Seven to nine hours of sleep are considered the ideal time for a night’s rest, according to a study by the National Sleep Foundation. Of course, this is only a guide value and some people need less or more sleep.
However, short and late risers have one thing in common: back pain when sleeping or afterwards gets in the way of a restful night’s sleep. What can cause back pain when lying down, which position is best for you to sleep in and further tips can be found here!
Causes of back pain when or after sleeping
The good news first: back pain does not necessarily have to be caused by wear and tear on the inter vertebral discs and spine. In many cases, the cause of back pain when sleeping is simply muscle tension or a wrong sleeping position.
A physical “state of emergency” such as pregnancy can also be the reason for the pain. Whatever the reason for back pain, many people find it helpful to focus on their bed and the right equipment to reduce or, in the best case, even eliminate back pain.
If you feel the pain in your back every morning, it could possibly be due to your mattress. In the following we will look at possible causes in order.
Our tips for restful sleep:
Back pain after lying down for a long time = back tension?
Sitting in the office for long periods or standing for hours on end at the workplace: most of us are probably familiar with one-sided stresses and strains in our (professional) everyday lives.
With sufficient movement, an overload of tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints can be counteracted.
However, if this balance does not take place, sooner or later the back will become noticeable, in the form of tension and weakened back muscles.
The constant tension of the back muscles can also have psychological reasons: Overstrain, pressure to perform etc. are possible triggers.
In the most unfavorable, but unfortunately not rare case, the complaints in the upper, middle or lower back continue into sleep. This is due to the fact that during the deep sleep phases (shortly after falling asleep) we usually lie completely motionless.
An unfavorable posture in these phases leads to a permanent tension of the muscles, because they reflexively try to “straighten” the spine. So you either wake up at night with discomfort or feel rusty when you get up in the morning – the exact opposite of a restful night …
Nightly back pain during pregnancy
During pregnancy the body prepares for the birth process. Among other things, this involves loosening joints and cartilage tissue.
If you have this bed support for lower back pain it will benefit many pregnant women which eases the hollow back posture due to the increasing body weight, it quickly becomes clear that back problems are more or less pre-programmed and often disturb the night’s rest.
The best countermeasure in this case is prevention. More tips on sleeping during pregnancy can be found in our guide!
Back pain caused by the wrong sleeping position and hollow back
The prone or lateral position is the favorite sleeping position for many people.
Unfortunately, however, this quickly leads to an unfavorable position in which the spine is not straight. For example, sleeping on your stomach often results in a hollow back – not the ideal position for several hours of sleep.
Are you a belly sleeper and don’t want to give up your favorite sleeping position? Then you can counteract back pain by placing a flat pillow under your stomach.
And of course there are also some tips and tricks for side sleepers for restful nights – just have a look at our corresponding guide!
Types of back pain: Where does it hurt?
Not all back pain is the same, and so it is not possible to make a blanket judgement about causes and countermeasures.
Therefore, just one piece of advice: If the pain persists for a long time, we recommend a medical examination. Even if you suspect psychological reasons behind the tension or pain, professional support can be very helpful. Better safe than sorry when it comes to health!
Lumbar spine pain: lower back
The lumbar spine, i.e. the lower back, does all the work in everyday life. Sitting for long periods of time means that not least the intervertebral discs are under constant heavy strain.
But don’t worry: if your lower back hurts, there is no need to have a herniated disc behind it! In fact, most cases of back pain in the lower back are non-specific, i.e. no clear trigger can be identified.
However, it is important in the case of lumbar vertebrae pain when lying down, not to be too far away from the spine.
