question: Why should we sleep on our sides and not backs?
comment: As someone who uses a CPAP machine, I’ve been told it’s important to lay on my back to facilitate easier breathing. On the other hand, as an epileptic, I’ve been told to sleep on my side to avoid potentially suffocating if I vomit while having a seizure in my sleep.
passages: In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued the recommendation that babies sleep on their backs or sides to reduce the risk of SIDS (a statement that was later revised in 1996 to say that only the back was safest). NICHD launched the "Back to Sleep" campaign in 1994 to spread the message.
   In the 1958 edition of his best-selling book "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care", pediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock warned against placing a baby on its back, writing, "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." However, later studies have shown that placing a young baby in a prone position increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A 2005 study concluded that "systematic review of preventable risk factors for SIDS from 1970 would have led to earlier recognition of the risks of sleeping on the front and might have prevented over 10,000 infant deaths in the UK and at least 50,000 in Europe, the USA, and Australasia."
   Sleeping positions
  
  The sleeping position is the body configuration assumed by a person during or prior to sleeping. It has been shown to have health implications, particularly for babies.
  
  Section::::Sleeping preferences.
  
  A Canadian survey found that 39% of respondents preferring the "log" position (lying on one's side with the arms down the side) and 28% preferring to sleep on their side with their legs bent.
   The inconvenience of this position is that most of the body’s pressure relies over arms and shoulders which produce neck stiffness and frozen shoulder. This can be solved with a side sleeper pillow that allows the correct placement of neck, arms and shoulders.
  
  Section::::Orthopedic pillows and sleep positions.:Back sleeping.
   It is recommended that people at risk of obstructive sleep apnea sleep on their side and with a 30° or higher elevation of the upper body. Snoring, which may be (but is not necessarily) an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, may also be alleviated by sleeping on one's side.
   Modern scientific studies have suggested a beneficial effect of the right lateral decubitus position on the heart. In particular, one study assessed the autonomic effect of three sleep positions (supine, left lateral decubitus, and right lateral decubitus) in healthy subjects using spectral heart rate variability analysis. The results indicated that cardiac vagal activity was greatest when subjects were in the right lateral decubitus position.
  
  Section::::Islam.
   Unlike side sleeping, this position may favour episodes of snoring and sinusitis, as well as back pain. This position requires a soft but firm support for three critical curves of the body: Behind the neck, in the middle of the back and lower back. For this, an orthopedic pillow with neck contour and a wedge under knees can allow the back sleeper to lie with safety and comfort.
  
  Section::::Orthopedic pillows and sleep positions.:Stomach sleeping.
   The sleeping position is the body configuration assumed by a person during or prior to sleeping. Six basic sleeping positions have been identified:
  
  BULLET::::- Fetus (41%) – curling up in a fetal position. This was the most common position, and is especially popular with women.
  
  BULLET::::- Log (15%) – lying on one's side with the arms down the side.
  
  BULLET::::- Yearner (13%) – sleeping on one's side with the arms in front.
  
  BULLET::::- Soldier (8%) – on one's back with the arms pinned to the sides.
   In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended babies sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Although the rate of SIDS decreased by 50% since the Safe to Sleep campaign started in 1994, an unintended consequence was that babies missed out on the twelve or so hours they used to spend in the prone position and there was a sharp increase in skull deformations in infants. Along with tummy time, rotating the direction infants lie in their crib as well as avoiding too much time in car seats, carriers, and bouncers are behaviors recommended to alleviate the associated risks of infants sleeping in a supine position.
   In 1992 a SIDS risk reduction strategy based upon lowering arousal thresholds during SWS was implemented by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which began recommending that healthy infants be positioned to sleep on their back (supine position) or side (lateral position), instead of their stomach (prone position), when being placed down for sleep. In 1994, a number of organizations in the United States combined to further communicate these non-prone sleep position recommendations and this became formally known as the "Back To Sleep" campaign. In 1996 the AAP further refined its sleep position recommendation by stating that infants should only be placed to sleep in the supine position and not in the prone or lateral positions.
   In 1992, the first National Infant Sleep Position (NISP) Household Survey was conducted to determine the usual position in which U.S. mothers placed their babies to sleep: lateral (side), prone (stomach), supine (back), other, or no usual position. According to the 1992 NISP survey, 13.0% of U.S. infants were positioned in the supine position for sleep. According to the 2006 NISP survey 75.7% of infants were positioned in the supine position to sleep.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Tummy time
  
  BULLET::::- Plagiocephaly
  
  BULLET::::- United States Department of Health and Human Services
  
  Section::::External links.
  
  BULLET::::- Safe Sleep For Your Baby
   BULLET::::- Encouraging prone playtime (tummy time). Although the Back to Sleep campaign promotes infants sleeping on their backs to avoid sudden infant death syndrome during sleep, parents should still ensure that their infants spend some waking hours on their stomachs.
  
  Section::::Treatment.:Microcurrent therapy.
   Safe to Sleep
  
  The Safe to Sleep campaign, formerly known as the Back to Sleep campaign, is an initiative backed by the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the US National Institutes of Health to encourage parents to have their infants sleep on their backs (supine position) to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Since "Safe to Sleep" was launched in 1994, the incidence of SIDS has declined by more than 50%.
  
