# Why does lying down always help? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174 "2015-03-28T02:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/1 "2015-03-28T02:09:16Z")
Whenever something is wrong with you–headache, soreness, sickness, injury, etc.–it seems that lying down always seems to help you feel better. At least, it is better than anything else you can do. Is this some sort of evolutionary mechanism? Does the body “know” when it is lying prone and go into a feel-good/recovery mode? ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/2 "2015-03-28T02:25:09Z")
Well, lying down is resting which is generally easiest on the body. But this not always the best medicine. For abdominal pain, a fetal position usually works best. eta: I think this should be in IMHO or maybe even GQ; I’ll alert the PTB. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/3 "2015-03-28T02:43:51Z")
Indeed. Off to GQ. Who knows? Maybe there’s a factual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/4 "2015-03-28T03:05:20Z")
Pacing helps with a headache. Lying down doesn’t give your brain anything to do except concentrate on the headache. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/5 "2015-03-28T03:08:22Z")
Lying down puts the head at the same level as the heart. This makes it easier for you to get blood to your brain which is often important as a person is going into shock or has their cardio-vascular system compromised in some way. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/6 "2015-03-28T03:20:43Z")
Whenever I’ve been seasick lying down is the very worst thing to do. Standing on the deck in the breeze works well as does scoffing down lots of fatty food. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/7 "2015-03-28T05:50:31Z")
Having recently had a broken rib, I can definitely say that lying down was not the best thing to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/8 "2015-03-28T06:05:40Z")
_Does the body “know” when it is lying prone and go into a feel-good/recovery mode?_ Lying down changes your orientation to gravity and has a definite effect on your cardiovascular system, and your neuromuscular system. Those effects, such as lowering blood pressure and decreasing muscular tension, can make you feel better… or not, depending on your “problem.” ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/9 "2015-03-28T06:08:17Z")
If you’re about to pass out, lying down first saves time. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/10 "2015-03-28T06:21:14Z")
Since this thread is (so far) mostly about when lying down doesn’t help, I’ll throw out having a bad cough. As soon as you lie down, it gets worse. I know, I’ve been there this week. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/11 "2015-03-28T07:26:41Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > Since this thread is (so far) mostly about when lying down doesn’t help, I’ll throw out having a bad cough. As soon as you lie down, it gets worse. I know, I’ve been there this week. That reminds me of when I get problems where a rib joins the spine. Instant acute pain like being stabbed with a bayonet (I’ve actually been stabbed with a bayonet so know what it feels like). Then lying down is agony and any attempt at rolling over takes minutes. Standing up reduces the pain but since it lasts for days I have to sleep upright in a chair. Off Topic. Does anyone know what the rib/cartilage problem is called? I know a number of people from all ages who’ve had it . It’s sudden. It develops in a second or so without doing anything special - just walking down the street can do it. I’ve had it half a dozen times. Other people have gone to Hospital Emergency thinking they are having a heart-attack. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/12 "2015-03-28T08:43:27Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > Whenever I’ve been seasick lying down is the very worst thing to do. > > Standing on the deck in the breeze works well as does scoffing down lots of fatty food. IME you are unusual in this respect. Lying down helps most people with seasickness. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/13 "2015-03-28T09:05:03Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > IME you are unusual in this respect. Lying down helps most people with seasickness. I thought the cause of sea-sickness was the difference between what your inner-ears say and what you can see? Lying down in a cabin definitely makes this worse when you can’t see the horizon. I’ve personally upchucked in most Oceans during Ocean Liner trips to Britain and back to New Zealand. The trick as I mentioned is fresh air, maintaining view of the horizon for the first day, and scoffing lots of fatty food. On my last trip out of Britain on the Canberra we hit a Force 9 gale in the North Atlantic. I was one of the very few able to eat breakfast (and in my case second breakfast as well) by following these rules. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/14 "2015-03-28T13:01:36Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > If you’re about to pass out, lying down first saves time. Also softens the impact with the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/15 "2015-03-28T14:18:49Z")
If the body had a “feel-good/recovery” mode, why wouldn’t it be in that mode all the time? It’s always trying to feel good and to recover; lying down just (usually) makes that easier. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/16 "2015-03-28T14:33:21Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > Whenever I’ve been seasick lying down is the very worst thing to do. > > Standing on the deck in the breeze works well as does scoffing down lots of fatty food. An old Navy vet tell me that Saltine crackers were they best thing to eat. Something about how the salt interacts with your stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/17 "2015-03-28T14:42:58Z")
[Recovery Position](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_position) is a very useful treatment for an unconscious victim to ensure an open airway. ---
**Author:** ![abderian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@abderian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abderian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/18 "2015-03-28T18:18:41Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > Off Topic. Does anyone know what the rib/cartilage problem is called? I know a number of people from all ages who’ve had it . It’s sudden. It develops in a second or so without doing anything special - just walking down the street can do it. I’ve had it half a dozen times. Other people have gone to Hospital Emergency thinking they are having a heart-attack. Would you be referring to [costochondritis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costochondritis)? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/19 "2015-03-28T19:19:35Z")
Do not lie down if you think you are going to vomit. Repeat: DO NOT LIE DOWN IF YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO VOMIT!! I’ve clean up vomit from too many rugs and shirts. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/20 "2015-03-28T20:03:06Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Do not lie down if you think you are going to vomit. Repeat: DO NOT LIE DOWN IF YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO VOMIT!! > > I’ve clean up vomit from too many rugs and shirts. Especially if you’re drunk. It’s quite possible that a person who throws up while lying down asphyxiates himself on his own vomit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174.md?page=2)