Comment by andrewvc

6 years ago

Sleeping on one's right side can exacerbate acid reflux (which can increase your risk for throat / esophageal cancer).

So, taken together with this, sleeping on the left side seems ideal.

7 comments

andrewvc

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lota-putty  6 years ago

My grandma* used to say: After an evening meal, go to sleep on your left side; if you wake up from bad dreams, turn to right side and sleep till dawn/morning.

* she died 23yrs ago.

technofiend  6 years ago

Particularly if you suffer from diverticulitis as I do, putting pressure on the left side seems to lessen or calm spasms.

  • thinkingemote  6 years ago

    Most diverticulitis occurs on the left side in the West and the right side in the East.

    • technofiend  6 years ago

      Really? I thought the lower sigmoid colon was in the same place on everyone. Does that mean some other part of the digestive tract is stressed to the point of forming diverticulae in an Eastern diet?

01100011  6 years ago

I've got a hiatal hernia which makes this even worse. What I've found is that I can sleep fine on my right side as long as my stomach has cleared, which usually takes about 3 or 4 hours.