What's the Best Position to Sleep in? Do we even need a Pillow?

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by Super User, 5 years ago
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Is sleeping position that important? Would we be better off without a pillow? The science addressing these questions is lacking, but we can still make some conclusions based on the research.

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Anatomy images provided by Kenhub. To learn more about the anatomy of the human body, check out their awesome learning materials! https://bit.ly/2Rz3SZl

-Big thanks to my friend Sae for being the sleep position model in the video. You can find her on instagram at @pekonism for business inquiries regarding un-wakefulness related modeling projects.

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*CORRECTION: It’s no longer accurate to say the brain *doesn’t* have a lymphatic system… [Nature article from 1 day ago - https://go.nature.com/2SE2pkL] The central nervous system (CNS) was long thought to lack lymphatic drainage; fluid and macromolecules were instead thought to be cleared from the CNS by other routes, such as through absorption into the bloodstream, or through channels running along the outside of blood vessels or nerves to reach the lymphatic system outside the CNS.


As for the sleep experiment, I'm thinking of doing:
Week 1 - Sleep on my bed with a pillow. I will try to fall asleep on my side and will try not to use the pillow to lay on my back.
Week 2 - On bed, no pillow.
Week 3 - On floor with padding. Whether I make the pillow available or not will depend on on the results from Week 1 and 2.
*I'll aim for at least 5 days of data per week to have some leeway for if I go out and the results are skewed by alcohol or what have you.
▪︎For tracking:
Subjective quality: Notebook
Sleep quality data: Garmin vivosmart
Snoring: Snorelab App
Sleep position: Baby monitor camera thing? Any suggestions anyone?


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