A posture expert has lifted the lid on the only two sleep positions he recommends for optimal spinal support — insisting you should never lie on your stomach.
Briton James Leinhardt from Manchester is the founder of the foam pillow and mattress brand Levitex, which has more than 648,000 followers on TikTok.
The CEO has worked for more than ten years with critically injured and chronically ill patients to improve their sleep and quality of life.
Leinhardt went viral having shared that of all the popular sleeping positions, only two have earned his stamp of approval.
James Leinhardt, a sleeping position expert from Manchester, England, went viral on TikTok after sharing the only two sleeping positions he recommends for optimal spinal support
The first position he recommended was the “soldier,” lying flat on your back.
“When you lie on your back, your spine is immediately supported by the mattress and you have the most even distribution of body weight,” he explained.
“If you put a pillow under your knees, you’ll find that you tilt your pelvis slightly and more of your back touches the bed. It is better supported.’
The second he touted was “dreamer,” a semi-fetal side-lying position with a pillow between your knees and ankles for extra support.
“Clinical evidence dictates that you put the least amount of strain on your spine in the sideline position,” he said.
You want your ears, your shoulders, your hips, your knees, (and) your ankles all stacked on top of each other.
“If you put a pillow between your knees and ankles, you take the load off that upper leg and keep it better supported,” he added.
Leinhardt noted that he is strongly against sleeping on your stomach “unless you have a medical reason to lie on your stomach, which is very rare.”
The first position he suggested was the “soldier,” lying flat on your back. “When you lie on your back, your spine is directly supported by the mattress,” he explains
The second he touted was “dreamer,” a semi-fetal side position with a pillow between your knees and ankles for extra support
Experts agree that sleeping on your back and side are the best positions, but many commentators insisted they can only doze off when lying on their stomachs
“Do you sleep in one of the two magical sleeping positions?” he asked in the caption.
The video has been viewed more than 2.2 million times and has received hundreds of comments since it was posted on July 24.
Experts agree that sleeping on your back and side are the best positions, but many insisted that they can only doze off when lying on their stomachs.
“The clinical reason is that I physically can’t sleep unless I’m lying on my stomach,” one person replied.
“I’ve tried not to sleep on my stomach. Sorry, I prefer not having my back perfectly supported rather than not sleeping at all,” someone else added.
“I ALWAYS have sleep paralysis when I sleep on my back,” shared another. “That’s why I only sleep on one side.”
Leinhardt recently awarded the “Worst Sleeping Position” award to stomach sleeping because of the stress it puts on the neck and spine.
“You twist your neck, you twist it, you raise your head, (and) you fight all the natural curves of your spine,” he explained in the video.
You compress your vertebrae. You get pins and needles, neck pain, (and) back pain – and you still do it every night. Why?’