Good Lifestyle

Get a lot of good quality sleep is essential to our health and our general well -being - we all know it. But who did not sleep on the sofa trying to catch up with the last season of Succession (Or Your frenzy of choice of choice ))? It may seem harmless, but doctors say that if you fall asleep regularly on your sofa, you could damage your body. "Everyone likes to sleep on the sofa, maybe watching television," said orthopedic surgeon Brian A. Cole , Md, faaos. "However, there is a compromise in terms of neck and lower back support."

Chester Wu , MD, who is Certified double card In psychiatry and sleep medicine, agree. "Your sofa is unlikely to provide you with vertebral support, pressure relief and temperature support that your mattress can," he said Better life .

How bad is this habit for your health? Read the rest to discover what happens to your body when you compose on your sofa - and how to make the most of your naps, wherever you take them.

Read this then: If you sleep in this position, you could hurt the spine, the experts warn .

"The sofas are not designed to sleep and do not have the appropriate support you need to maintain a healthy vertebral alignment throughout the night," said Randa Jaafar , MD, a Specialist in pain management And an anesthesiologist who worked specifically with patients with back pain.

The spine is made up of four curves, the cervical and lumbar curvatures which make the shape of a C, and the thoracic and sacred curvatures which form more a C.

"The organization of the spine is like a yin and a yang, a dynamic balance of the opposite but complementary and interconnected forces, known as Chi", explains Cole. "A curve leads to the next. It is important to maintain this balance by supporting the spine. Although you can think that a sofa is comfortable when you sink, the reality is that you no longer support the curves of your column vertebral. "

Read this then: I am a pharmacist, and it is the sleeping pill that I recommend .

Although it may be so good to succumb to your heavy eyelids and let you go away by reading a book or watching a film, your sofa does not offer appropriate support for your rest body and can leave you steep when you wake up.

"When you fall asleep on the sofa, your body is gradually relaxing and your muscles become less tense," said Jaafar. "This can cause uncomfortable sleep positions that can Back your back muscles And finally cause pain. ""

It's certainly nice to sink into a soft sofa, but it's not that great when it comes to sleeping. Sherry McAlister , Ms (ed), dc, President of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress , explains that your spine - which, as indicated above, is made up of intertwined C curves - should not look like a C.

"Your spine shapes a 'C shape due to the soft fabric on your sofa, which is why you can have back pain after lying on it," she said. "When you wake up, the lack of support can leave you steep and uncomfortable."

As long as you avoid too difficult positions, Jaafar says Catch a quick catnap On the sofa will probably not be a problem. It is to sleep the night and wake up four hours later, or even in the morning, it is more concern. Wu Concorde, saying: "If you find the sofa a comfortable place to sleep during a short period of time, and you do not wake up with neck or back pain, the sofa could be a nap." AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

But even so, there are ways to facilitate nap on the sofa on your body. Mallister recommends sleeping on your back if your sofa is long enough. "Your weight will be distributed more uniformly accordingly, which makes you less inclined to throw and turn during your nap," she says Better life .

For those who cannot sleep on their backs, it is important to find a position that allows the natural curvature of the spine - and keep your head and your neck supported. "The strategic use of pillows can help," says Wu.

If you sleep, he says he breed your knees with a pillow to help you align your spine. If you sleep on your side, place a pillow between your knees. In either position, Wu also suggests using a pillow to support your neck. If you don't have a good size pillow, Jaafar says that a rolled towel can do the trick.

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It is good to keep your naps - on the sofa or elsewhere - on the shortest side. "If you decide to take a nap on your sofa, try to take a nap for 20 to 30 minutes," said Jaafar.

McAlister agrees, saying that "sleep inertia, often known as" sleep drunkenness " - this state of slow perplexity that many of us know too much - can be brought by waking up during a deep sleep phase. " She recommends sleeping for less than half an hour - or going ahead and taking a marathon nap. "You should try to wake up before deep sleep begins (usually before 30 minutes) or sleeping for the 90-minute REM cycle," she said.

Wu also recommends brief naps and adds a word of warning regarding your rehearsal: "to avoid disturbing post-nap groan has the potential of disturb the sleep of this night . ""