Your cart is empty!
Add your favorite items to your cart.
Finding the best sleeping position for your individual body is often easier said than done, and you might not even stick to just one. Beyond your own comfort, there are pros and cons for each style of sleeping. Sleeping on your stomach, for example, can cause nerve issues and back pain, but sleeping on your side or back may bring about other concerns.
What about sleeping sitting up—is it bad or good for your health? In this post, we’ll discuss the benefits and drawbacks of sleeping upright, answer some FAQs, and more.
Read on for a full explanation or use the links below to skip ahead to the section that best answers your query.
In most cases, yes. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleeping sitting up is safe to do if it’s comfortable and you’re able to get enough sleep. Some individuals may find sleeping sitting up, like in a recliner chair, to be more comfortable than lying down. This can be due to a recent surgery, medical conditions, such as obstructive pulmonary disease, or chronic morbid obesity. Additionally, choosing to sleep sitting up can simply be due to personal preference or necessity, like if you’re trying to fall asleep on a plane seat.
While sleeping upright isn’t necessarily “healthy” or “unhealthy”, there are some considerations to make before committing to an upright sleeping posture. Let’s take a look at how sleeping upright can increase your risk of deep vein thrombosis.
Next time you’re headed on a long flight and want to catch up on some rest while you’re up in the air, you might want to consider the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT is a kind of blood clot that can form in the veins of your thighs and lower legs after long periods of sitting down with your limbs bent. Severe clots can travel into the lungs and potentially cause a fatal pulmonary embolism.
When you sleep upright on a plane, or just don’t get up to stand for a long time, your risk of developing DVT increases. Additionally, being pregnant, smoking, or taking certain medications can also increase your risk.
Symptoms of DVT can include:
To reduce your risk of DVT while sleeping on an airplane, use these guidelines:
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleeping upright isn’t necessarily a healthy or unhealthy choice. However, it can be extremely difficult to do, given the different stages of sleep, especially in REM sleep.
In REM sleep, your body goes through a phase of temporary paralysis, which can make it hard to maintain an upright posture and also get a good night’s sleep.
What about sleeping standing up? Can it be done, and is it healthy? Sleeping standing up is incredibly difficult for humans to do, primarily because of the temporary sleep paralysis we discussed above. However, many animals do sleep standing up. This is thanks in part to a “stay apparatus”, which allows them to lock their legs into place without straining their muscles.
The ability to sleep while standing up is also a product of evolution—the posture allows animals, like horses and cattle, the ability to flee faster if a predator arrives while they are sleeping. While these animals are able to catch up on some rest while standing, they’re not able to get REM sleep in this posture, which means they’ll also sleep in other positions as well.
Sleeping upright is generally safe to do, especially if it’s not for a long period of time. However, sitting still for extended periods can increase your risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis clot. To reduce your risk, recline your seat, drink plenty of fluids, and stand up and stretch when possible.
In some cases, you may not fall asleep sitting up, but you end up waking up sitting upright. According to the American Sleep Association, this could be due to something called parasomnias. Parasomnias are disruptions during sleep that may cause an individual to have nightmares, sleep talk, sleep walk, or thrash around throughout the night.
Waking up in a seated position can also be attributed to REM Behavior Disorder (RBD), which causes individuals to act out dreams while they sleep. This can include sitting up, punching, kicking, grabbing, flailing, jumping, and leaping.
It depends. Every person is unique and what feels comfortable to one person may not feel great to the next. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when choosing the right sleeping position for you:
If you struggle with nighttime heartburn or shoulder pain, MedCline can help. Our Shoulder Relief and Reflux Relief Systems are designed to improve the quality of your sleep. Speak to a Sleep Specialist or visit our FAQ page to learn more.
Say goodbye to nighttime Acid Reflux & GERD pain without sacrificing comfort.
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …
Text SHOULDER to+1 (844) 942-0170to learn more and get discounts on our Shoulder Pain Relief System.
MedCline was founded in 2011 by Carl Melcher, M.D, who was a life-long sufferer of GERD. Dr. Melcher wanted to help the millions of GERD patients with a natural treatment alternative utilizing positional therapy. Since development, the Reflux Relief System has been validated in 7 clinical trials. Aiming to help other medical conditions with positional therapy, MedCline has also developed a Shoulder Relief System for those who suffer with chronic shoulder pain at night. Both MedCline Relief Systems are providing much-needed relief for those suffering from nocturnal acid reflux and/or nighttime shoulder pain to get quality, restorative sleep leading to a higher health-related quality of life.
To learn more about acid reflux relief, visit our Reflux Relief System Page.
To learn more about shoulder pain relief, visit our Shoulder Relief System Page.