Back Wedge Sleep Positions: Improve Sleep & Reduce Discomfort

There are many reasons to use a wedge to incline for better sleep, according to Dr Scott Bammann at HealthPartners, a clinic in Minneapolis, Minn., and Dr R Morgan Griffin at WebMD. Inclining while you sleep can help with back problems, acid reflux, uncomfortable pregnancy sleeping, insomnia, and other types of body aches. There are several different ways to incline while you sleep using a back wedge.

Top of Head

• Place the back wedge on your mattress at the point where your head would typically lay. Place a couple of pillows at the top of the back wedge so that the pillows are slightly higher than the wedge. Lay on the back wedge in this manner.

  Allow the back wedge placed in this manner to give you a small incline for sleep. Your head will be raised above your heart, and your body will be symmetrical. This is a good way to use a back wedge for problems like acid reflux, chest colds, or upper back pain, according to doctors.

Lower Back

• Place pillows at the area where your head would normally be. Place the back wedge underneath your lower back. Your lower back will be more elevated and will be level with your head instead of lower than your head.

  This helps keep lower back pain in check, say doctors. It can also help you sleep in a more aligned pattern, which might provide some relief from general aches and pains as well as pregnancy insomnia.

Knees

• Use a back wedge on your knees to sleep at a reverse incline. Place one pillow underneath your head and lay flat. Then place a back wedge beneath your knees. This will raise your knees, taking pressure off your lower back and keeping back pain in check. It also takes stress off the rest of your body, so if persistent aches and pains are keeping you awake, this should help.