When it comes to sleep, comfort is key. But for those with cardiovascular concerns, the question of whether your sleep position affects your heart health adds a new layer of complexity. While ensuring you get enough rest is essential, the position in which you sleep may influence specific aspects of your health, including your heart.

Let's understand the science and expert recommendations to explore how sleep positions impact cardiovascular health and how you can make the best choices for a healthier, more restful night.

Why Does Sleep Position Matter?

Your sleep position affects not only your comfort but also some physiological processes. Some of the positions will strain your back and exacerbate certain health issues or even compromise breathing. Researchers find that sleeping on your side is generally safer than lying on your back or on your stomach, especially regarding certain heart problems.

However, experts agree on one important point: the quality of your sleep is more important than the position in which you sleep. While side sleeping may have small advantages, consistency in restorative sleep is more important.

Left vs. Right: Which Side Supports Better Heart Function?

Left-Side Sleeping

This sleeping position may indirectly influence the position of the heart through gravitational force. Echocardiography has been reported to find small effects in the way the heart operates when resting on the left side. Nonetheless, this is clinically insignificant and shouldn't make healthy sleepers worry.

In people suffering from heart failure, lying on one's left side may at times be uncomfortable or even induce more breathlessness. However, a medical professional should be consulted regarding the best sleeping position.

Right-Side Sleeping

Right-side sleeping is said to be ideal for patients with heart failure. Even though it is said to be one of the sleeping positions that will cut off the flow of blood, this has no basis. Many heart failure patients prefer it and is mostly recommended by doctors since it reduces fluid retention and promotes circulation.

Back or Stomach Sleeping Harmful to Your Heart?

Back Sleeping

For those who do not suffer from breathing problems, sleeping on the back is comfortable. But for those who have sleep apnea, a condition that increases heart disease risk, back sleeping may exacerbate symptoms. The position may constrict the airway, and thus increase the chance of apnea episodes during the night.

Stomach Sleeping

Stomach sleeping alleviates snoring and mild sleep apnea but often leads to neck or back pain. Besides, it is considered the least healthy sleep position because it could compress the airway and interfere with spinal alignment.

Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Risk

Sleep apnea is a severe sleeping disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during the night. It can cause heart failure, hypertension, and other cardiovascular complications if left untreated. The severity of sleep apnea may be affected by your sleeping position.

Side Sleeping: It keeps the airway open and reduces apnea episodes.

Back Sleeping: Often worsens the symptoms of apnea and is not so ideal for people suffering from the disorder.

Doctors usually recommend continuous positive airway pressure machines for sleep apnea, but it is also possible to take up a side-sleeping habit to relieve mild symptoms.

Can Sleep Positions Help Relieve Heartburn and Reflux?

For individuals prone to acid reflux or heartburn, sleeping position matters. While some believe right-side sleeping can ease symptoms, the benefit is minimal. The muscular action of the stomach and intestines largely handles digestion, and gravity’s role in this process is minor. That said, right-side sleeping is harmless and worth trying if it provides relief.

Tips for Better Sleep and Heart Health

Finally, the heart benefits most when you get quality sleep, no matter how you position yourself. Here are tips to help you sleep as best as possible:

• Maintain a regular sleeping and waking time to keep your body in sync with your natural circadian rhythm.
• Limit your exposure to screens at night, lower the lights, and keep the bedroom a calm space.
• Physical exercise promotes better sleep quality but try not to work out at night.
• Other ways that can be used to prepare your body for rest include meditation, warm baths, or light reading.
• Early treatment of sleep disorders like apnea or insomnia may prevent severe heart health consequences.

When to Seek Medical Advice

If you’re struggling with consistent sleep issues, such as insomnia or disruptive snoring, consult a healthcare provider. Sleep apnea, in particular, has strong links to cardiovascular health. Symptoms like shortness of breath while lying flat or persistent fatigue should never be ignored.

The best sleeping position for your heart is that which allows you to have uninterrupted, high-quality sleep. Though side sleeping may be somewhat beneficial, especially in individuals with heart failure or sleep apnea, sleep position has a very small effect on overall cardiovascular health.

Rather than stressing over which side of the bed to sleep on, concentrate on habits that facilitate restorative sleep. After all, a good night's sleep marks the beginning of a healthy heart.

Risk of Developing Heart Failure, and Potential Benefits of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Therapy. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018

Lying position classification based on ECG waveform and random forest during sleep in healthy people. Biomed Eng Online. 2018

Sleep takes up nearly one-third of a person’s life, yet many still wonder what really happens while we rest. Until the mid-20th century, scientists believed sleep was simply a time when the body and brain shut down.

