So much was the importance of sleep that the Ancient Greeks had a separate God of sleep: Hypnos, son of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and brother to Thanatos (Death).
In today’s competitive world, sleep is probably the only real respite people get in their lives. That too, given the amount of stress we put ourselves through, makes it a very scarce thing to indulge in.
Things get worse, when that very thing which you love, sleeping on your own bed on your terms, hurts you so much that you wake up with body aches and pains everywhere.
It is at this point that it is worth mentioning that sleeping is as important for your body as eating or drinking enough water. Sleeping gives your nerve endings time to develop better.
This is why it is highly recommended that children, especially toddlers whose brains aren’t done growing up fully yet, sleep as much as they can; and that they be left undisturbed at that.
So getting back to the aches and pains caused by sleeping in a bad posture, here are some positions common among people and how they affect your body.
1. On Your Tummy
As comfortable as your body’s cushion might be, your neck really takes a beating from this posture, because it is trapped between right and left position. Also, your atlas vertebra takes quite the thrashing, as it has to support your cranium in the weirdest of positions.
This can give you nasty backaches.
2. On Your Back
Sleeping on our back makes it easier for our head, neck, and spine to align and keep it in a neutral position. No extra pressure or curves are being added to the back. “You are in the best position as your spine stays in natural alignment all night long,” Dr. Hooman Melamed says.
3. Attention Posture
This is one of the rarer positions, but about 8% of the world’s population sleeps this way. This is also called the soldier position because it is like a soldier standing at attention.
This is psychologically a marker pointing towards an individual who has an insecure nature and a defensive attitude towards life.