Expert Tips On The Best Ways To Learn How To Sleep On Your Back

Since more than 60% of people tend to prefer sleeping on their side, there’s a common misconception that sleeping on your back isn’t as good for you. And if you’ve been a side sleeper your whole life, learning how to sleep on your back can be a hardship. We consulted with medical experts and sleep specialists about how to sleep on your back, and we’ve got some helpful product recommendations, such as The Company Store Duo Sleep Neck Posture Pillow, to help you achieve your most blissful sleep yet.

It’s no secret that your sleep position affects your quality of sleep and, therefore, your overall health. Sleeping on your back actually comes with multiple benefits, and it can even be medically advisable, especially after certain surgeries. The good news is that, with the proper techniques and a little consistency, it can be done.

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The Benefits Of Back Sleeping

According to Dylan Petkus, MD, a sleep specialist and founder of Optimal Circadian Health, back sleeping can offer many benefits for your skin, digestion, circulation and spine. “When you lie on your back, your spine is in a neutral position,” he says. “Overall, that reduces pressure along your spine. This means fewer aches and pains.”

Since sleeping on your back also distributes your weight more evenly, he adds, it can promote better blood circulation, which can be especially beneficial to those who have cold feet, diabetes or other vascular issues.

“Back sleeping is also great for your skin, since nothing is pressing against your face,” thereby reducing the possibility of formation of wrinkles, he says. It can also be good for people who get congested easily, as gravity helps mucus move down from the nose to the throat.

Finally, Petkus recommends sleeping on your back with your head slightly elevated if you have acid reflux or GERD (heartburn), as it can “can prevent stomach acid from irritating your esophagus”—although it should be noted that sleeping on your left side is generally considered more optimal for those conditions.

When To Avoid Back Sleeping

• If you have sleep apnea. “If you’re one of the 10% of people with sleep apnea, back sleeping can be dangerous,” Petkus says. When you lie on your back, he explains, gravity can pull the soft tissues of your airway into the back of your throat, thus shutting off your airway and inhibiting your breathing.
• If you snore. Snoring can be a symptom of a serious condition like sleep apnea. But, even when it’s not, back sleeping can make snoring worse for similar reasons.
• If you are pregnant. When lying on your back while pregnant, the growing weight of your uterus can compress a major blood vessel that is responsible for carrying blood from the lower body back to the heart, which can potentially impede blood flow to the baby. It is therefore not advisable, especially in later stages of pregnancy.

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How To Sleep On Your Back

Invest In A Medium To Medium-Firm Mattress

“Back sleeping works better with a more firm mattress,” Petkus says, so his first recommendation when working with a patient that might benefit from sleeping on their back is to invest in a medium-firm mattress or mattress topper. This is because a firmer mattress can help keep the spine in a neutral position, while still being soft enough to contour to the body. Some research has shown that a very firm mattress can be bad for lower back pain, while sinking into a soft mattress might be hard on your joints.

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Use The Right Pillow For Neck Support

Petkus often tells aspiring back sleepers to consider buying a supportive pillow, such as a memory foam pillow or contoured pillow. These are designed to conform to the shape of your head and neck, thereby distributing your weight more evenly and supporting the natural curvature of the spine. These types of pillows also help keep the neck, head and spine aligned, reducing pressure on these areas.

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If you have sleep apnea or tend to snore and would still like to continue sleeping on your back, Petkus also recommends using a wedge pillow to elevate the head and reduce breathing issues. The ideal pillow for back sleepers supports the neck without causing the head to move forward too much.

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Strategically Place A Pillow Under Your Knees

Another one of Petkus’ suggestions is to place a pillow underneath your knees as you sleep, as this reduces stress on your spine by keeping it in a more neutral position while maintaining the natural curvature of your lower back. Keeping your knees slightly elevated can also improve your blood circulation in those areas and help reduce swelling, while also distributing weight more evenly throughout the body. If you do decide to put a pillow underneath your knees, however, it’s important to ensure your neck and head have a supportive pillow to create overall spinal alignment.

Sleep Like A Starfish

It might sound silly, but lying with your hands and legs spread out (as opposed to strapped to your body) can also help distribute your weight evenly across the mattress, thereby minimizing pressure points, allowing for better blood circulation and neutralizing the spine. This can help reduce pain in the lower back, as well as the neck and shoulders. It can also help keep your airways open, reducing the likelihood of snoring and enabling easier breathing than other sleep positions.

Keep Trying

Change doesn’t happen overnight, and trying to change your sleep posture is no exception. As with any other modification in behavior, you may have to overcome some initial discomfort and maybe use some enforcing techniques—such as sewing a tennis ball into the lower back of your pajamas or creating a pillow fort around each side to prevent yourself from rolling over at night—to make it work. Consistency is key, but it’s important to remind yourself that your body will get used to it over time.

“The change won’t happen overnight, but your body will adapt to any given position as you persist,” Petkus says.

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Why Trust Forbes Vetted

The members of Forbes Vetted’s sleep team are experts in how to get a good night’s sleep. We’ve published an ever-growing library of thoroughly researched and tested guides to the best mattresses for back sleepers, best pillows for back sleepers, sleep tech devices and more.

• Author Diana Bruk has over a decade of experience writing about health and wellness for such outlets as Cosmopolitan, The New York Observer, Best Life, Livestrong and more. She covers a wide variety of topics, including fitness, nutrition, mental health, gut health and sleep. She recently covered the best headboards for Forbes Vetted.
• Our sleep editors, Bridget Chapman and McKenzie Dillon, have both been trained as certified sleep science coaches and have extensive experience with testing and researching sleep products.
• To learn more about back sleeping, we consulted with sleep medicine specialist Dylan Petkus, MD, founder of Optimal Circadian Health and host of the Tired to Inspired podcast.
• We periodically review our content to ensure it remains accurate and relevant. This article was last updated in September 2024.

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