GOQii

Blog

By 4 Comments

Which Is The Best Sleep Position?

Best Sleep PositionEvery wondered which is the best sleep position? The position you sleep in plays a vital role in improving the quality of your sleep. How do you sleep? Do you prefer sleeping on your back, side or stomach? Sleeping in the wrong position can have detrimental effects on your health. Let’s take a deeper look into these problems. Poor sleep posture could potentially cause back and neck pain, fatigue, sleep apnea, muscle cramping, impaired circulation, headaches, heartburn, tummy troubles, and even premature wrinkles.

What Is The Best Sleep Position? 

  1. Sleeping On Your Stomach: About 7% of people sleep on their stomach. In this position, the neck and spine are not in a neutral position and this can put pressure on nerves and cause numbness, tingling, and nerve pain. It is best to choose another sleep position if you are a stomach sleeper. If you can’t break the habit, prop your forehead up on a pillow, so your head and spine remain in a neutral position and you have room to breathe.
  2. Sleeping On Your Back: on a regular basis may lead to lower back pain. If you have any existing pain, it can make the pain worse. Sleeping on your back if you suffer from snoring or sleep apnea may aggravate these conditions. Snoozing on your back can cause the tongue to block the breathing tube, making it a dangerous position for those who suffer from sleep apnea. Sleeping on your back with your head slightly elevated is the best sleep position for people suffering from heartburn. Also, this position does not lead to neck pain, like your neck, back and spine is in a neutral position.
  3. Soldier Position: In this position, the person sleeps on his/her back with hands close to the body. Approximately 8% of people sleep this way and this is not a good position to sleep in for people who snore. This position may also prevent you from getting a restful night’s sleep.
  4. Starfish Position: People who sleep in a starfish position sleep on their backs with their arms up over their head. Approximately 5% of people sleep this way. Compared to people who sleep on their backs, people who sleep in the starfish position are more prone to snoring and sleep problems.
  5. Sleeping On The Side: Approximately 41% of people sleep this way, curled up on their sides with their knees bent. This is one of the best positions, also good for pregnant women because it facilitates circulation to both mom and the fetus. The position may be good for those who snore and also helps decrease acid reflux since your spine is elongated. It also wards off back and neck pain. This position may lead to wrinkles because half of your face pushes against a pillow, so use soft, silken pillows to avoid wrinkles on the face.
  6. Fetal Position: Side sleepers who sleep with their legs bent and curled toward their torsos are the ones who sleep in the so-called fetal position. If sleeping this way hurts your hips, placing a pillow between your knees may help relieve the pressure. This position can leave you feeling a bit sore in the morning, particularly if you have arthritis in your joints or back. Prevent these woes by straightening out your body as much as you can, instead of tucking your chin into your chest and pulling your knees up high.

Sleeping positions which might help if you have sleeping issues

  • Do you snore? If you do, it is best to sleep on your side to minimize the risk of snoring. Sleeping on your back may aggravate snoring. If you can’t break the habit and want to sleep on your back, stack a few pillows underneath your head to reduce the risk of snoring.
  • Does your back hurt? Sleeping on your stomach or back, may aggravate your pain. Switch to side sleeping to minimize your risk of back pain. For further relief, put a pillow between your knees to keep your hips in alignment.
  • Are you pregnant? Sleeping on your stomach or back will be uncomfortable or impossible. You will be most comfortable sleeping on your side. Favour your left side to maximize circulation for both you and your baby. Placing a pillow under your belly can help relieve back pain.

So choose your sleeping position wisely and have a good mattress accompanied by soft pillows to wake up fresh and healthy! We hope this article helps you. Share your favorite sleeping position in the comments below! For more on sleep, click here or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

By Leave a Comment

Sleep Series: Sleep Tips and Summary

sleep tips and summaryThe internet is full of various sleep tips and advice but which one is the best one to follow? Don’t worry, I have shared some sleep tips which I’ve personally experimented with and benefitted from over the last couple of years. Hope they help you too! 

Sleep Tips For A Good Night’s Rest 

1. Day Time:

  • The sleep preparation process starts from the time you wake up
  • What you do during the day, impacts how you sleep. Sleep is not just a standalone event that happens in the evening.  Sleep is designed to unwind, scavenge, reorganize and rebuild from the activities of the day. So, be cognizant of what you do in the daytime
  • Get some Sunlight, especially first thing in the morning. This sends a clear signal to “Body Clock” that it is Daytime – it will automatically set up the night time. 
  • Try walking without any footwear on natural ground while taking morning walks. It helps immensely!
  • No Coffee/Cola after 13:00 hours – I found the impact of tea is milder on sleep. At 4pm, masala tea with ginger, etc. is ok. 

2. Evening

  • Get used to dim lights post dinner. Light is the number 1 inhibitor to the onset of sleep
  • I have two sets of lights in my house – one for “illumination and celebration” and one with dim lights conducive to induce melatonin secretion.

