Falling asleep and staying asleep has been a problem for all my life. I remember looking at my alarm clock in high school, seeing 3:00am on the clock, and knowing I had to get up in 3 hours to go to school. My insomnia is much better now, partially because of better sleep hygiene, and also largely because my depression, anxiety, and headaches are being actively treated. But falling asleep when I get into bed, sleeping through the night, and waking up refreshed, are things I still never experience.
When my sleep is especially bad, my headaches are worse, my mood is worse, and my IBS is worse. And really anytime one of those are out of whack, the others are quick to follow. And then pretty much everything just feels even shittier than normal. Such a fun vicious cycle.
My preferred sleeping position has always been on my stomach, kind of like the half frog yoga pose. One leg bent up, an arm under my pillow, and my head at an absurd angle. It’s kind of like the photo below, but even more absurd angles (because EDS).
Well, it turns out that sleeping on your stomach is the worst position possible for your neck, jaw, and back. And looking at the photo, it makes total sense why. Both my chiropractor and craniosacral therapist recommended I transition to sleeping my back – the best position for your neck, jaw, and back.
The good news: My TMJ is a million times better when I sleep on my back. It turns out that sleeping with your jaw in it’s normal resting position is better for reducing TMJ pain. One of those things that seems pretty obvious in hindsight.
The bad news: I don’t find the position comfortable. It’s more difficult than usual to fall asleep, I wake up even more throughout the night, and have more back pain in the morning. The worst part is feeling completely unrested. My brain pretty much ceased to function.
My chiropractor said it’s kind of like breaking in new shoes. My body has to get used to being held in a different position than I’ve been sleeping in for the last 28 years. He also thinks some of the back pain could be caused from hyperextension (go figure) of my back arching too much. I’ve been using a bolster under my knees to help with the back pain, I’ve tried a Jackson pillow under my neck, but it’s still just not comfortable. Some nights I manage to mostly stay asleep, but other nights I give up, throw the bolster onto the floor, flip onto my stomach, and hold my pillow (sometimes my dog) tightly.
I tried the back sleeping for about two months, and it still wasn’t “broken in”. I asked the chiropractor how long it should take, and he said a couple weeks, which I am way past. Even though the back sleeping definitely helped my TMJ, my sleep was so much more interrupted, that my mood and headaches we’re getting way worse. So I’ve pretty much completely abandoned the back sleeping and returned to my stomach frog sleeping. My TMJ is worse, but at least I’m sleeping again.
If you’re actually able to sleep (without more prescription medications), I would love to know how! How can I sleep comfortably on my back or another position that won’t kill my jaw??
Xoxo,
A
Goal for next time: I’m going to work on a list of things that make me happy. It was upsetting when my therapist asked me what I do that makes me happy and I couldn’t come up with anything. So I’ve come up with one thing, and next time I’m going to have more!
What Makes Me Happy
1. My sweet doggo being a weirdo
the zen zebra 