# Tips for sleeping on your back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927 "2007-03-29T02:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/1 "2007-03-29T02:09:52Z")
My arm is currently all wrapped up in a sling. One unpleasant effect is that my only sleeping options are in bed on my back motionless, or upright in a recliner. I would really prefer to sleep in bed, but I consistently get bad back pain after sleeping 4-5 hours. So bad I have to get up and wait it out for 30-60 minutes. Not cool. Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing before? Could I change my position somehow to make it just a little less painful? (I only need another 2 hours.) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/2 "2007-03-29T02:13:11Z")
How about sleep on the side without the sling, and place a bunch of pillows behind you so you can’t roll over to your bad side. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/3 "2007-03-29T02:47:26Z")
My experience with back sleeping pain has to do with lower back strain. To combat it I find a pillow or two underneath my calves rotates my lower back & spine enough to gain comfort (the lombar region being where the pain is…) ---
**Author:** ![happywaffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ee59a6/32.png) [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/4 "2007-03-29T03:13:58Z")
[QUOTE=2gigch1] My experience with back sleeping pain has to do with lower back strain. To combat it I find a pillow or two underneath my calves rotates my lower back & spine enough to gain comfort (the lombar region being where the pain is…) [/QUOTE] Agreed. The ideal on-your-back position is with a pillow under your knees or calves, and little or no cushion under your neck, creating a straight line with your neck and back. Very firm support (like on the floor) helps too. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/5 "2007-03-29T03:21:54Z")
I’ve got back problems and my physical therapist recommended the pillow under the knees and a very thinly rolled towel under the small of the back for lumbar support. A T-shirt seems to be about the right thickness. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/6 "2007-03-29T13:25:47Z")
Thanks all. I tried every single tip you gave last night… with no luck. I guess I’m just not cut out for it. Oh well. (Actually, I didn’t try sleeping on the floor yet.) ---
**Author:** ![happywaffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ee59a6/32.png) [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/7 "2007-03-30T03:48:05Z")
Yeah, definitely try sleeping on the floor - the firm support might do more than all the posturing stuff combined. Or maybe you just need to find a non-quack chiropractor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/8 "2007-03-30T03:55:07Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] My arm is currently all wrapped up in a sling. One unpleasant effect is that my only sleeping options are in bed on my back motionless, or upright in a recliner. I would really prefer to sleep in bed, but I consistently get bad back pain after sleeping 4-5 hours. So bad I have to get up and wait it out for 30-60 minutes. Not cool. Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing before? Could I change my position somehow to make it just a little less painful? (I only need another 2 hours.) [/QUOTE] Are you going to have your arm in a sling for awhile? You might be able to rent a recliner that goes all the way back from a medical supply store. When I had a fractured elbow and torn rotator cuff I was in misery trying to sleep. Someone loaned me their recliner, the type that goes all the way back and I could finally sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Chasing\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@Chasing\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chasing_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/9 "2007-03-30T04:04:11Z")
Could we scale up one of those magnetic levitation devices that scientists have used to suspend frogs in midair? ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/10 "2007-03-30T07:32:40Z")
Well this thread has been an eye-opener for me. I woke up one morning about a month ago with upper back pain, near the left shoulder blade, and it hasn’t gone away. The only time I was pain free was laying on my back, and I eventually adapted to sleeping that way. But then the lower back pain started. I hadn’t associated my lower back pain with sleeping on my back until reading this thread. I think I’ll forgo the back sleeping completely and if the lower back pain goes away, I’ll owe several of you a debt of gratitude. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/11 "2007-03-30T09:04:00Z")
may I suggest another bed? [http://cgi.ebay.com/12-CAL-KING-5-5-MATTRESS-4-OF-MEMORY-FOAM-W-FREE-PLW\_W0QQitemZ330100302474QQcategoryZ37647QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem](http://cgi.ebay.com/12-CAL-KING-5-5-MATTRESS-4-OF-MEMORY-FOAM-W-FREE-PLW_W0QQitemZ330100302474QQcategoryZ37647QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) I picked up something like this one and love the thing. its not the True nasa stuff they always talk about, at least its not quite the same but incredibly comfy to sleep on. I find I now sometimes sleep on my back with this thing and I pretty much never did that before. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-sleeping-on-your-back/397927/12 "2007-03-30T09:49:50Z")
Im assuming this is a temporary situation. When I broke my collar bone I just slept on the couch for 3 weeks, no problem, for me at least