Research now shows that sleep is far from passive, it’s an active, restorative process essential for mental and physical health. As Johns Hopkins neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Mark Wu explains, the brain remains deeply engaged during sleep, performing vital tasks that influence memory, mood, and overall well-being.

The Stages of Sleep

Experts say the human sleep cycle has four main stages that repeat throughout the night. The first three make up non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep, while the fourth is REM sleep, the stage most closely linked with dreaming.

In the first stage of non-REM sleep, the brain and body begin to shift from wakefulness to rest. Brain activity slows, muscles relax, and it is common to experience small, sudden twitches.

During the second stage, the body’s temperature drops slightly, and breathing and heart rate slow. Brainwaves continue to decelerate, though quick bursts of activity may still appear as the brain processes and stores information.

The third stage marks deep sleep, which is the most restorative phase. Here, the body fully relaxes, and the heart rate, breathing, and brain activity reach their lowest levels. This stage is crucial for waking up feeling refreshed and for healing and repair processes throughout the body.

The final stage is REM sleep, which begins about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. It starts short, roughly 10 minutes, but lasts longer with each cycle. During REM, the eyes move rapidly beneath the eyelids, breathing quickens, and heart rate and blood pressure rise to near waking levels. This is when most dreaming occurs. Interestingly, as people age, the amount of REM sleep they experience gradually decreases.

How The Body Regulates Sleep

According to Dr. Wu, two main forces govern sleep: the circadian rhythm and the body’s sleep drive.

The circadian rhythm acts as the body’s internal clock, controlled by a cluster of brain cells that respond to light and darkness. This rhythm triggers the release of melatonin at night and halts it when morning light appears. People who are completely blind often struggle with sleep because their brains can’t register these light cues properly, as per the John Hopkins Study.

The sleep drive works much like hunger. The longer you stay awake, the stronger your urge to sleep becomes. Unlike hunger, though, your body can override your willpower, if exhaustion sets in, it can force sleep to happen, even during daily activities or while driving. In extreme fatigue, brief “microsleep” moments lasting just a few seconds can occur without a person realizing it. However, taking long naps later in the day can reduce this natural sleep pressure, making it harder to fall asleep at night.

Why Sleep Matters For Your Brain

Anyone who has felt mentally sluggish after a sleepless night knows how strongly rest affects the brain. Adequate sleep is key to brain plasticity—the ability to learn, adapt, and form memories. Without it, the brain struggles to retain new information and perform cognitive tasks. Scientists also believe that deep sleep allows the brain to clear out toxins that build up during waking hours, improving long-term brain health.

Sleep impacts far more than the mind. Poor sleep can worsen conditions like depression, high blood pressure, migraines, and even seizures. It weakens the immune system, leaving the body more vulnerable to infection. Metabolism also suffers, as just one night without enough rest can temporarily throw the body into a prediabetic state.

As Dr. Wu explains, “There are countless ways sleep supports health.” From mental clarity to physical repair, the hours we spend asleep are some of the most important for keeping the body and brain functioning at their best.

When COVID-19 first emerged, it was largely seen as a respiratory illness. Over time, doctors discovered that the virus can affect nearly every major organ, including the heart, kidneys, liver, and skin. While cough, fever, and fatigue remain common signs, some people also develop unusual skin reactions. So, can COVID-19 actually lead to rashes? Here’s what experts have found.

Can COVID-19 Really Cause Rashes?

When COVID-19 first emerged, it was largely seen as a respiratory illness. Over time, doctors discovered that the virus can affect nearly every major organ, including the heart, kidneys, liver, and skin. While cough, fever, and fatigue remain common signs, some people also develop unusual skin reactions. So, can COVID-19 actually lead to rashes? Here’s what experts have found.

What Do COVID-19 Rashes Look Like?

Skin changes linked to COVID-19 are not among the most common symptoms, but they do occur. These rashes may appear on the neck, mouth, or toes and are often caused by inflammation in the body, as per Health website. They can look like flat or raised patches, small round spots, or itchy bumps. In some people, these rashes appear while they’re infected; in others, they show up weeks later.

Why Do These Rashes Occur?

Researchers believe COVID-related rashes are connected to how the virus interacts with the body’s ACE2 receptors, which are found in the skin. When the virus attaches to these receptors, it can trigger the release of inflammatory proteins called cytokines. This inflammation may lead to skin irritation, itchiness, or lesions.

