Prone position

The prone position literally means lying face down. Your chest and abdomen rest against the mattress, and your face is either buried in the pillow or turned to the side. Along with the supine position, in which you lie on your back, and the side-lying position, it is one of the three basic sleeping positions. As with babies sleeping on their stomachs, quite a few people find this position comfortable.

• Your neck is turned. To breathe comfortably while lying on your stomach, you need to turn your face to the side. If your head stays turned to one side while you sleep, the sternocleidomastoid and levator scapulae on that side work in a shortened position, while the muscles on the opposite side are stretched and pulled. When you are awake, you change position as soon as you feel uncomfortable, but this is harder to notice while asleep.
• Your lower back arches backward. When the area of your abdomen between your chest and pelvis presses into the mattress, your lumbar spine tends to arch backward. The softer the mattress, the farther your abdomen sinks, making this arch more pronounced.
• Your arm is raised. Sleeping with one arm above your head raises your shoulder, which may leave the front of your shoulder feeling stiff or your hand feeling numb or tingly in the morning.

The morning stiffness that stomach sleepers feel usually subsides within a few minutes to a few hours after getting up and moving around. People change position several times during sleep rather than staying in one position, so falling asleep on your stomach does not mean you stay that way all night. How it feels varies widely from person to person, depending on how far the neck is turned, pillow height, mattress condition, and usual neck flexibility. Many people sleep comfortably on their stomachs, too.

Changing a stomach-sleeping habit all at once is not easy. You can start by trying ways to ease the discomfort.

• Try a lower pillow or no pillow. When you lie on your stomach, a high pillow tilts your head backward. Using a very flat pillow or sleeping without one reduces the bend in your neck. For help choosing a pillow height, see Pillows and cervical alignment.
• Try placing a thin cushion under your pelvis. A thin cushion or folded towel beneath your lower abdomen and pelvis reduces the backward arch in your lower back.
• Try turning your body slightly to one side. Sleeping with one knee bent up and your torso turned partway toward the side brings you closer to a side-lying position, distributing the strain on your neck and lower back.
• Try alternating which way you turn your head. If you always turn your face to the same side, alternate with the other side as well.
• Gently loosen up your neck before bed and just after waking. Slowly turning your head from side to side and shrugging your shoulders up and down is enough.
• Check whether your mattress is too soft. A slightly firmer mattress lets your lower back sink less when you lie on your stomach.

During pregnancy, changes in the shape of your abdomen can make sleeping on your stomach difficult. See Sleeping positions during pregnancy.

• You repeatedly wake up with a very stiff neck or difficulty turning your head. See the articles on Acute torticollis or Neck stiffness.
• Numbness or tingling and a feeling of weakness in your arm or hand persist for several days.
• Your lower back or neck pain keeps getting worse even after changing positions.

If you notice these signs, sleeping position may not be the only issue, so explain what is happening to a local healthcare provider or professional.