Sleeping On Your Stomach – Is It Bad For You?

Many people are die-hard stomach sleepers, but you may have heard it’s not the best sleeping position for everyone. While there’s something cozy about hugging the mattress face-first, some experts say it might not be the best choice for your neck, back, and skin. 

Here’s what to know about sleeping on your stomach, including who should avoid it and how to help minimize negative effects if you can’t quit the belly snooze. 

Note: The content on Sleepopolis is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn’t be taken as medical advice, and it shouldn’t take the place of medical advice and supervision from a trained professional. If you feel you may be suffering from any sleep disorder or medical condition, please see your healthcare provider immediately. 

Should You Sleep on Your Stomach? 

Is sleeping on your stomach bad? It depends on who you ask. Generally, stomach sleeping isn’t recommended, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harmful. 

Michael Gerling, M.D., American Board-Certified Orthopedic Spine Surgeon and Founder of The Gerling Institute, tells Sleepopolis that the problem isn’t the act of sleeping on your stomach itself but how your spine might be positioned or strained in this position. 

Tara Pierce, DC, LAc, and Founder of OC Well Studio agrees. She says, “Healthcare practitioners may advise against sleeping on your stomach due to additional stress it may place on joints of the spine, in particular in the lumbar (lower back) and cervical (neck) regions.” (1)

Of course, there are other important aspects to consider outside of spinal alignment and sleep posture. Different sleep positions can influence how rested you feel in the morning and even impact things like your breathing or muscle tension. Unfortunately, sleeping on your stomach tends to pose the most risk of potentially negative effects.  

It can put extra strain on your neck and spine, which may lead to daytime pain. (2) Over time, if you’re a chronic stomach sleeper, this position might play a role in misalignments and muscle strain that affect your overall health. (1) 

Instead, many experts suggest side or back sleeping as more supportive options that promote better spinal alignment. If you find yourself waking up on your stomach, don’t panic — just be aware of the reasons some sleep experts advise against it.

Effects of Sleeping on Your Stomach

According to one survey, about 7 percent of the adult population sleeps on their stomach, while 54 percent sleep on their side and 37 percent sleep on their back. (3) 

It’s possible that you’ve been sleeping on your stomach for a while but haven’t noticed any major side effects. However, it’s helpful to understand exactly how sleeping in this position could gradually take a toll on your body. 

Neck Strain and Stiffness 

When you sleep stomach-down, your head often turns from side to side, where it might lie for extended periods. Over time, you might start experiencing neck strain and stiffness as this puts uneven pressure on your muscles and vertebrae. For some people, this constant rotation may result in issues like a herniated disc, chronic neck pain, or annoying numbness. (1)

Pierce says the lumbar spine curve may be placed in an exaggerated ‘sway back’ position, which can irritate spinal joints and nerves and cause pain that spreads across the lower back.

She explains, “In the cervical spine, when laying in a prone position, you’re forced to turn your head to one side or the other to breathe, and this can not only irritate spinal joints in the neck similarly to what was described above for the lumbar spine but may cause muscles in the area to become very tight and painful on the side you are rotated toward.”

Back Pain

Depending on your pillow, mattress, and body position, stomach sleeping can place unnatural curves on your spine, which may lead to back pain. 

When you lie on your stomach, your body weight can cause an arch in your lower back, putting stress on your lumbar spine. This misalignment can strain muscles, ligaments, and spinal discs, which support the back, leading to stiffness and pain over time. (1)

Pierce says that laying on your stomach can aggravate already-present symptoms of lower back and neck pain. Plus, if you don’t have enough support while sleeping in this position it can make it harder to maintain a neutral posture. 

Dr. Nicole Maholy, DC, CNS, LDN, and wellness coach for WOWMD notes, “Without proper support, lying on your stomach can cause an exaggerated arch in the lower back, putting stress on the lumbar spine, often resulting in discomfort or even chronic back pain.”

Hip Pain

Stomach sleeping may trigger or worsen hip pain because of the way it places uneven pressure on the hips and lower body. When you sleep in this position, it often tilts your pelvis forward, causing the spine and hip joints to become misaligned. 

This puts strain on the surrounding muscles, ligaments, and tendons, which may cause discomfort in the hips if you don’t have enough support. Additionally, stomach sleepers tend to twist their legs or bend one knee to stabilize themselves, which can increase tension in the hips. 

