How Your Sleeping Positions Affect Your Shoulders

How Your Sleeping Positions Affect Your Shoulders

You open your eyes in the morning as the light comes through your windows. Then it hits you: pain in your shoulders. You quickly scan your memory and can’t come up with any reason for your stiff, sore shoulders. Could the way you sleep be causing your shoulder pain?

Our doctors and staff at Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists want to help you get a good night's rest. We know that certain sleeping positions can put extra strain on your shoulders and leave you stiff and sore in the morning.

Let’s discuss a few common sleeping positions and how to make each one a little more comfortable and supportive for your shoulders.

Sleeping on your back

This position is the best for your shoulders, neck, and spine. Unfortunately, only 8% of people report sleeping on their back. It may take a little work to get used to this position, but once you do, you’ll feel the benefits. Here are a few tricks for getting a good night’s sleep without shoulder pain in the morning.

• Use a pillow that supports your neck. Be sure it keeps your neck in a neutral position and doesn’t raise it up too high or position it too low -- either can put extra strain on your shoulders and leave them unsupported.
• Place a pillow under the shoulder that hurts. This helps keep your body in a neutral position so that muscles and other structures in the joint aren’t strained while you sleep.

Side sleeping with arms out

Side sleeping is the most commonly reported sleep position. It’s the second-best position for spine health, but it can create some issues for your shoulders. Side sleepers often report pain in one or both shoulders.

If you’re a side sleeper, here are a few tips to help lessen shoulder pain:

• Don’t place your arms straight out in front of you. This position can put extra pressure on the nerves and restrict blood flow to your shoulders and arms, and you may wake up with a “pins and needles” sensation in one or both arms and shoulders.
• Find a pillow that keeps your ear, shoulder, and hips aligned. Many pillows can place your neck in an awkward position which puts strain on your muscles.  
• Try rotating which side you sleep on each night. This might help alleviate the shoulder pain you feel when you wake up.

Fetal position

This is the most popular sleep position, with about four in 10 adults reporting this as their position of choice. Most people sleep in a loose fetal position, which is on your side with your knees bent and your upper body kind of hunched over. Lying in the fetal position may help you fall asleep, but it can cause pain, especially if you have arthritis.

Try these tricks to keep your shoulders supported:

• Keep your body as straight as possible. Proper alignment of the spine helps support the muscles and other structures in the shoulder.  
• Side sleeping can put extra strain on the rotator cuff. You can minimize shoulder pain by having three pillows in these positions: one under your head to support your neck, a thin pillow between your knees, and one in front of your stomach. This may seem like a lot, but this is the best way to ensure proper alignment and support for your shoulders.

Stomach sleeping

Sleeping on your stomach offers little to no support for your shoulders, and can leave them unstable and hurting. So if you’re a stomach sleeper and find yourself waking each morning to pain and stiffness, it’s probably time to try a new snoozing position.

Sleeping like a starfish

If you sleep on your back with your hands above your head, you’re bound to have shoulder pain. This position puts pressure on the nerves in your upper back and might leave you with numbness and tingling in your arms and hands.

The good news with this position is that you’re already a back sleeper. Try keeping your arms down by your sides or folded across your chest to better support your shoulders. You can also place pillows under your shoulders to provide the needed support and comfort.

If you’re having shoulder pain, try the above tips for getting a better night's sleep. If changing your sleeping position doesn’t help, the pain wakes you up at night, or causes you discomfort during the day, it may be something more than the way you sleep. If that’s the case, we can help. Give us a call at our location closest to you to schedule an appointment with one of our shoulder specialists.