Sleep - snoring & shoulder/neck pain

[Aaron Montgomery]

Somewhere in the process of going from 130lb @ 6'1" (till I was around 24) to 190lb (currently putting on 1lb a week), I've started snoring and it's really getting on my wife's nerves because it's keeping her awake for well over an hour. I've gotten in the habit of sleeping on my back for several years, because if I sleep on my side my neck hurts like crazy (get headaches from it) and my shoulder tightens up bad. However, if I sleep on my side I don't snore.

So, sounds like a dumb question, but how does one properly sleep on his side without making his neck and shoulder mad? I typically sleep with one stiffish pillow under my head, and a fluffy pillow under my knees (otherwise my hips hurt).

[Charlie Davies]

So, sounds like a dumb question, but how does one properly sleep on his side without making his neck and shoulder mad? I typically sleep with one stiffish pillow under my head, and a fluffy pillow under my knees (otherwise my hips hurt).

I use a small moldeable down pillow to sleep on my side, I don't like large pillows or pillows that have a fixed shape, they make my neck hurt.

[Aaron Montgomery]

I'm using something like this 'Contour Memory Foam Pillow': http://tinyurl.com/jxx243j

[Dag]

Not a dumb question at all. I think it's not an uncommon problem, both the snoring and sore neck/shoulders from sleeping wrong.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Well, I guess it just seems dumb to me because you would think after having spent 10 years of my life sleeping (I'm 30), I would have figured out how to sleep properly by now.

The variables to side sleeping:
- Mattress stiffness. More stiff or less?
- Mattress height adjustment. My bed is slightly raised towards the headboard, but maybe making it flat is better for side sleeping.
- Neck Support. Which pillow is best? Would putting a small towel under my neck provide better support?
- Knee & hip support. Sleeping on my side with a thin pillow makes my hips hurt.
- Which side is better? It may be my imagination, but I think I wake up with an upset stomach if I've been sleeping on my right side.

[Dag]

Well, I guess it just seems dumb to me because you would think after having spent 10 years of my life sleeping (I'm 30), I would have figured out how to sleep properly by now.

I'm 51. When you get it figured out, let me know.[emoji6]

[Aaron Montgomery]

We just need Rip to write a new article, "Starting Sleep".

[Charlie Davies]

Well, I guess it just seems dumb to me because you would think after having spent 10 years of my life sleeping (I'm 30), I would have figured out how to sleep properly by now.

The variables to side sleeping:
- Mattress stiffness. More stiff or less?
- Mattress height adjustment. My bed is slightly raised towards the headboard, but maybe making it flat is better for side sleeping.
- Neck Support. Which pillow is best? Would putting a small towel under my neck provide better support?
- Knee & hip support. Sleeping on my side with a thin pillow makes my hips hurt.
- Which side is better? It may be my imagination, but I think I wake up with an upset stomach if I've been sleeping on my right side.

Firm mattress, thin pillow. Nothing between your knees. Works for me (5'10" 185lb male, 51, narrow shoulders, side sleeper). Your mileage probably varies, but try it.

For every human being (aside a few mutants), your stomach is on your left side (liver on the right), with the esophagus more central.
So sleeping on your *left* side reduces acid reflux.
Don't lie on your right side when your belly is full.

[JohnW]

I stopped snoring by not using a pillow at all. At some point in the night the pillow would put my neck into flexion and cause a degree of obstruction. It took a night or two to get used to it but feels completely normal now.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Do y'all tuck your shoulder under you, or do you lay with your shoulders in normal "standing" anatomical position?