something equally deterrent you can put on your face? You could just get a mask on its own without the hose and cpap machine, but they tend to be pricey.
posted by Athanassiel at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2023
Although I am not suggesting developing sleep apnoea, you might have something equally deterrent you can put on your face? You could just get a mask on its own without the hose and cpap machine, but they tend to be pricey.
posted by Athanassiel at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2023
If you find that pressure on your face is desirable, a satiny sleep mask might work and not damage your skin. Look for ones made of cupro, lyocell, and linen blends for fabrics that are breathable and wick sweat.
Seconding a body pillow, depending on your height and proportions you might find anything from a regular king size pillow to a full wrap around snoogle c shaped pillow to do the trick. The ones made for pregnant people have really expanded the market.
Maybe you end up with your head under the pillow because of light? Try blocking out as much sun as you can and also taping over led lights from electronics and such in your room. If you keep your room as dark as you can during the day, it will also be cooler at night. Apparently most people really do sleep better when the room is kind of chilly, so focusing on making your room cooler at night might help both your stomach sleeping issues and your hot sleeping issues.
posted by Mizu at 6:31 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Seconding a body pillow, depending on your height and proportions you might find anything from a regular king size pillow to a full wrap around snoogle c shaped pillow to do the trick. The ones made for pregnant people have really expanded the market.
Maybe you end up with your head under the pillow because of light? Try blocking out as much sun as you can and also taping over led lights from electronics and such in your room. If you keep your room as dark as you can during the day, it will also be cooler at night. Apparently most people really do sleep better when the room is kind of chilly, so focusing on making your room cooler at night might help both your stomach sleeping issues and your hot sleeping issues.
posted by Mizu at 6:31 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
A totally out of the box solution - they sell a head rest that you slip between your mattress and box springs that turns it into a massage table. So you could just get one of those and sleep face down and accept it. At least your face and neck will be supported.
posted by Bottlecap at 6:33 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Bottlecap at 6:33 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Between a TikTok and going camping I’ve realized the reason I’m so much less comfortable sleeping on my back is that my hips are super tight and so when I lay flat on my back, it’s not actually a relaxed position. (If you want to test this, I recommend laying on a flat floor rather than a bed as the bed has just enough give to make you think it’s a comfortable position.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:14 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 7:14 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Seconding racoon409. More than that, it helps when I’ve been doing stretches/activity that open up my chest muscles.
posted by clew at 9:11 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by clew at 9:11 PM on July 21, 2023
You may be flipping over onto your stomach because you have apnea in other positions. You may not have apnea while side sleeping, but end up with circulation problems in your lower arm that cause you to flip face down.
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:47 PM on July 22, 2023
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:47 PM on July 22, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'm not gonna lie -- the thing that finally got me to stop stomach-sleeping was hurting my back really, really badly. Like "change your entire life" levels of badly. I wouldn't wish that pain on you, so I hope you can start making the change, even if it takes weeks or months to make it settle in. Good luck!
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:42 AM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]