Spinal Pressure and Misalignment 

Sleeping on your stomach can strain your lower back and neck and potentially misalign your spine. When you lie face down, your body weight pushes down on your torso, flattening your spine’s natural curvature and forcing it into an awkward angle. (1)

This, in addition to turning your head from side to side throughout the night, may set you up for discomfort and stiffness over time. 

Face Wrinkles 

If you’re trying to prevent premature facial wrinkles, sleeping facedown may not be the best position. When your face is pressed down onto your pillow or mattress, this may accelerate skin aging effects like wrinkles. (4)

This can happen because extended periods of pressure restrict blood flow to the face and push the skin against underlying structures, potentially creating creases and lines in places where it’s harder for skin to “bounce back” (like your mouth and eyes). (5)

Who Should Avoid Sleeping on Their Stomach?

Stomach sleeping isn’t recommended in general, but specific groups should avoid it due to existing health conditions or having an increased risk of complications. 

People with Back or Neck Pain

Sleeping on your stomach can worsen existing neck and back pain by further misaligning your spine. This position can force your neck to twist to one side, stressing your cervical spine, and compress your lower back in an unnatural curve. (6)

Proper spinal alignment is good for everyone, especially those already living with neck or back pain. For example, Pierce says people with degenerative disc disease, arthritis, or sciatica may experience more discomfort from stomach sleeping than others. 

Sleeping with a neutral spine helps reduce unnecessary pressure so your muscles and ligaments can relax. Back or side sleeping offers better support to help minimize and prevent new pain. 

Pregnant People

Sleeping on your stomach while pregnant is usually discouraged, but it becomes more physically difficult to do so the further along you are anyway. 

In the first trimester, stomach sleeping is typically OK (and easier) because the uterus is still small in size and protected by your pelvis. Many women start to experience discomfort in this sleeping position toward the second trimester and beyond. As the fetus grows, stomach sleeping can compress the uterus and begin to affect blood flow. 

By the third trimester, stomach sleeping is strongly discouraged due to increased pressure on the abdomen and potential risks to both mother and baby. Doctors generally recommend side sleeping, especially on the left side, which supports optimal circulation and reduces strain on the growing belly. It can be helpful to get a body pillow or a C-shaped pillow to help support your belly when lying on your side. (7)

Additionally, Gerling says that people with larger bodies, such as larger breasts or enlarged stomachs, pregnant or not, have different alignments of the spine when sleeping on their stomachs. “When laying on the stomach, larger breasts further hyperextend the back, and large abdomens can flex the spine.”

A Note on Infant Sleeping

New parents, take note: the safest sleeping position for infants is on their back, which is strongly recommended by pediatric experts. 

Infants should also not sleep on their stomachs, as this position carries the highest risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs), which is most prevalent among babies under one year old. (8)

Back-sleeping ensures that an infant’s airway remains unobstructed and promotes better oxygen flow versus stomach or side sleeping. To further enhance safety, a baby’s sleep environment should include a firm mattress, a fitted sheet, and no loose bedding, pillows, “bumpers” around their crib, or toys where they will be sleeping. 

Tips for Improving Stomach Sleeping 

If you’re a stomach sleeper and aren’t experiencing pain and stiffness issues, this isn’t meant to worry you. Unless you fall into a higher risk category for related complications, you might choose to continue allowing your body to sleep in this position. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help improve stomach sleeping and help prevent negative effects. 

Invest in a Firmer Mattress

Research shows that a medium-firm mattress is best for preventing back pain in most people. (9) Supportive mattresses help stomach sleepers maintain a more neutral spine alignment, whereas your body tends to sink into a softer mattress, which can exaggerate the arch of your back. 

Having a more stable surface helps distribute your body weight more evenly, reducing the likelihood of unnatural spinal curvature. This firmness also helps keep your neck and back straighter, minimizing strain.

Use Thin Pillows 

Yes, squishy pillows can be dreamy and delightful, but hear us out. Using a thin pillow, or even no pillow at all, can help keep your neck in a more neutral position when sleeping on your stomach. 

A thick pillow instead forces your neck to tilt upward, which might increase stress on your cervical spine. (10) Specialized pillows, such as ultra-thin, low-loft pillows, or cervical pillows (pillows made to prevent or reduce neck pain by aligning the cervical spine) with gentle contouring, can provide just enough support without lifting your head too high off your mattress. 

