Nap Position Health Rankings
Office workers and students go to bed late at night, and must take a nap after lunch to replenish their physical strength. However, many companies or schools do not have a dedicated lunch break space, and people can only take a nap on the table. When I wake up, my body is more tired, and even my shoulder and neck pain.
Sleeping on your stomach often can cause great harm to your health. 1. The muscles at the back of the neck cannot be relaxed. When taking a nap on your stomach, the neck is in a forward-bending position for a long time, and the rear muscles are stretched and cannot be relaxed; when the nap is over, the rear muscles are already overtired, which can easily lead to muscle strain and neck muscle soreness. 2. Affect the physiological curvature of the cervical spine. Long-term prone posture changes the curvature of the spine, leading to changes in the physiological curvature of the cervical spine, which may eventually cause cervical spine problems. 3. Flatulence. When a person sleeps on the table, the head is bent forward, which will compress the esophagus and make it flat. Breathe at this time, and the gas in the stomach will stay in the stomach due to the increased discharge resistance. As the sleep time increases, a large amount of gas in the stomach will accumulate, resulting in flatulence. 4. Cause the neck to be exposed to the cold. If there is no quilt or clothing to cover the back of the neck, it is easy to cause the neck to catch cold. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, when the muscles at the back of the neck are not relaxed, the state of qi and blood is poor, and the ability to resist external evils is poor; from the perspective of western medicine, changes in temperature differences cause blood vessels and muscles to contract, which may cause cervical spondylosis.
When taking a nap in the office, the neck guard must ensure three principles: support behind the head, protection around the cervical spine, and a neutral and relaxed spine. Based on this, four correct lunch break postures are recommended, which can be selected according to individual circumstances.
Roll out the crib to sleep. The most ideal nap position is to lie flat on a bed and fall asleep with pillows of moderate height. In this posture, all parts of the spine can be effectively relaxed, and the spine can also be placed in a relatively stable position. If conditions permit, you can buy a lightweight folding bed and put it in the office, unfold it for a rest during lunch break, and fold it up to save space.
Lay down on your office chair for a lunch break. If the workstation is not spacious enough to put down the unfolded folding bed, you can choose to put down the back of the office chair for a lunch break. Note that the head should rest on the neck pillow of the office chair; if the office chair is not equipped with a neck pillow, you need to wear a U-shaped pillow.
Sleep with your head against a wall or screen. If there are only ordinary chairs with non-adjustable angles, then when taking a nap, you can choose to sleep with the back of your head against the wall or the baffle between the workstations. When falling asleep in this position, attention should also be paid to keep the lumbosacral region close to the back of the chair, or use a lumbar cushion to support the lumbosacral region to avoid hanging in the air.
Sleep on your stomach with a pillow. When the conditions are limited and you can only lie on your stomach, you can buy a relatively high pillow that is not easily deformed, and fall asleep naturally with your hands in your arms. Those who have the conditions can use a vertical nap pillow. This can elevate the head, reduce the pressure on the cervical spine and the back of the neck muscles when falling asleep on the stomach, and can also reduce the risk of bloating. But pay attention, try not to take a nap on your stomach, even if you hold a pillow, it will still cause certain damage to the cervical spine.
