Not only can quality sleep improve both physical and mental health, but the amount of time spent sleeping is not the only factor that matters. When it comes to having the best possible health, the posture in which you sleep is quite essential. According to ancient Ayurvedic teachings, lying on your left side while you sleep has the greatest number of positive health effects of any other sleeping position. Continue reading if you want to learn about the advantages of sleeping on your left side.
Given that the human body is symmetrical, you’re probably curious about how something like this might be feasible. The arrangement of our internal organs results in an internal asymmetry in our body. Because of this, sleeping on your left side has more benefits than sleeping on your right.
Medical research has shown that sleeping on your left side has a number of benefits, such as:
1. Helps in detoxification
Left-sided sleeping positively impacts the body’s moisture balance and activates the lymph vessels. The lymphatic system moves metabolites and gets rid of pollutants and toxins by draining them through the thoracic duct, which empties into the left side of the heart.
When you sleep on your left side, you will expedite and facilitate detoxification, also known as the removal of toxins from the body. If you sleep on your right side, the lymphatic system will have to work harder to carry things to the other side of your body.
A clogged lymphatic system can cause serious health problems such as: –
- Arthritis
- Headaches
- Muscle damage
- Chronic fatigue
- Skin conditions and others.
If you have these symptoms, switching to sleeping on your left side may help you cleanse and restore your lymphatic system to peak performance.
2. Facilitates Spleen Operation
In humans, the spleen can be found on the left side of the abdomen. It helps clean the blood and lymph as part of the lymphatic system. Benefits to the spleen can be gained by sleeping on one’s left side.
Lying on one’s left side helps the body’s waste products go more quickly and easily via the lymph system and into the spleen. The spleen is better able to remove toxins from the blood because of the increased blood flow caused by gravity. According to Ayurveda, sleeping on your left side improves spleen function.
Instead of using the heart’s pumping function, the lymph system relies on muscular contractions to remove waste products from the body’s cells. Promoting gravity-aided lymphatic flow towards the spleen and heart is healthy.
3. Helps Pregnant Women Feel Secure
Midwife and foetal positioning specialist Gail Tully, founder of Spinning Babies, says that pregnant women are better off resting on their left side rather than their right.
When a pregnant woman is horizontal with her face and torso up, there is less blood flow because the inferior vena cava is compressed. So, the heart has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood, which cuts off blood flow to the uterus and makes it more likely that the unborn child will have problems or that a caesarean section will be needed.
If your liver is located on the right side of your abdomen, resting on your left side can help alleviate pressure from your uterus. This in turn may improve blood flow and thus nutrient delivery to the placenta. But there hasn’t been enough research done on pregnant women to back up these claims.
Additional positive outcomes have been linked to left-side sleeping positions for pregnant women, including:
- Better blood circulation
- Knee and leg support
- Back support
While pregnant, sleeping on your left side has several positive effects. If you’re pregnant, it’s best to talk to your doctor before making any drastic changes to the way you sleep.
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