IN WHAT POSITIONS DO HEALTHY PEOPLE SLEEP?

Abstract

Numerous medical authors have discussed the effects that are supposed to be exerted on the functioning of bodily organs by the postures that are assumed and maintained for long periods during sleep. Most of them agree that the effects are genuine, and also important. They intimate that some postures tend to produce deformities, while other postures tend to correct them. They say that some postures interfere with the action of such organs as the heart, the stomach, and the mechanisms involved in breathing, while other postures render such action easier. They do not agree at all well, however, in assigning any particular effect to any specific posture. Some of the points on which they disagree most widely are interesting. Some of these writers advise sleeping on the back, while about as many other writers, of equal professional standing, advise against it. Some recommend that people sleep lying on the abdomen;