Sleeping: the art of the right position

Most people move between several positions during the night, but one dominates. And that one has a say in how you wake up, because the position decides where your weight rests and how straight your spine stays while it does.

Which position dominates is not something you choose. It depends on build, habit and often on complaints, and it changes over a lifetime. In pregnancy, after shoulder surgery or with increasing reflux it shifts, sometimes for good. If you notice you lie differently than you used to, there is usually a reason, even if you cannot name it.

On your back the weight is spread most evenly. The spine can keep its natural shape and neither shoulders nor hips press anywhere. A flat pillow matters: too high a pillow pushes the chin towards the chest and turns the best position into the least comfortable one. A small pillow under the knees takes further tension out of the lower back.

On the side is how the majority sleeps. Here the mattress needs to yield at shoulder and hip, otherwise the spine bends sideways. A pillow between the knees keeps pelvis and legs in line. The foetal position on the left side is considered particularly relieving, among other times during pregnancy and with abdominal discomfort.

For back sleepers, pillow height is the commonest mistake. A high pillow pushes the chin towards the chest and narrows exactly the area that should stay open. If you snore on your back, do not ignore it: occasional snoring is harmless, but loud snoring with observed pauses in breathing belongs with a doctor and not with a different pillow.

On the front is the hardest position. The head has to stay turned to one side all night and the pelvis sinks slightly, which pulls the lower back into a hollow. If you cannot fall asleep any other way, a firmer mattress and a very flat pillow, or none at all, will help. A pillow under the pelvis takes further pressure off the back.

Getting used to sleeping on your back takes weeks, not days. What works: consistently falling asleep on your back, even if you turn over later in the night. Placing pillows to your left and right so turning takes more effort. And bending the knees slightly, which makes lying on your back immediately more comfortable. If you still wake up on your side, that is not a failure; the body looks for what suits it at that moment.

Left or right matters less than is often claimed, but not nothing. On the left side the stomach sits more favourably, which noticeably helps with heartburn. Many find the right side more comfortable because the heart takes less pressure. If you have no complaints, there is nothing to change here.

One thing cannot be solved by technique alone: if the mattress does not suit the position, no amount of retraining will help. Side sleepers on too firm a mattress wake with an aching shoulder, front sleepers on too soft a one with lower back pain. That is why in the showroom we ask how you lie first, and only then show you beds.

When two people with different sleeping positions and noticeably different weights share the same bed, the answer is not a compromise in the middle. On a double bed each side can be built with its own tension. That sounds like a luxury and is in truth the point at which many couples both sleep well for the first time.

Front sleepers rarely end up there on purpose. Usually it is a habit from childhood or a response to a base that is too soft, into which the belly sinks. A firmer mattress therefore helps twice over: it supports the pelvis and at the same time removes the incentive to roll onto the front.

When trying a bed, that is exactly what makes the difference. Lie down in your usual falling-asleep position, not on your back because that is what one does in a shop. Stay at least ten minutes, long enough for the first comfort to wear off and the real pressure to show. And bring the pillow you use at home, otherwise you are testing two things at once.

Most people, incidentally, are combination sleepers and change several times a night. That is normal and even desirable, because it prevents pressure points. For choosing a mattress what counts is still the position you fall asleep in and the one you wake in: those are your longest unbroken stretches.