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Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#131

Post by spondylosaurus »

karaterobot wrote: post #124

I notice that all of the sleep positions are either on the stomach or side. I usually go between side and stomach when sleeping, and can't really fall asleep very well on my back. But, my impression is that most people go between side and back, with stomach sleepers being a minority (I've even heard it called weird). This study backs that up (54% side, 37% back, 7% stomach) https://www.dovepress.com/sleep-positions-a…

How do you breathe when you sleep on your stomach? My back and hips feel amazing when I try it, but my neck starts to hate me from the way I have to twist around to get air.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#132

Post by ecshafer »

spondylosaurus wrote: post #131
karaterobot wrote: post #124

I notice that all of the sleep positions are either on the stomach or side. I usually go between side and stomach when sleeping, and can't really fall asleep very well on my back. But, my impression is that most people go between side and back, with stomach sleepers being a minority (I've even heard it called weird). This study backs that up (54% side, 37% back, 7% stomach) https://www.dovepress.com/sleep-positions-a…

How do you breathe when you sleep on your stomach? My back and hips feel amazing when I try it, but my neck starts to hate me from the way I have to twist around to get air.

When you sleep on your stomach you turn your head to the side, breathing is easy.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#133

Post by sdwr »

WaitWaitWha wrote: post #128

I am very uncomfortable with this paper to be called scientific research. It certainly appears the author had extensive life experiences, but does not demonstrate any of the data he collected. > If you are a medical professional and have been trained in a “civilised” country you probably know next to nothing about the primate Homo sapiens and how they survive in the wild. Starting off by insulting an entire populatio…

How is this not science?

He has a hypothesis - modern sleep devices are not as good for the spine as the bare ground.

He suggested a reason why - pressing against the ground during sleep acts as therapy.

He has data - life experience, pictures, and demonstrations.

Maybe it doesn't pattern match as science to you, but the raw science is all there. A few hundred years ago, this is how most science was conducted - by individuals with specific bones to pick.

Is it conclusive? No. Is it worth being part of the conversation? Absolutely!

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#134

Post by tejohnso »

spondylosaurus wrote: post #131
karaterobot wrote: post #124

I notice that all of the sleep positions are either on the stomach or side. I usually go between side and stomach when sleeping, and can't really fall asleep very well on my back. But, my impression is that most people go between side and back, with stomach sleepers being a minority (I've even heard it called weird). This study backs that up (54% side, 37% back, 7% stomach) https://www.dovepress.com/sleep-positions-a…

How do you breathe when you sleep on your stomach? My back and hips feel amazing when I try it, but my neck starts to hate me from the way I have to twist around to get air.

Try putting a pillow under the shoulder that your mouth is closest to. A slight lifting of the shoulder might relieve the neck strain.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#135

Post by slow_typist »

navane wrote: post #83
kijin wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A pillow doesn't need to be a factory-made product that you buy at a store. Plenty of humans make pillows out of natural objects when sleeping outdoors. I can totally imagine a mountain gorilla using a chunk of wood, or even a body part of another gorilla, as a "pillow" if it makes them feel more comfortable.

My dog loves pillows. But he doesn't move them. If he's laying down, and a pillow-like object is near, he'll use it. But if the sun moves, he'll move, without the pillow.

If our dog wants to rest and a fleece or wool blanket happens to be in reach, it will pull it in position (and sometimes even fold it) in order to rest its snout on it. But admittedly it does not move the blanket substantially. I have yet to understand how it decides where to rest though. There is a lot of places and none seems to really dominate the other ones.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#137

Post by onetimeuse92304 »

radlad wrote: post #118
onetimeuse92304 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a very thin pillow when sleeping on my back. I find sleeping without pillow a bit uncomfortable. Although I am sure I could get used to my head being pushed back a bit, I still dislike the head just resting on the hard mattress and trying to naturally roll left/right. The pillow helps me keep my head looking straight ahead (almost vertically). As to mattress, I prefer a mid-to-hard latex mattress with a cover.

In the article, the lookout position involves the lack of a pillow. One can imagine that the additional height of the pillow would cause you to raise your head, lower your chest, and arch your back, potentially causing the issues you reported. That being said, this is an article of anecdotal observations by a physiotherapist - it is not the result of any kind of study.

It is really thin pure goose down pillow. Folded, it is less than 1/4in when compressed. I don't think the height of the pillow makes a huge difference.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#138

Post by hnbad »

kqr wrote: post #87
hnbad wrote: post #81

It's odd that the paper goes to great lengths to talk about protecting your penis from insects but at the same point seems to ignore women completely - all the illustrations depict men. Having met women (shocking, I know), bust size can be a significant factor in ergonomics so it would be interesting to see how that factors into it. Also anecdotally, pregnant belly-sleepers frequently rely on cushioning and people ma…

> Also anecdotally, pregnant belly-sleepers frequently rely on cushioning I mean, undergoing pregnancy is in and of itself not great for one's health (especially without modern healthcare), so I don't know how much that specific thing should be factored into healthy lifestyle choices. In particular, pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on internal organs in a way that means one should not be surprised to have only one wo…

> I don't know how much that specific thing should be factored into healthy lifestyle choices.

I'm pretty sure the average human is not healthy, even in the societies analysed, especially if you factor in injuries, disabilities or pregnancy. If anything the perfectly "healthy" able body is the exception to the human experience.

So yes, if we want meaningful advice on healthier sleeping postures we should take various illnesses, disabilities, ailments and conditions into account.

At least this seems like a fair consideration if we already dedicate this much text to reducing the risk of insect bites on your penis.

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#139

Post by lonelyasacloud »

pcrh wrote: post #67

Amazing demonstrations of casual racism in that article. It reads as if it was written in 1850 rather than 2000. There's no plausible reason to suppose that Tibetans or "tribesmen" have more natural sleeping positions than "civilized" (i e. White) people.

> There's no plausible reason to suppose that Tibetans or "tribesmen" have more natural sleeping positions than "civilized" (i e. White) people.

So Tibetan tribal society is likely to have exposed its members to the same level of furniture and mattress adverts as the average American or European then?

Re: Instinctive Sleeping and Resting Postures (2000)

#140

Post by 082349872349872 »

olalonde wrote: post #65
thaumasiotes wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Of course it is without a pillow, it's a mountain gorilla! That doesn't follow at all. Gorillas are well known for their habit of making nests. Making pillows isn't difficult.

I'm a human and I don't think I'd be able to make a (comfortable) pillow...

You (most likely) have two comfortable potential pillows distal to your elbows...

(I don't use any of these positions, but I most commonly nap on a heated wooden floor in an insect-free environment. Oddly enough, I also support my temple on the dorsal surface of a wrist; it had never occurred to me that in addition to comfort, it keeps both ears free?)

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