# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/21 "2015-03-28T21:50:29Z")
> [@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. LOL familial traditional position is laying on ones side on the bed with a 5 gallon stockpot on the floor in proximity to the bed, with a cup and bottle of water and roll of paper towels near to hand. Dim the lights, soft soothing music, and some candied ginger just in case. Peppermint tea optional. Commence yarping. You don’t have to worry about making a mad dash to the bathroom, so you are much more relaxed. I tend to add slow gentle deep breaths in through the nose and out through gently pursed lips. Sometimes the birth class stuff works for all sorts of body control. Oh, and tie back long hair! ---
**Author:** ![Cole33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cole33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cole33)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/22 "2015-03-29T07:24:08Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > 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? Stringbeans , your body lies down when your brain tells it too.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/23 "2015-03-29T07:29:17Z")
> [@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. This is easily explained if the cough is caused by an respiratory infection (as most are). Coughing is caused by drainage from the sinuses irritating the throat. When one is upright, about half the drainage goes out the nose and causes sneezing and blowing of the nose, while the rest goes down the throat and causes coughing. But when lying down, the nose is usually no longer lower than the sinuses, so no drainage goes out that way; it all goes down the throat. Hence more coughing. The solution is to place the head in a way that the nose is lower than the rest of it. Try putting it at the edge of the pillow with your face off the pillow. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work, but usually does. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/24 "2015-03-29T11:19:24Z")
Ah, well when you are standing still or sitting still, you are blocking the femeral arteries, and thats quite a lot of blood flow to stop. The heart pumps the blood in a figure of 8 … 1. Through the lungs THEN 2. loop through rest of body. So if the flow in the 2nd loop is reduced because of the legs, then the flow through the lungs must be reduced… the blocking of loop 2 reduces the flow in loop 1… You can go for a walk OR lie down… Going for a walk helps you get used to it and strengthen and stretch and relax the leg muscles for the benefit of healthier stance/posture/blood flow… ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/25 "2015-03-29T11:28:12Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > LOL familial traditional position is laying on ones side on the bed with a 5 gallon stockpot on the floor in proximity to the bed, with a cup and bottle of water and roll of paper towels near to hand. Dim the lights, soft soothing music, and some candied ginger just in case. Peppermint tea optional. Commence yarping. You don’t have to worry about making a mad dash to the bathroom, so you are much more relaxed. > > I tend to add slow gentle deep breaths in through the nose and out through gently pursed lips. Sometimes the birth class stuff works for all sorts of body control. > > Oh, and tie back long hair! You forgot to drink plenty of Orange juice. It tastes an awful lot better the second time than most alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/26 "2015-03-29T11:45:48Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Pacing helps with a headache. Lying down doesn’t give your brain anything to do except concentrate on the headache. Not a migraine headache, it sure doesnt. Lying down, strapping ice to my head and praying to geebus i dont vomit are the _only_ things that “help” a migraine. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174/27 "2015-03-29T11:48:32Z")
It’s not _always_ comfortable. I’ve more or less slept sitting up when suffering from nausea or certain injuries. But I guess it’s usually a good way to take a lot of stress off the body. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-lying-down-always-help/716174.md?page=1)