I don’t know if you were nagged when you were young:
Because the heart grows on the left, you must not sleep on the left, or you will press the heart.
Sleeping to the right is the best position.
At first glance, there is no problem with this, but if you think about it carefully, you will feel something is wrong.
Most people are dishonest when they sleep. On average, they have to change their sleeping posture 20 times a night (just you don’t know it yourself), so it is inevitable that they will turn over and lie to the left.
And you have never seen anyone who crushed his heart because he slept to the left, have you? What’s wrong?
Sleeping to the left will not compress the heart.
In fact, for ordinary people, sleeping to the left or to the right will not affect the heart.
Anatomically speaking, the heart, lungs and various internal organs nearby are firmly surrounded, supported and protected by ribs. Lie to the left does not directly press the right body weight onto the heart.
And when we lie to the left, above the heart is our right lung, which is a large but small organ, and is not enough to produce what compression on the heart.
Or think so, if the weight outside the lung or thorax can press on the heart, then when we lie to the right, the weight of the left body and left lung will also press on the heart…
Why hasn’t anyone suggested [sleeping to the right is not good for the heart]?
Obviously, it is unreasonable to say that sleeping to the left will oppress the heart.
However, there is no absolute thing in the world.
There is a group of people who should avoid sleeping to the left.
For some special groups, it may be reasonable to avoid sleeping to the left.
For example, patients with cardiac insufficiency are also commonly known as [heart failure] patients.
Their hemodynamics are relatively unstable, and as long as a little load pressure is added to the heart, acute cardiac insufficiency may be induced.
When lying to the left, the left ventricle is relatively in a low-hanging position. Due to gravity, the return blood volume will increase, which may lead to an increase in cardiac preload, leading to the onset of acute left ventricular insufficiency, suffocation, sweating, forced sitting breathing, etc.
But! The important thing is always but.
This situation only makes sense in theory.
In fact, many patients with cardiac insufficiency do not suffer from acute left heart failure even if they sleep to the left all night long. This shows that the left lying position may only be one of the causes of acute cardiac insufficiency.
However, to be on the safe side, it is still necessary to advise such patients to avoid lying to the left.
You may not believe it, for many people…
Sleeping to the left is also good.
For the vast majority of people, lying flat is the best sleeping position we recommend, not sleeping to the right.
Lying flat is very helpful for relieving spinal pressure and relaxing waist and back muscles. But! The important thing is always but.
If you are prone to acid regurgitation… … …
Some studies have shown that sleeping to the left may reduce the occurrence of gastric acid reflux, which may be related to the anatomical position of stomach and esophagus.
However, the study also mentioned that the incidence of reflux is similar when sleeping sideways, whether to the left or to the right.
If gastroesophageal reflux is relatively heavy, it is better to take medicine honestly and eat reasonably, which is much more useful than sleeping to the left.
If you are pregnant…
Sleeping to the left is also highly recommended.
In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, due to the enlargement of the uterus, the compression on the pelvic and abdominal vessels, ureters, etc. increases. Lie about 30 degrees to the left and cushion a pillow on the back for support, which can reduce the compression and is beneficial to improving edema and increasing fetal blood supply.
However, if you lie to the right or lie flat directly, it may also lead to uterine compression of the inferior vena cava and hypotension.
Finally, back to the beginning, in fact, most people don’t sleep very honestly. Therefore, as long as it is not too awkward and weird to sleep.
How comfortable, how to sleep!