Fact checked by Jonathan Eilenberg, CPE
Jonathan Eilenberg, CPE
Jonathan Eilenberg is a Certified Professional Ergonomist who is a Senior Ergonomics Engineer at Casper with over 6 years of experience in occupational injury prevention.
If you have lower back pain, certain sleeping positions are better than others. Sleeping on your side or back can help alleviate the tension and provide your spine with relief so you can get a good night’s rest.
A good night’s sleep should leave you feeling rejuvenated, replenished, and ready to take on the day, which is easier said than done when you’re confronted with lower back pain. You have a relaxing nighttime routine, read before bed, and even wind down with a glass of tart cherry juice — so what gives?1
When it comes to lower back pain, your sleeping position (also known as sleeping posture) may actually be the culprit (or, exacerbating an already uncomfortable situation). Fortunately, we’ve got the 411 on the correlation between lower back pain and sleep.
In this guide, we’ve broken down common causes of lower back pain and how it’s impacted by sleep, outlined the best (and worst) sleeping positions for this issue, and provided a list of tips to help enhance your sleep quality so you can feel your best after a night’s rest.
Living — and sleeping — with back pain can significantly impact your ability to drift into (and stay in) a high-quality slumber. This can significantly impact your well-being, as rest is a key component of not just mental but physical recovery.2
All said, a poor night’s rest can leave you waking up to more intense lower back pain.2
The first step to alleviating morning-time muscle misery is understanding the root cause of your lower back pain to eradicate the discomfort at its source.
Discomfort felt in the lower back can range from a dull, aching sensation to a sharp, shooting pain, and identifying the root cause is an important step in helping to alleviate these feelings. Common causes for lower back pain include3:
If you’re experiencing pain from any of the aforementioned conditions, speak with a healthcare provider to assess solutions to mitigate your discomfort. All said, you may be able to tackle the affliction from the comfort of your own bed, too.
Your sleeping position — whether you’re a side sleeper with one leg at 90 degrees or a stomach sleeper with a crooked neck — can seriously impact the way your body feels when your alarm goes off.
Sleep and lower back pain are two peas in a Princess and the Pea pod. In other words, poor-quality sleeping positions can significantly impact how well you rest and may contribute to ongoing discomfort.
One cross-sectional study that involved 9,611 participants found a correlation between back pain and poor sleep quality and duration.4 It’s a catch-22: The more your back tenses and throbs throughout the night, the poorer quality sleep you’re likely to experience — and, the worse sleep you get, the more likely you are to experience an achy back.
Fortunately, adjusting your sleeping posture may provide some lower back pain relief and create a more conducive environment for a restful night of sleep.
To minimize sunrise soreness, you may need to refresh your nighttime routine. Adjusting your sleeping position to one that support’s your spine’s natural curvature can help you maximize your comfort throughout the night.
In the world of slumber, side sleeping may reign supreme. Laying on your side, with a pillow between your legs, can keep your pelvis, hips, and spine aligned through the course of the night to reduce lower back pain.5
That said, side sleeping isn’t the best sleeping position for lower back pain for every sleeper. Depending on your preferences and pains, side sleeping may put unnecessary pressure on your shoulders and hips, putting more pressure on yourself to fall asleep at night.
If you find that side sleeping is a side quest into discomfort, back sleeping might be your primary path to relief. To embark down this path, ensure that your spine maintains a neutral position with:
This setup helps distribute your weight evenly between your neck, chest, and back to support your lower back and curate a more restful and pain-free night’s sleep.
Not all sleeping positions are created equal. Actually, some are just plain painful. When seeking a sleep-time solution for lower back pain, most experts recommend avoiding the stomach.
If you’re a stomach sleeper, you may want to rethink your nightly routine, as it may be the worst sleeping position for lower back pain. Sleeping with your stomach pressed to the mattress can place significant pressure on your spine and force your neck into an awkward angle, which can exacerbate lower back pain and lead to discomfort throughout the night. Consider transitioning to a side or back sleeping position to better support your spine and reduce strain.5
If you’ve tried to change your sleep habits and somehow always wake up lying on your stomach, there are a few strategies you can adopt to improve your position and reduce the strain on your back:
For a blissful night of sleep that transitions into a pain-free morning, consider these strategies:
Casper makes it easy for your next mattress to meet — and exceed — your criteria for a restful and painless night of sleep.
When it’s time to drift off into dreamland, lower back pain shouldn’t hold you back. With the right sleeping position and a quality mattress, you can ensure a restful night and wake up refreshed and pain-free.
At Casper, we’re dedicated to quality mattresses because we believe in the power of quality sleep. Whether you’re searching for the perfect mattress, bed sheets, or pillow, proper sleep hygiene and positioning are key. They can enhance your rest, minimize lower back pain, and help you return to peaceful, uninterrupted sleep with ease.
Transform your sleep routine with Casper.
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