3. Dinner

  • 30 minutes before dinner, take 1-2 spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 spoon of honey in 1 glass of water. Works wonders for sleep, digestion, acidity, GERD, etc.
  • Early dinners are the best! Between 6-7pm max. You do not want your digestion process working during sleep
  • Stop the intake of water 90 minutes before sleep if you are above 45.

4. Preparing to Sleep

  • 30 minutes before your scheduled sleep time, start unwinding. Phone can be kept outside the bedroom or better, switch it off. Reading a hardcover book is a great way to induce sleep. I used to read a book on macroeconomics
  • Pranayama is a great way of preparing the body for sleeping. I found the following useful
    • 4-8 method: Inhale through nose for a count of 4 and exhale through the mouth for count of 8 – ask me if you do not yawn and feel sleepy at the end of 3 minutes
    • Shitali Pranayama: 3-4 rounds – cools the body
    • Ujjayi: 3-4 rounds – strengthens the throat muscles – works against collapsing during snoring
  • Lavender Essential Oil: Apply 1 drop of good quality lavender essential oil on your pillow. You will sleep like a baby. Do not use more than one drop, I do not want to get a call from your boss! 
  • If you can get your Ayurveda or Siddha doctor to prescribe “Ven Thamarai (white Lotus) Churna”, mix it with a half-cup of warm milk and honey 60 minutes before going to sleep. Non habit forming and sleep inducing medicine. Not just helps in onset of sleep, but helps in overall quality through all stages of sleep.

5. Bedroom

  • Darkness is a friend of sleep. Pitch dark room with no night light. Use a sleep mask for your eyes if needed. Go for movement sensing light in case you get up at night
  • Air conditioned room is the best – cool temperature is essential for good sleep. Set what is comfortable fo you – 24 degrees is generally ok for Indians (web prescribes 20 degrees which is American Standard)
  • On bedroom accessories, I have covered in previous blogs
  • Bed is reserved for unwinding and sleeping – so avoid working or eating from bed

Sleeping well is essential to a good career for knowledge workers. Sleep builds memory, creativity, innovation and problem solving skills which are crucial and cannot be replaced by “Artificial Intelligence”.

If this Sleep Series by Srini got you excited about sleep, try reading Why we sleep – a book by Matthew Walker, the Sleep Guru. To read more about sleep, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

To get more guidance to help you sleep better, subscribe to GOQii and let our experts help you: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

#BeTheForce 

By Leave a Comment

Sleep Series: The Relentless Rivalry of REM and NREM

REN and NREMWhen we sleep, we go through a few stages. Prominent among them are REM and NREM. It is observed that for some non-specific reason, there is significant movement of the eyeball in all directions rapidly during REM sleep BUT does NOT send any visual signals to the brain. Hence, the name Rapid Eye Movement ( REM) sleep and the opposite – Non REM sleep. Some also say that they are “deep sleep” vs “shallow sleep” which I am not a great fan of. I believe they are simply various stages of sleep.

 

Sleep Series

Courtesy: sleepadvisor.org and Mathew Walker.

IF we draw a graph of brain neural activity, the graph will look something like this

As you can see, at the start it is the NREM which is occupying the real estate and the REM shows up intermittently. Approximately each of the cycles lasts for 90 minutes and then it changes. But in general, we can see the domination of NREM in the first half and REM in the second half. 

Interesting Facts on REM and NREM 

  • Dream your way to creativity: As homo sapiens came down from trees to sleep on flat grounds, they developed REM sleep as an evolutionary advancement. REM sleep is responsible for the evolution of creativity, memory and problem solving. It is during REM sleep, the neural network gets more intricately wired with new synapses being formed. In some sense, it is the REM sleep that contributed to the supremacy of humans over other animals.
  • Early morning school timing inhibits creativity: If schools, colleges or universities start pretty early in the morning, it is quite possible that the student has to wake up early and hence, foregoes some part of REM sleep. That is NOT good news for memory and creativity, which are most critical for studies.
  • Sleep algorithm is an enigma: NREM has been measured in 4 stages depending upon how deep it goes. The deeper it goes, the body gets better rest and the housekeeping activity of scavenging the brain of useless memory and storing of useful memory in the long term storage area happens – this is a totally involuntary activity based on an enigma algorithm. God/Nature is the first and best coder. 
  • Forgetting is beautiful: The brain decides to delete (forget) what is irrelevant. You will definitely not remember what breakfast you had the same day last week. Forgetting is an essential function just as much as remembering is. 
  • Striping emotion – REM heals: REM sleep is responsible for stripping emotion from past events over time. For example, you would remember the death of a close relative. But rarely you can recollect the emotions that were recorded when it happened. It is a blessing in a way. It is not the Time, but it is REM that heals! 
  • 7 hours or nothing: 5 cycles of 90 minutes – 450 minutes approx. 7 hours gives you a good full cycle. Anything less is like jumping 90% of the well! Short sleep leaves work undone and there is no use. You add to the pressure of work.
  • There can be no sleep “Deposit” and Sleep “Loans” ( this would appeal to the Finance community). You cannot oversleep to compensate for a past deficit nor you can accumulate a deficit to be cured by oversleep a bit later. It is 7.5 to 8 hours  a day, every day! You would now have understood why from the chart above.
  • You cannot “Live your dream”: The motor activity other than breathing is all frozen during REM stage , all muscles (particularly limbs) are frozen – imagine you swishing your sword or trying to run away when chased by a cobra! It protects you from getting injured!
  • You are not meant to remember your dreams: You will only remember that you had vivid dreams or nightmares. Dreams have been the subject of so much research. Only one thing is clear – every dream is made of illogical and impossible combinations. If you behave during the day like the way you behaved in your dream, you will find yourself in a psychiatric ward. It is the façade or alibi as the brain is reorganizing the hard disk.
  • Dreams have no meaning: Do not over analyze, dreams have no hidden meaning. If you need to know something, why would it be revealed in your dream? It would rather appear in Times Square visible to all.
  • NREM is all about detox and growth: NREM sleep detoxifies the body, grows tissues, improves immunity, repairs injuries. Breathing slows down, body temperature goes down, blood pressure drops and the body gets a deep relaxation to get ready for the next day. 
  • You need both: It is NOT that NREM is better and preferred than REM. Combined activity and result from both is critical for overall physical and mental health.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article on REM and NREM sleep. Stay tuned for more from the Sleep Series by Srini! To read more about sleep and sleeping techniques, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

