Re-Learning Sleep Positions with Weight Loss
springlering62
Posts: 8,352 Member
What I need is someone to re-teach me how to sleep. Does such a wizard exist and what are they called if they do?
I did not realize how much I changed my position over decades as I slowly gained weight. Now that I’ve lost it, I can’t get comfortable at night.
I “fat sleep” to accommodate weight that’s no longer there, and wake up with painfully shoulders in particular.
I can vaguely remember, as a skinny teen, sleeping on my arm, but I developed a way of sleeping with the arm underneath splayed out over my head so it didn’t have so much weight resting on it. But now, it’s just awkward and uncomfortable and my shoulders are constantly sore.
My knees and ankles ache now, too, if I’m lying on my side, because they’re bony and bang on each other. That, I’ve worked around with a very thin memory foam pillow between my legs. Better, but still a PITA if you’re a frequent turner like me.
How have you relearned to get comfortable at night?
This is driving me crazy. Any advice welcome.
I did not realize how much I changed my position over decades as I slowly gained weight. Now that I’ve lost it, I can’t get comfortable at night.
I “fat sleep” to accommodate weight that’s no longer there, and wake up with painfully shoulders in particular.
I can vaguely remember, as a skinny teen, sleeping on my arm, but I developed a way of sleeping with the arm underneath splayed out over my head so it didn’t have so much weight resting on it. But now, it’s just awkward and uncomfortable and my shoulders are constantly sore.
My knees and ankles ache now, too, if I’m lying on my side, because they’re bony and bang on each other. That, I’ve worked around with a very thin memory foam pillow between my legs. Better, but still a PITA if you’re a frequent turner like me.
How have you relearned to get comfortable at night?
This is driving me crazy. Any advice welcome.
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Replies
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i sleep on my back now, whereas i used to sleep on my stomach or sides. i fall asleep on my side, usually, but turn to my back
i never related it to the weight loss, but if i think about it, that is probably when i changed positions.
my husband is very thin, and will fall asleep on his stomach or side, usually, but also typically move to his back.1 -
I will say that aging is likely the bigger culprit and shoulders are of particular issue. I know several women of a certain age with shoulder problems. It's really common.
My physical therapists repeatedly say, "Don't sleep directly on the shoulder, position yourself to be slightly leaning back." I use pillows. One between my knees and one under my elbow that's on the bed when sleeping on my side. You can Google images for sleeping positions for shoulder pain images.3 -
I think the best sleeping position is on your back if you can do that. I am an all over sleeper but try to stay on my back if I can help it. One thing to consider...do you need a new mattress?
If you sleep on your side, get a pillow that you can put in between your knees.1 -
Some years ago, with no precedent, I got very bad bursitis in the right shoulder, eventually figuring out it was from habitual side-sleeping. Forcing back-sleep worked. I still feel mild twinges if I lapse, and that's a "wake-up call" (pun intended) to reposition. My tip is to use extra pillows to find personal comfort, e.g. under elbows and/or knees for back sleeping, or to support a side-tilt if stomach sleeping isn't comfortable. Big thing is to support the body off the direct weight on shoulders.1
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I should try back sleeping again now that I've lost weight...1
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I lost a lot of weight yeeeaars ago and experienced similar issues. I’m a stomach/side sleeper and the “bony” (I was down to 138ish lbs) hip bones and knees were very irritating. Unfortunately I did not use sustainable habits to get to that weight so I didn’t experience the issue long enough to figure out a way around it before I gained a ton of weight again. It could be a mattress issue now that you’ve lost weight - lighter bodies don’t need as much firm support as heavier bodies. Won’t help with the knees but maybe the shoulder? I remember I also started sleeping on my side with my knees not directly on top of each other - kind of splayed out? Seemed to also help a bit.0
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I found that I now need a pillow between my knees while I sleep, otherwise my knees are painfully sore when I wake up! I toss and turn a lot, but have somehow managed to keep that pillow with me... It was one of the odd things I noticed when I was ~50lb down. I've lost over 80 now, and I don't know what I would do without that darn pillow! It's kind of like making up for missing "cushion".
With the arm thing... I sleep with my arm beneath one pillow under my head, and another pillow behind it. If I don't have myself set up like that, I get a pretty awful neck cramp. Maybe some setup similar for your shoulder?
And ankles... I haven't had much pain with those, but I never stack my feet on each other. Kind of spread apart from each other?
Now that I've written this, I think my sleep position sounds a bit odd 🤔0 -
I experienced that after losing a significant amount of weight in my 20s. I guess I adjusted, but I think I do remember getting a softer mattress the next time. Maybe a thick mattress pad would help. We just got a new mattress and got an adjustable base this time. What a game changer! If you elevate the foot just a little, it takes so much pressure off the hips! Easy to sleep on your side that way too, if it's not too elevated.0
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Thanks for the suggestions. I already use a thin pillow between my knees and ankles and the mattress is less than a year old.
I don’t know how to retrain myself to stop putting so much weight and pressure on my shoulders.
I also notice I’m extremely tense when I try to drift off or wake up. Like in permanent fight or flight mode. Even grind my teeth in my sleep.
The other thing that’s making me nuts is that my feet burn or feel pressure at night. My doctor has checked me for diabetes, I don’t have athletes foot.
I swear, between props and pillows to raise my feet, separate my ankles and knees, trying to get weight off my shoulder, a pair of affectionate (and eternally hungry) cats, and husband’s CPAP equipment, there’s no room left in the bed for ME.