Common Types of COVID-19 Rashes

1. COVID Toes

One of the most recognized skin signs of the virus, “COVID toes,” resembles chilblains, which are cold-weather sores. They appear as pink, red, or purple patches, sometimes with swelling or blistering. This condition is seen more often in younger people and may occur even after other symptoms fade.

2. Hives (Urticaria)

Hives tend to appear suddenly and can spread across any part of the body. They’re itchy, raised, and may come and go within hours or days.

3. Neck Eczema

Some people develop eczema-like rashes on the neck, chest, or trunk during or after COVID-19. The patches can be itchy and vary in color depending on skin tone—pink on lighter skin and brown, gray, or purple on darker skin.

4. Oral Rash

COVID can also cause soreness or peeling inside the mouth or on the lips. The area may feel dry, irritated, or scaly as it heals.

5. Vesicular and Papular Rash

These small, itchy bumps can be filled with fluid (vesicular) or solid (papular). They may appear anywhere on the body and are often linked with ongoing inflammation.

6. Pityriasis Rosea

This condition begins with a single large patch on the chest, back, or abdomen, followed by smaller spots that form a tree-like pattern. Though harmless, it can take several weeks or months to fade.

7. Purpuric or Vasculitic Rash

These rashes appear as dark, bruise-like spots caused by small blood vessel damage under the skin. The color may range from red and purple to brown or black, depending on skin tone.

How Long Do COVID Rashes Last?

The duration depends on the type of rash and the person’s immune response. Most clear up within 2 to 12 days, but some, especially in long COVID cases, may persist for weeks.

How Are COVID Rashes Treated?

Many rashes resolve without any special treatment. To relieve itching or pain, applying mild hydrocortisone cream can help. For more severe or persistent cases, doctors may recommend:

• Antihistamines to reduce itching
• Corticosteroids to lower inflammation
• Blood thinners if the rash is linked to blood vessel irritation

Your doctor will determine the safest treatment depending on the type of rash and overall health.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any medication, or if you experience any unusual symptoms or side effects.

It is a common theme for people to feel down and sad in winter. However, why do shorter, colder days often bring on feelings of loneliness and gloom? There is a biological reason behind it. As the days get shorter, many people feel a dip in energy or mood, but for millions, this signals Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a serious form of depression that shouldn't be ignored. Experts from West Virginia University (WVU) caution that SAD symptoms are very similar to major depressive disorder and must be taken seriously.

What Causes SAD?

SAD is much more than just feeling down when it gets dark. It's a genuine type of depression most often seen during the winter months, especially in places far north where daylight is scarce. The basic problem is simple: less natural light hits your eyes. This drop in sunlight confuses your brain's chemistry.

It messes with two vital brain chemicals: serotonin, which helps stabilize your mood, and melatonin, which controls when you sleep and wake up. This lack of light also throws off your body's internal clock, called the circadian rhythm. When all these elements get disrupted, it triggers feelings of low energy and depression.

What Are The Symptoms Of SAD?

SAD involves a cluster of symptoms that persist and significantly interfere with your daily life. The pattern is usually predictable: symptoms begin in the fall, peak in the winter, and disappear by spring. Symptoms often include:

• Feelings of hopelessness.
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed.
• Significant changes in sleep (often sleeping more, or having disrupted sleep).
• Changes in appetite or increased food cravings.
• Difficulty concentrating and persistent fatigue.

The risk of SAD is higher among younger people, women, and those with a family history of mood disorders.

Can You Treat/Prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Because Seasonal Affective Disorder is highly predictable, experts advise starting preventative treatments early in the fall. Seeing a healthcare provider is essential to determine the best plan and timing for treatment, rather than waiting for severe symptoms to appear later in winter.

Light Therapy

This involves sitting daily before a special light box emitting 10,000 lux of bright white light. Doing this for 30 to 60 minutes each morning is the most common and effective treatment for SAD, as it helps correct the imbalance caused by reduced sunlight exposure.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

This form of talk therapy teaches you practical skills to manage negative thinking patterns and behaviors linked to depression. CBT helps individuals reframe their outlook on winter and build effective coping mechanisms to reduce the impact of SAD symptoms.

Medication

In certain situations, a healthcare provider may prescribe antidepressant medication to help regulate mood-affecting brain chemicals like serotonin. This is often considered alongside light therapy or counseling, especially if symptoms of depression are severe or persistent.

Lifestyle Changes

Simple daily habits are powerful tools. Regular exercise boosts mood and energy, while maintaining a consistent sleep schedule keeps your body's internal clock stable. These practical steps offer significant support alongside clinical treatments.