Left Side Sleeping versus Right Side Sleeping
/There has been much recent discussion about left versus right side sleeping with regard to Alzheimers and mental decline.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636982/#:~:text=The%20glymphatic%20system%20is%20a,from%20the%20central%20nervous%20system.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/27/2248950/-Side-sleeping-the-recently-discovered-Glymphatic-System-and-reducing-cognitive-decline?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web#comment_88888053
The study of left right nostril dominance is another variable for understanding side sleeping.
The yogis recommended “Right at night, Left in the morning.”
“Right (nostril dominance) at night, Left (nostril dominance) in the morning”. Sleep on your left side at night when falling asleep. Find more with Rolf Solvik.
The way to get the body to switch to right nostril dominance when you are falling asleep is to lie on your left side. The old adage is to “warm the body to sleep,” as the right nostril dominance has a slightly warming influence and the left is cooling. Right nostril dominance is good for sleep and physical endeavors like working out, having sex or digging in the garden.
Left nostril dominance can make the thoughts race at night, making it hard to sleep. At sunrise, you want Left nostril dominance to start your day and do your concentration activities like writing and meditation.
The Mayo Clinic agrees with the yogis: Left side sleeping is the preferred position. “sleeping on the left side is best because it keeps pressure off internal organs and promotes healthy blood flow,” are their reasons.
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/....
After ancedotally interviewing 40-50 yoga students about left right sleeping habits, and left right nostril dominance, the self reporting is all over the place. It seems like human variation is great. Comfort plays a bigger role in what people actually do, whether they prefer left or right side sleeping, not whether it helps them fall asleep. Of course, more research needs to be done… as always.
Left versus right side is more like tendencies rather than prescriptions. Most people are right handed, 10% are left handed. If someone did a big study, it wouldn’t be surprising to find left versus right side sleeping is more like a 60/40 preference, plus or minus 10%, and it has more to do with comfort rather than what is beneficial for a person’s blood flow or falling asleep.
