How Sleeping in this Position Can Be Hurting Your HEART
Welcome. I want to discuss the very best position that you should sleep in when it comes to combating hypertension. Even though you may not have high blood pressure, but they’re there is one particular position that we should not be sleeping in.
For many of us, not all of us, that can definitely be causing hypertension in us without us even knowing it. So let me first discuss what hypertension is. It’s a very common condition worldwide, and most of the symptoms are silent. There is long term force of the blood against the artery walls.
The heart has to pump harder and more forceful, which causes a long term force of the blood against the artery walls. And that excessive pressure that affects the heart can cause a heart attack or cardiac problems, as well as problems to the brain or even to the eyes or the kidneys. High blood pressure is something that needs to be managed and it can be.
This is more commonly seen in obesity or just carrying too much extra weight. During sleep, when the throat and tongue muscles are more relaxed, the soft tissue can cause the ear waves to become blocked.
This sleep apnea triggers the brain to pump more blood to key areas like the brain and the heart. And this puts added pressure on your artery walls and spikes your blood pressure higher than if you were breathing normally while you sleep.
So you might have noticed that many times you’ve waken up and you gasp for air. Well, that’s an indication of potentially having sleep apnea. So every time your oxygen level drops in your body, this raises your blood pressure. This causes your adrenaline to surge.
We call this adrenaline surge. And this puts excessive stress on your heart because it has to work harder to normalize your blood pressure. So if you are a snore or you notice that you’re gasping for more ear, you do not want to sleep on your back because sleeping on your back allows the muscles of the tongue to fall back against the throat, obstructing oxygen getting into your lungs.
The best way for you to sleep is on your left side. And according to the research, sleeping on your left side is thought to be the best sleeping position for hypertension because it relieves blood pressure on blood vessels that return blood to the heart.
And if you are a side sleeper, the best way to sleep is with a pillow between the knees, keeping the knees and the hips and the spine in line, as well as the head to make sure your head’s not propped up or too low. So make sure you have the correct height of your pillow.
And sleeping on your left side also has additional benefits, as it’s shown to decrease insomnia and relieve gastroesophagio reflux. Now, stomach sleeping is okay for sleep apnea suffers because it puts gravity on your side.
It pulls the tissues of your mouth and throat forward, thus reducing the chances that they will cause airway obstruction. Just be sure that you’re careful not to let your pillow partially block your nose or mouth, which can make it more difficult for you to breathe properly. And for the majority of people who have sleep apnea, I will promise you, when you start losing weight, you will start breathing so much better.
Your organs, your tissues, will function more ideally. And remember, make sure you cut down a little salty foods, those sugary foods, those refined and processed foods, those heavy red meats, alcohol, too much saturated fats. Your processed and packaged foods, your sugary drinks, like those fructose that you may be drinking, or those even artificial preserves that’s in your sodas.
Cut it all out. Because all of that will affect your sleeping. So please, share this video with a friend, a loved one, or someone that you think that can benefit from this video. Please leave your comments below because I believe there’ll be many. And most important, make it a great day. I’m Dr. Alan Mandel.
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