[Q] indigestion and sleep

[paigetheoracle]

Why is it that if I sleep on my left side or on my back, I don't get indigestion but if I sleep on my right side I do?

[Essay]

Yoga taught me that the organs are supported--as in a sling--most naturally if laying on the left side.

Laying on the right side also allows the stomach fluids to drain out (a right-hand exit) into the intestines--sometimes before they are ready, or too much at once.

...or somthing like that....

 

~ :)

[freeztar]

Yoga taught me that the organs are supported--as in a sling--most naturally if laying on the left side.

Laying on the right side also allows the stomach fluids to drain out (a right-hand exit) into the intestines--sometimes before they are ready, or too much at once.

...or somthing like that....

 

~ :hihi:

 

This goes against what I've read (and what makes sense to me). Laying on your left side forces all of your organs to press up against one another much more than if you lay on your right side. Since humans are not bilaterally symettrical, internally, this makes intuitive sense to me. I can also feel this! Laying on my right side, or back, I feel no internal pressure. Laying on my leftside (as I often do because my wife sleeps to my left), I can feel internal cavity pressure. It's visceral. ;)

 

This thread's question has me baffled. :)

Perhaps Essay's conjectures are correct, perhaps not. ;)

 

As a sufferer of indigestion myself, I've never noticed a difference regarding my bodily position. Some potent alkalines usually do the trick though. ;)

[Moontanman]

lying on your left side helps keep your blood pressure lower. I'm not sure of any other benefit.

[freeztar]

lying on your left side helps keep your blood pressure lower. I'm not sure of any other benefit.

 

Can you please provide evidence for this?

[paigetheoracle]

This goes against what I've read (and what makes sense to me). Laying on your left side forces all of your organs to press up against one another much more than if you lay on your right side. Since humans are not bilaterally symettrical, internally, this makes intuitive sense to me. I can also feel this! Laying on my right side, or back, I feel no internal pressure. Laying on my leftside (as I often do because my wife sleeps to my left), I can feel internal cavity pressure. It's visceral. :doh:

 

This thread's question has me baffled. :naughty:

Perhaps Essay's conjectures are correct, perhaps not. :eek:

 

As a sufferer of indigestion myself, I've never noticed a difference regarding my bodily position. Some potent alkalines usually do the trick though. :)

 

It may be something to do with my migraines, which occur in the left hemisphere of the brain and are sometimes preceded by digestion problems. If you are perfectly well, this may be why this effect happens to me and not you, hence your bafflement and my indigestion:lol:

[Moontanman]

Can you please provide evidence for this?

 

Freezy, it's what I've been told by doctors, that's all I got.

[freeztar]

Well, here's an interesting source I found:

 

It has been shown that patients with chronic heart failure tend to prefer sleeping on their right side as opposed to their left. Subsequent studies have demonstrated that, indeed, sympathetic nervous system activity is lower in patients with chronic heart failure, or in those who have had a heart attack, when they lie on their right sides versus their left. Sympathetic nervous activity is what controls heart rate and blood pressure and thus, for these patients, lying on the right reduces their heart rate and blood pressure, both of which are good for the heart when faced with these medical conditions. As such, some authorities recommend that patients with heart failure or who have had a heart attack not sleep on their left sides. It should be noted, however, that this therapy has not been studied to confirm that it changes other clinical outcomes.

 

Why lowering of sympathetic nervous system activity happens with changes in position is not entirely clear. Some researchers have suggested that when the right side is down, the heart is in a more superior position, making it easier for it to pump blood out. However, this has not been studied at this time to prove this is the case. Furthermore, whether the effects noted are of any significance to individuals who do not have heart failure or have not had a heart attack is unclear.

 

Of interest, body position in sleep does affect other conditions. For those with heart burn (gastroesophageal reflux), sleeping with the right side down actually worsens nighttime reflux as compared to sleeping with the left side down. And for those with obstructive sleep apnea, sleeping flat on your back tends to worsen this condition (as opposed to sleeping on your sides).

Ask an Expert: Sleeping on Left side Bad for Heart?