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springlering62 wrote: »Thanks for the suggestions. I already use a thin pillow between my knees and ankles and the mattress is less than a year old.
I don’t know how to retrain myself to stop putting so much weight and pressure on my shoulders.
I also notice I’m extremely tense when I try to drift off or wake up. Like in permanent fight or flight mode. Even grind my teeth in my sleep.
The other thing that’s making me nuts is that my feet burn or feel pressure at night. My doctor has checked me for diabetes, I don’t have athletes foot.
I swear, between props and pillows to raise my feet, separate my ankles and knees, trying to get weight off my shoulder, a pair of affectionate (and eternally hungry) cats, and husband’s CPAP equipment, there’s no room left in the bed for ME.
If you don't have some kind of bite guard, I suggest getting one, even just an OTC one (prescription is better, but expensive). I started needing root canals that were attributed to grinding/gritting. No one likes root canals, do they?1 -
springlering62 wrote: »Thanks for the suggestions. I already use a thin pillow between my knees and ankles and the mattress is less than a year old.
I don’t know how to retrain myself to stop putting so much weight and pressure on my shoulders.
I also notice I’m extremely tense when I try to drift off or wake up. Like in permanent fight or flight mode. Even grind my teeth in my sleep.
The other thing that’s making me nuts is that my feet burn or feel pressure at night. My doctor has checked me for diabetes, I don’t have athletes foot.
I swear, between props and pillows to raise my feet, separate my ankles and knees, trying to get weight off my shoulder, a pair of affectionate (and eternally hungry) cats, and husband’s CPAP equipment, there’s no room left in the bed for ME.
If you don't have some kind of bite guard, I suggest getting one, even just an OTC one (prescription is better, but expensive). I started needing root canals that were attributed to grinding/gritting. No one likes root canals, do they?
Root canals nor the Spanish Inquisition!
I know. I know. It feels like I’m grinding them down to nubs. I chewed through my expensive prescription mouthguard in no time. I got a thick one off Amazon but don’t care for it.
I guess I’m just a tense little Type A ball of anger and frustration and newly slimmed limbs that stick out at crazy angles, lol.1 -
springlering62 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »Thanks for the suggestions. I already use a thin pillow between my knees and ankles and the mattress is less than a year old.
I don’t know how to retrain myself to stop putting so much weight and pressure on my shoulders.
I also notice I’m extremely tense when I try to drift off or wake up. Like in permanent fight or flight mode. Even grind my teeth in my sleep.
The other thing that’s making me nuts is that my feet burn or feel pressure at night. My doctor has checked me for diabetes, I don’t have athletes foot.
I swear, between props and pillows to raise my feet, separate my ankles and knees, trying to get weight off my shoulder, a pair of affectionate (and eternally hungry) cats, and husband’s CPAP equipment, there’s no room left in the bed for ME.
If you don't have some kind of bite guard, I suggest getting one, even just an OTC one (prescription is better, but expensive). I started needing root canals that were attributed to grinding/gritting. No one likes root canals, do they?
Root canals nor the Spanish Inquisition!
I know. I know. It feels like I’m grinding them down to nubs. I chewed through my expensive prescription mouthguard in no time. I got a thick one off Amazon but don’t care for it.
I guess I’m just a tense little Type A ball of anger and frustration and newly slimmed limbs that stick out at crazy angles, lol.
MORE YOGA!
I lost the one my former dentist made for me and settled on this (which I bought at Walmart)
https://smile.amazon.com/DenTek-Comfort-Fit-Protection-Nightime-Grinding/dp/B002WTCK4Q/
I did switch from the first one after it started to get rather yucky looking, but haven't manage to grind through either in 18 months. However, it sounds like your grinding is more intense than mine.
If you have another bedroom available, have you tried sleeping there? Does that help? I'm a terrible sleeper and have been not sharing a room with anyone for over 20 years. In fact, I now refuse to share a WALL with anyone.1 -
springlering62 wrote: »Thanks for the suggestions. I already use a thin pillow between my knees and ankles and the mattress is less than a year old.
I don’t know how to retrain myself to stop putting so much weight and pressure on my shoulders.
I also notice I’m extremely tense when I try to drift off or wake up. Like in permanent fight or flight mode. Even grind my teeth in my sleep.
The other thing that’s making me nuts is that my feet burn or feel pressure at night. My doctor has checked me for diabetes, I don’t have athletes foot.
I swear, between props and pillows to raise my feet, separate my ankles and knees, trying to get weight off my shoulder, a pair of affectionate (and eternally hungry) cats, and husband’s CPAP equipment, there’s no room left in the bed for ME.
My legs are a bit restless at night but interestingly this went away after I developed plantar fasciitis and started wearing a night splint boot thing for that.
My pain symptom is bad pain in my heels.
I got this from the VA - there are much cheaper ones but this is the one with which I have experience:
https://smile.amazon.com/Healwell-Plantar-Fasciitis-FLA-Orthopedics/dp/B013XQP3PY/
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I mostly sleep on my side, sort of hugging one of those triangle-y reading pillows with one end between my knees and the other end towards my face. It gives me a bit of support/padding that I find most comfortable. I find sleeping on my back comfy as well but as someone who suffered from sleep paralysis for years and years I generally am averse to intentionally falling asleep like that.0
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mattress?? I realized my mattress needed replacing after I slept on a different mattress and actually slept well0
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