#BeTheForce 

By Leave a Comment

Sleep Series: The Chemistry of Sleep

sleep series: chemistry of sleepDifficult to believe? Yes it is true. The perfect sleep is the result of a complex reaction from 2 main chemicals. Adenosine is a neurochemical which accumulates during “wake” and drains during “sleep”. Imagine a specially made hourglass, but one which builds up for approx. 16 hours of our wake cycle and drains within 8 hours of our sleep cycle. The receptors of Adenosine inform the brain that “stock levels are up” and it is time to relax and sleep. As sleep kicks in, stock levels of Adenosine goes down and receptors send a “wake up” signal to the brain.

Adenosine is the primary inducer of sleep-wake cycle. It reduces neural activity and sets you to start sleep. Interestingly, Caffeine blocks the Adenosine receptors and creates the opposite effect.  There we go – as to why we feel a bit fresh and brisk after a cup of coffee – it is an illusion we create by confusing the brain! The body’s excretion system works hard to flush Caffeine. It takes 5-6 hours to flush out just 50% of this possessive chemical.

I’ve mentioned Adenosine over Melatonin as the primary sleep chemical because I wanted to impress upon the impact of Caffeine. We take Caffeine in many forms – Coffee, Cola, energy drinks, etc. Caffeine also impacts the Dopamine and Serotonin chemical reaction, thereby causing a significant disruption of the normal neural activity. 

Do let Adenosine do its job naturally, you will sleep on time and naturally! Caffeine interferes with several hormonal/neurochemical reactions related to sleep. Do not consume Caffeine beyond lunchtime and in any case, beyond 4pm. 

The Magical Darkness Hormone – Melatonin

Melatonin is the second chemical responsible for enabling “onset” of sleep. It detoxifies the body of free radicals and other toxins. It starts secretion as soon as darkness sets in and it peaks by midnight. The synthesis of melatonin occurs through a multistep complex chemical process:

  • It all starts with food – food contains an amino acid called tryptophan. Foods like Milk, oats, nuts contain more tryptophan. 
  • Tryptophan is absorbed from the bloodstream to the pineal gland in the brain.
  • First, tryptophan is converted to another amino acid and then to a brain chemical called Serotonin. 2 Enzymes are involved here!
  • Serotonin’s conversion to melatonin involves two more enzymes.
  • All chemicals discussed here follow complex routines and they are part of a chain which is amazingly responsible for the onset of sleep. On top of it all, there is a closely coordinated play of the “Brain-Gut complex” to get this right!

How Can You Aid This Natural Process For Good Sleep? 

DON’T intervene in the natural process! Supplements can’t get you anywhere near the good quality sleep offered by this natural process.  

  • Beware of Caffeine! – Stop post lunch consumption
  • Consume foods high in tryptophan – consult your GOQii coach
  • Gut (Serotonin storage) has its role in sleep, so keep it clean and healthy
  • Get used to darkness after dinner to catalyze natural Melatonin 

Adenosine has other functions such as certain cardiac functions as well. This article does not deal with them. An enzyme is a biological catalyst that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction and an amino acid is an organic acid used to make proteins usually obtained from food. OTC Melatonin – a small dose is usually fine to get over jet lag. 

We hope this article on the Chemistry of Sleep helps you!  Stay tuned for more from the Sleep Series by Srini! To read more about sleep and sleeping techniques, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

#BeTheForce 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]