People are being warned to avoid the ‘car crash’ sleeping position, which is being called the ‘worst ever’ when it comes to posture.
A TikTok video saw sleep posture specialist, James Leinhardt, talk us through why sleeping on your front is just so bad – and showing us a much better approach in a follow-up clip.
The video was posted on TikTok by Levitex, which bills itself as the ‘only pillow and mattress brand to actually care about your spine health’, with a caption saying: “The worst sleeping position goes to... stomach sleeping.”
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In the footage, Leinhard said: “This is literally the worst sleeping position... In fact, sorry, this is the worst ever sleeping position.”
He pulled his knee towards his upper body so that his legs are widened, but still laying flat on the bed.
“You’re rotating your neck, you’re twisting it,” he explained.
“You’re putting your head up and you’re fighting all the natural curves of your spine.
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“You’re compressing your vertebrae.
“You’re getting pins and needles, neck pain and back pain."
Leinhardt added: “And you still do it every night... Why?!”
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He then grabbed a model skeleton to demonstrate how the sleeping position affected the body.
“And it’s not comfy,” he said.
“It’s just what you’re familiar with. It’s just what your bodies are used to.
“Does this look comfy to you?”
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The only things is, his remarks slightly backfired in the comments, where many people were adamant that it was their ‘favourite way to sleep’.
One wrote defiantly: “It is comfy. If it wasn’t I wouldn’t have gotten used to it in the first place.”
Another said: “Then why does it feel so good????”
Someone else commented: “Guess Ima be an ol lady with the neck pain, back pain, compressing all the vertebrae.”
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A fourth added: “Life is too short I’m still going to do this.”
In a follow-up video, Leinhardt said he wasn’t trying to ‘upset’ anyone or ‘ruin’ their sleep, saying ‘comfort is our body fighting the least line of resistance’.
He went on: “When I’m sat in this chair and slouched, I’m comfortable for about 20 minutes, maybe half an hour max.
“But then the pressure on the top of my sacrum and the way that my spine is slouched in the chair is going to cause me loads and loads of pain.
“Eventually I’m going to reposition myself and move up and improve my posture."
Leinhardt said it is the ‘familiarity of that position’ was just an ‘association of your sleep’, so it’s just what your body is used to.
But after you’ve fallen asleep, you’ll toss and turn because your body is uncomfortable.
In a third clip, Leinhardt also demonstrated the best way to transition from ‘awful’ front sleeping to a much better option – on your side.
“Okay, so you all hate me because I’ve insisted on you stopping this,” he said as he lay in what he described as the ‘car crash of a sleeping’ position.
“First of all, you want a pillow between the tip of your ear and the tip of your shoulder – one that fills that space.
“[…] The second thing you’re gonna do is put a pillow between your knees and ankles. That’s gonna support and stabilise this hip and keep you feeling safer, and you’re less likely to bring that leg over.
“The third thing you’re gonna do is you’re going to hug a pillow – you're gonna de-weight that top shoulder.
“Hug it, and again you’re more stable and less likely to roll over.”
He encouraged people to try it for 30 minutes that night, adding: “If you don’t like it and it doesn’t work out, go back to that car crash of a sleeping position and start again tomorrow.”
Jess Hardiman