When I was a little girl, my grandma shared her beauty secret but it took me more than 40 years to follow her advice. Don’t follow in my footsteps, learn how sleeping on your back can improve a number of ailments, even wrinkles.
While visiting with my grandma when I was a young girl, I was terrified by what I saw one morning as I walked by her bedroom. Grandma was lying on her back with her legs straight, hands folded on her stomach and her head facing the ceiling. After I let out a blood-curdling scream, she quickly sat up and asked me what was wrong.
I said, “Grandma, it looks like you’re dead!”
She laughed and pulled me close to explain that she slept on her back so she wouldn’t get wrinkles and her hair remained coiffed. I don’t know if I knew what coiffed meant but I assumed it meant that her hair didn’t get messed up because it was always perfect along with her beautiful skin. I still remember the smell of Rose’s Pond Cream as she held me tighter and tried to calm my fears.
“And if I do die in my sleep, I’ll look great at my funeral,” she said with a sense of humor.
I guess grandmas really do know best because more than 40 years later, I’m starting a company to help people improve their health through better sleep. If you have been following me or are new to my blog, I want to quickly recap our story. My son, Chase, woke up with a kink in his neck and the doctor said it was a result of sleeping on his stomach. Realizing there was no product to help my son, I invented a sleep positioning aid to help people maintain their optimal sleeping position.
Today’s blog is a deep dive into back sleeping. I touched on the pros and cons of back, side and stomach sleeping in my previous blog, “What’s the healthiest sleep position for you?”. Here, I want to share why you may want to try back sleeping. Although it may be uncomfortable at first, the benefits are numerous and worth considering if you have ailments exasperated by side and stomach sleeping.
Back sleeping benefits
• Gravity naturally realigns your body
• Balances out your body weight
• Keeps internal organs aligned
• Improves circulation
• Reduces pressure
Back sleeping may be for you if have
• Neck, shoulder or back pain
• Migraines
• Insomnia
• Acid reflux
• Arm numbness
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Bursitis (runner’s hip)
• Bruxism (teeth-grinding)
• Face acne
• Wrinkles
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Glaucoma
• Bed hair
• Saggy breasts
Back sleeping considerations
• Don’t use too many pillows; keep your neck and spine aligned. If elevation is recommended in the supine position, raise the head of your bed by placing blocks securely under the bed footing.
• Use a thin pillow or no pillow at all to keep your head aligned.
• Use a rolled towel or small pillow to elevate your knees and keep your spine aligned.
• Try to keep your arms and legs straight to prevent your head from turning towards a bent arm or leg.
• Avoid raising your arms above head to prevent pain caused by nerve pressure.
• May relax the tongue into the breathing tube resulting in snoring.
• This position is not recommended during pregnancy because the baby puts unnecessary pressure on your organs. Side sleeping on the left increases the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and baby.
Breaking poor sleeping habits
Even though we understand the benefits of sleeping on our back, it’s not as easy to do. Traditionally, we’ve only had pillows to help guide our sleep position. However, when you are trying to break a habit, it’s easy to get frustrated and toss the pillows to the ground. At iSleepFit™ System, we designed our first product to help people successfully change poor sleep posture to improve their health through better sleep.
How does the product work?
The iSleepFit™ Sleep Posture Belt is worn around your torso while you are sleeping. The belt has three anti-rolling spheres that adjust to your non-sleeping sides. The spheres act as bumpers to discourage you from rolling over and create mild discomfort prompting you to your desired sleep position.
When will the iSleepFit Posture Belt be available?
Over the next few months, we are finalizing the product development and sourcing. Additionally, we’re considering licensing agreements with industry partners in fitness, beauty and medical. Our plan is to activate our tribe (you!), circulate content through our blog, website, social media and participation in sleep-related communities and then create a crowdfunding campaign so you can participate in our product launch and purchase the iSleepFit Posture Belt.
How can you help?
Share, share and share! If you are on social media, please like our Facebook page and engage in our content by commenting, liking and sharing. Follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn. Sign up for our latest updates and blog at iSleepFitSystem.com. It takes a village to be a success and I want to thank you in advance for helping us improve health through better sleep.
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