Experts Explained Why We Might Want To Avoid Sleeping On The Right Side Of Our Bodies

It seems crazy that the way you sleep can affect your health, right? But it’s true. It’s completely normal to fall asleep in a fetal position and wake up like a starfish – much to your other half’s despair! And while there’s one way of snoozing that experts say is the worst for your health, it turns out that they all have different perks and drawbacks. Weirdly, some researchers even claim that your sleeping position is linked to your personality. Professor Chris Idzikowski is one of these people. He surveyed a thousand volunteers to try and find out more about the poses we humans find ourselves in as we’re drifting off. And the results are really quite fascinating. Idzikowski’s investigation concluded that our body language reveals much about us as we fall asleep.

And what goes on inside of us is even more amazing. For one, being in a restful state allows our bodies to get to work mending our cells and replenishing us with vital hormones and proteins. Plus, rather obviously, our energy is restored – meaning we’re ready to face whatever challenges we’re presented with the following day. But that’s not all. Our nerve cells also get to work on cooperating with each other and reordering themselves. Recent scientific studies suggest, too, that when we’re in a slumber, the brain flushes out any toxic waste with cerebrospinal fluid. And, subconsciously, sleep gives us the time to reflect upon any key information we’ve learned during the day.

Without these functions, our health and wellbeing would suffer dramatically. And this would, of course, eventually result in death. Put simply, then, sleep is as important to a human’s survival as eating enough food and drinking the right amount of water. But what is the main reason for sleep? Well, scientists have a few compelling theories, as it turns out. One of these suggestions is to do with the way sleep preserves energy. Basically, resting lowers your metabolic rate, meaning you don’t need to eat as much to keep your body going.

This explains why we tend to doze at night, too. Not only is it typically colder than during the day, but the dark also makes it harder for us to catch any prey. Yes, it’s hard to remember sometimes, but we are actually evolved animals! Super-intelligent primates, to be exact. We’ve already touched on the amazing way the body mends its cells while we sleep, which is the basis of the restorative theory. And the way the brain reshuffles memories and nerve cells and flushes out toxins is known as the brain plasticity theory. Yep, you can thank us next time this crops up at trivia night!