While getting enough sleep is important for our physical and mental well-being, it is not the only factor. The optimal health of your body depends on your sleeping position. More health benefits come from sleeping on your left side, according to ancient Ayurvedic theory.
To learn more about the advantages of sleeping on your left side, continue reading.
Here are a few health benefits of sleeping on your left side
1. Aids Detoxification
Lymph vessels are stimulated and the body’s moisture balance is improved when you sleep on your left side. The thoracic duct, which empties into the left side of the heart, is where the lymphatic system empties the body of waste products and toxins.
Your body will be able to better remove toxins from your body if you sleep on your left side instead of your right. When you sleep on your side, your lymphatic system will have to work harder to move substances from one side of your body to the other.
There are many health issues that can result from an overly clogged lymphatic system, including arthritis, headaches, muscle damage, and chronic fatigue. If you notice any of these symptoms, try sleeping on your left side to flush out toxins and restore your lymphatic system to full health.
2. Supports Spleen Function
Left-sided organ: spleen. The spleen can be found in the midsection. Blood and lymph are filtered and cleaned by this system, which is a part of the lymphatic system. When you sleep on your left side, you’ll reap the benefits of spleen health benefits.
In order for waste substances to reach the spleen, they must travel through lymph vessels on the left side of the body. The spleen is able to remove impurities from the blood because gravity increases the flow of blood to it. Ayurveda recommends that you sleep on your left side to help your spleen function optimally.
Instead of being pumped by the heart, the lymph system drains all of the body cells through movement and muscle contractions. Using gravitational force to aid lymph drainage to the spleen and heart is beneficial.
3. Keeps Pregnant Women Safe
Sleeping on your left side while pregnant has more health benefits than sleeping on your right side, according to Gail Tully, the founder of Spinning Babies and a fetal and mother positioning expert.
It has been found that pregnant women who sleep on their backs with their torsos facing up are more likely to experience venous compression. As a result, the heart’s blood pumping capacity decreases, reducing blood flow to the uterus and increasing the risk of an emergency C-section.
The liver, which is located on the right side of your abdomen, can be relieved of pressure by sleeping on the left side of your body. The placenta will receive more nutrients as a result of improved blood flow. Improved blood circulation, knee and leg support, and back support are all additional advantages. To be sure, there isn’t enough research on pregnant women to back up the claims. Pregnancy should be discussed with your doctor before any changes to your sleeping position are made.
4. Maintain Healthy Heart Function
As you breathe in, blood flows from the left side of your heart to your body. Sleeping on one’s left reduces the heart’s workload, making it easier to move blood through the body. This is due to the fact that gravity encourages lymph drainage toward the heart, which reduces the heart’s workload.
However, because the aorta and the Inferior Vena Cava, or IVC, a large vein that helps transport deoxygenated blood to the heart, are located on the right side of the spine when you sleep on your right, your circulatory system will have to work against gravity and pump blood more vigorously.
While sleeping on the left, the aorta leaves the heart and bends to the left, delivering blood to the body. In a nutshell, sleeping on your left side allows your heart to have an easier time pumping blood downward.
5. Prevents Liver Congestion
Toxins are neutralized and excreted from the body by the liver. Congestion in the liver can more easily back up into the right side of the body if you sleep on your right side while you’re lying on your back.
It is recommended by Ayurveda that you sleep on the left side of your body to help support liver function and reduce symptoms of indigestion, gas, bloating high cholesterol, and even depression.
6. Encourages Proper Digestion
Ayurveda recommends sleeping on your left side after a meal. To ensure optimum digestion, it is recommended that you sleep with your stomach and pancreas on your left side of the body. Sleeping on your left side has a number of health benefits, including this one.
Food moves slowly through the stomach, and pancreatic enzymes are released as needed for digestion, thanks to the gravitational pull. As a result, the digestive organs are forced to empty their contents prematurely when you sleep on the right side. This isn’t the case if you sleep on the left.
The liver and gallbladder can hang freely to emulsify fats and neutralize stomach acids when you rest on your left side instead of your right. According to Ayurveda, this process eases and shortens the digestive cycle and prevents fatigue.
7. Helps The Gut To Get Rid Of Waste Products
The Ileocecal Valve, or ICV, which connects the large and small intestines, is located in the lower abdomen, so your body prefers that you sleep on your left side. Using this valve can make it easier to get rid of waste by moving it from the small to the large intestine. Also, keep your gut free of harmful bacteria.
In order to facilitate the movement of food waste from the small intestine into the large intestine, it is recommended that you sleep on your left side. As long as you sleep on your left side, waste can easily pass through the ascending colon, the transverse colon, and finally the descending colon, making bowel movements in the morning much easier to accomplish.
8. Reduces Heartburn At Night
GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or Acid Reflux) was more common in people who slept on their right side than in people who slept on their left side, according to one study.
It is possible to avoid gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) by sleeping on the left side, as the stomach is lower in this position than in the other. As a result, reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus is avoided, and you can sleep soundly at night.
It’s a great idea to sleep on your left side for numerous health reasons. You didn’t know that, did you? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