  Section::::History.
   Since 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that infants be placed to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also called crib death. SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby under 1 year of age. Even though there is no way to know which babies might die of SIDS, recommendations include:
  
  BULLET::::- Always place the baby on his or her back to sleep, even for naps. This is the safest sleep position for a healthy baby to reduce the risk of SIDS.
   Many people benefit from sleeping at a "30-degree elevation" of the upper body or higher, as if in a recliner. Doing so helps prevent the gravitational collapse of the airway. Sleeping on a side as opposed to sleeping on the back is also recommended.
  
  Some studies have suggested that "playing a wind instrument": may reduce snoring and apnea incidents. This may be especially true of double reed instruments.
  
  Section::::Treatment.:Surgery.
   BULLET::::- Freefall (7%) – on one's front with the arms around the pillow and the head tilted to one side.
  
  BULLET::::- Starfish (5%) – on one's back with the arms around the pillow.
  
  Section::::Contexts.:Stress positions.
  
  Stress positions place the human body in such a way that a great amount of weight is placed on just one or two muscles. Forcing prisoners to adopt such positions is a method of ill-treatment used for extracting information or as a punishment, possibly amounting to torture. Such positions also are sometimes used as a punishment for children.
  
  Section::::Contexts.:Submissive positions.
   Sleeping on the back has been found to reduce the risk of SIDS. It is thus recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and promoted as a best practice by the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) "Safe to Sleep" campaign. The incidence of SIDS has fallen in a number of countries in which this recommendation has been widely adopted. Sleeping on the back does not appear to increase the risk of choking even in those with gastroesophageal reflux disease. While infants in this position may sleep more lightly this is not harmful. Sharing the same room as one's parents but in a different bed may decrease the risk by half.
   There are many types of orthopaedic pillows for almost every part of the human body, as well as orthopaedic beds, mattresses, top mattresses, supports and cushions for different orthopaedic problems. Some of them have multi-purpose and multi-position designs for different physical ailments and sleep disorders.
  
  Section::::Types of orthopedic pillows.
  
  BULLET::::- "Cervical pillow" or "contour pillow": A sleep pillow with a curved design that adapts to head, neck and shoulder contour for back sleepers and side sleepers. May relieve neck pain, frozen shoulder, stiff neck and headaches, and may help breathing to reduce snoring and sleep apnoea symptoms.
   In the full-lotus, half-lotus and Burmese positions, used in Buddhism and Hinduism, it is often said that the spinal column must be kept "straight," that is, the individual should sit erect but relaxed, by balancing the torso such that the spinal column supports it in a natural way. One should feel comfortable and rest in a simple and unstrained way.
   People sleep in a variety of locations. Some sleep directly on the ground; others on a skin or blanket; others sleep on platforms or beds. Some sleep with blankets, some with pillows, some with simple headrests, some with no head support. These choices are shaped by a variety of factors, such as climate, protection from predators, housing type, technology, personal preference, and the incidence of pests.
  
  Section::::In culture.:In mythology and literature.
   While these are the three leading hypotheses, of course there is always a possibility that there is a combination of all mechanisms that ultimately allows humans to maintain postural stability during quiet standing. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that there are also many physiological factors such as weight, internal noise to muscles, etc. that may come into play when trying to understand the factors that contribute to postural stability.
  
  Section::::Posture abnormalities.
   In 1985 Davies reported that in Hong Kong, where the common Chinese habit was for supine infant sleep position (face up), SIDS was a rare problem. In 1987 the Netherlands started a campaign advising parents to place their newborn infants to sleep on their backs (supine position) instead of their stomachs (prone position). This was followed by infant supine sleep position campaigns in the United Kingdom (as "Back to Sleep"), New Zealand, and Australia in 1991, the U.S. and Sweden in 1992, and Canada in 1993.
   Section::::Posture and natural curvatures.
  
  The word "posture" comes from the Latin verb "ponere", which means "to put or place." The general concept of human posture refers to the "carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of the limbs (the arms and legs)."
   Spock advocated that infants should not be placed on their back when sleeping, commenting in his 1958 edition that "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." This advice was extremely influential on health-care providers, with nearly unanimous support through to the 1990s. Later empirical studies, however, found that there is a significantly increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) associated with infants sleeping on their abdomens. Advocates of evidence-based medicine have used this as an example of the importance of basing health-care recommendations on statistical evidence, with one researcher estimating that as many as 50,000 infant deaths in Europe, Australia, and the US could have been prevented had this advice been altered by 1970, when such evidence became available.
   Section::::Human anatomy.
  
presuppositions: You should sleep on your side instead of on your back. You should always sleep on your side.
corrections: People who use CPAP machines have been told to lie on their backs to facilitate easier breathing. Sleeping on your back can be better for facilitating easier breathing.
raw_presuppositions: You should sleep on your side instead of on your back. You should always sleep on your side.
raw_corrections: People who use CPAP machines have been told to lie on their backs to facilitate easier breathing. Sleeping on your back can be better for facilitating easier breathing.