As I've gotten older, I have found that I can only sleep in exactly one position. As I've gotten even older, even that position doesn't feel sustainable due to a number of factors. Can I learn how to sleep in other positions? Is there something I can buy to fix this? Where do I even begin tackling this? Stomach-sleeping edition, so, so many details within.
Position:
On my stomach, head facing right, left arm under the pillow, right hand hand in my left armpit. As I've gotten older, my left arm has started to go numb if I'm not positioned perfectly, which is putting a damper on my sleep.
Pillow:
In order to maintain this position, I need a pillow that compresses down really flat (I currently use an Ikea pillow). If the pillow is not flat enough, I have trouble breathing. If the pillow compresses too flat, I find I have ear pain from where my head rests on my arm. Therefore, I often wake to flip the pillow over to have less-compressed and cooler side under my head.
Mattress:
I'm on a Stearns & Foster mattress which I find pretty comfortable. It's relatively soft. For a period of a couple of years, I slept on a Leesa, and these issues were even worse - they've improved since switching to the Stearns & Foster.
Other positions:
-If I try and turn my head the other way, I can't generally fall asleep due to discomfort and/or trouble breathing in my left nostril (not a problem on the other side). If I manage to fall asleep, I wake up shortly after due to ear pain.
-If I try and sleep on either side, I don't feel stable (I feel like I'm gonna roll onto my front or back) and just can't fall asleep.
-If I try and sleep on my back, I can't usually fall asleep due to not being able to breathe properly. If I do manage to fall asleep, I start snoring and wake myself up.
-When I try to sleep on my back or side, I use an additional pillow.
Other issues:
I'm really sensitive to temperature, and need the room to be pretty cold in order to sleep. If I feel too hot, that adds to any of the discomfort that I'm already feeling from any other position and makes it hard to sleep.
Other details:
I'm early 30s, and relatively healthy, just very fidgety. While sleeping in certain positions makes it difficult to breathe, I don't think I otherwise snore very much, and so I don't think I have sleep apnea (though I'm open to reconsider that). I don't really have trouble falling asleep due to things like mind racing, etc. and my sleep hygiene is pretty good - I think my issues are physical (musculo-skeletal?) rather than psychological. I share a queen-sized bed with my partner, and I definitely sleep better when in the bed on my own, but can't change that at the moment.
Question:
-I think my ideal solution would be to spend a bit of money (ideally <50$ and certainly <$100) on a pillow or something that would make it more sustainable to sleep in my current preferred position, and might enable me to sleep in another position. Does this thing exist? I'm pretty wary of buying something without the ability to return it, given that I'm so fussy/particular.
-I'm also open to the possibility that this is all on me, that I'll be uncomfortable irrespective of my pillow, and so that I'll need to do work to change my sleep position. If so, do you have suggestions for how to go about this? Are there physical objects (like a pillow between my knees or something) you recommend? What about techniques or resources to retrain myself how to sleep?
Thank you! |
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