Additionally, Gerling recommends stomach sleepers try placing a pillow under the stomach as a way to flex the spine and reduce the effects of sleeping on the stomach. He says, “Flexing the spine typically takes pressure off of the joints in the back of the spine and reduces pressure on nerves in the spinal canal.”

Do Morning Stretches 

Morning stretches can be a great daily habit for anyone but can be especially therapeutic for stomach sleepers. Stretching when you wake up helps loosen your muscles, improve your mobility and stability, and counteract stiffness caused by a night of spinal misalignment. (11)

For example, try these stretches when you wake up: 

• Child’s pose, done by sitting back on your knees and lowering your forehead toward the ground while stretching your arms out forward 
• Gentle spinal twists, done by sitting on your bottom with one leg bent and crossed over the other and then twisting toward your bent leg
• Planks and hip bridges to help build core stability

Together, stretching and strengthening can help reduce discomfort, enhance mobility, and provide better support for your spine. (12)

Plus, regularly moving your body helps benefit your sleep. Maholy says, “Staying physically active and engaging in exercises that strengthen the core and promote good posture can also help support the spine, making stomach sleeping less problematic,” she explains. (13) 

Alternatives to Stomach Sleeping

If you’re curious about trying other ways to sleep, you might find that doing so improves problems you didn’t even know you had. Most people favor side sleeping (about 54 percent of adults), which can help keep your spine in alignment and reduce acid reflux and snoring for some. (2)

Then there’s the 37 percent of adults prefer back sleeping, which helps evenly distribute weight and minimize facial contact with your pillow and mattress. Finally, approximately 7 percent of adults say stomach sleeping is their preference, although this position can put extra strain on the neck and back without appropriate support. (1)(2)

Remember, says Pierce, some people are perfectly fine sleeping on their stomachs and have no issues. Sleeping prone is not in and of itself dangerous or problematic. “For people without pain or discomfort stomach sleeping, I don’t recommend they change their sleeping position,” she says. After all, sleeping prone well is far better than sleeping in another more “optimal” position poorly.

Interested in giving these other positions a try? Start by placing a pillow either under your knees when on your back or between your knees when on your side for extra support. You might also like a body pillow to provide more support when side sleeping. 

Side Sleeping

Side sleeping naturally minimizes strain on your neck and back compared to stomach sleeping. Maholy says that side sleeping helps you maintain a neutral spine position, reducing the risk of neck and back pain. This position is also better at keeping your airways open so it’s easier to breathe, which can be helpful for people who snore or have sleep apnea. (14)

People who have acid reflux may also benefit from sleeping on the left side, as this can help prevent stomach acid from going backward into your esophagus and causing burning symptoms. (15)

Gerling adds that sleeping on the side allows one to fine-tune the spinal alignment, flexing or extending the joints into a position of comfort. It’s important to have a supportive bed that will prevent shifting of the bones and excessive pressure on the hips and shoulders. 

Back Sleeping 

Lying on your back provides optimal spinal support when combined with the right pillow to maintain the natural curvature of your neck and lower back, Maholy says. 

This reduces strain on your neck, shoulders, and lower back. Sleeping this way also helps evenly distribute your weight, which helps to prevent pressure points and keep your muscles more relaxed.

Additionally, Maholy notes that sleeping on your back minimizes how much your face is smushed. This position can also reduce facial compression, which may be a priority for those seeking to minimize premature wrinkles. (5)

Overall, sleeping on your back or side promotes digestive, skin, and musculoskeletal health, reducing the risk of pain and discomfort. 

FAQs

The Last Word From Sleepopolis 

If you’re among the 7 percent of adults who report resting peacefully on their stomachs, the potentially negative effects of stomach sleeping may be news to you. Stomach sleeping isn’t usually the first position many health experts recommend, especially if you have existing pain or a health condition like acid reflux. 

But if you tend to snooze best face down and don’t wake up feeling like you were hit by a truck, there may not be a pressing reason to make a change. However, if you’re curious, experimenting with side or back sleeping may leave you pleasantly surprised. 

Sources

Lauren Panoff

Lauren Panoff, MPH, RD is a Colorado-based health and nutrition writer who has been published with a number of trusted wellness platforms. She is a dietitian who specializes in plant-based living, as well as a mother of two humans and a dog.