Sleeping position and sleep quality

[veloron2008]

Does anyone have any thoughts on correlation between sleeping position and sleep quality? 

In my case, chronic low back pain turned me from a back/stomach sleeper to an exclusively side sleeper. While the former predated any sort of sleep tracking, I can say with certainty that my sleep quality improved vastly on my sides. It could be that my back pain, which is position dependent, was a major factor here which is why I'm curious. 

According to my tracker, I now consistently get 35-45% deep sleep, sometimes as high as 50% like last night (~4 hrs spent in deep sleep). A large portion of every night is spent in a vivid dreaming state. Before, that wasn't the case. As an aside, I also went from frequent snoring to almost no snoring when on my side. That's according to my wife. 😀 

Any thoughts/experience? 

[WavyDavey]

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@veloron2008wrote:

Does anyone have any thoughts on correlation between sleeping position and sleep quality? 

In my case, chronic low back pain turned me from a back/stomach sleeper to an exclusively side sleeper. While the former predated any sort of sleep tracking, I can say with certainty that my sleep quality improved vastly on my sides. It could be that my back pain, which is position dependent, was a major factor here which is why I'm curious. 

According to my tracker, I now consistently get 35-45% deep sleep, sometimes as high as 50% like last night (~4 hrs spent in deep sleep). A large portion of every night is spent in a vivid dreaming state. Before, that wasn't the case. As an aside, I also went from frequent snoring to almost no snoring when on my side. That's according to my wife. 😀 

Any thoughts/experience? 

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Sure, makes sense.  The more comfortable, the higher quality of sleep.

I question the deep sleep number. Can you post a screenshot of the sleep chart, because I've never seen deep sleep go above 20%.

Are you maybe referring to the old sleep model of restless/awake/asleep?

[veloron2008]

Yeah, obviously comfort level affects the quality of sleep. Since I developed back pain, this has been highly position dependent for me, as I mentioned. I was just wondering if there are any other factors that could be related to sleeping position, such as breathing/snoring. Maybe worth googling to see any research that might be out there. 

Amount of light/deep/awake time reported during sleep is highly device dependent, and "deep" sleep isn't usually differentiated from REM sleep. I personally use a combination of Mi Band 2 (similar deep sleep %s as fitbit), Misfit Ray (higher %) and the Sleep as Android app (higher still, but includes heart rate data). I've turned into a bit of a sleep data junkie. 🙂 

IMHO, sleep quality is highly subjective. Trackers are definitely useful in finding a baseline and working towards making positive changes. 

[WavyDavey]

You may be really interested in how Fitbit tracks sleep then, as it breaks down deep sleep and REM separately, as well as provides benchmarks.

https://blog.fitbit.com/sleep-stages-and-sleep-insights-announcement/

[veloron2008]

Cool, I didn't realize that. Is there a model that is better for sleep tracking/analysis?

As a competitive triathlete, I'm only interested in sleep and recovery metrics, such as resting heart rate. Steps are less important. 

Thanks. 

[WavyDavey]

All the HR-enabled Fitbits will do this kind of sleep tracking. Personally, I recommend the Charge 2 a lot, or the Ionic if you want GPS and route maps. Both will track your resting heart rate also.

[easycomeeasygo]

Sleep quality is not subjective. The more natural your alignment of the hips, pelvis, and spine is, the more quality sleep you get. There're many positions that are natural for our system and comfort levels is also what you can't ignore. You mentioned snoring and that's what related to back pain. Sleeping on your back can cause the tongue to relax into the upper airway, increasing snoring risk. If you snore you're very likely to experience relief by switching to side sleeping. I also have back issues and sleeping on the side with a pillow between my knees is so much relief. There're even mattresses which are designed to help you with back pain/snoring and help you get a better night rest. Check the article if you're interested and wish you good health!