Optimizing one’s sleeping position is a possible behavioral manipulation that may
enhance glymphatic flow. Body posture during sleep affects the direction of gravity
relative to the cerebrovascular system, changing the resistance to blood and CSF flow in
the brain (Martin-Du Pan et al., 2004). Lee et al. (2015) showed that glymphatic transport
in rats is more effective in a right lateral than in supine or prone positions. Healthy humans
with a preference to sleep in a right lateral position showed longer SWS time and shorter
REM sleep time compared to individuals with a preference to sleep in supine position
(Zhang et al., 2022b). In line with this, sleeping in a supine position was associated with
reduced SWS and REM sleep time compared to non-supine positions in patients with
obstructive sleep apnea (Alfaiate et al., 2023). Intriguingly, it has been shown that patients
with MCI, AD, and Lewy body dementia spend more time with their head in the supine
than in non-supine (i.e., prone or lateral) positions during sleep compared to healthy age-
matched controls (Levendowski et al., 2019)
That’s very interesting, tho I don’t really understand what it’s saying. Do you/they mean like the mirror image of 4 and 5? (maybe 12 comes the closest?)
The best position for brain health isn’t shown. Right side.
This is an except from the linked PDF:
That’s very interesting, tho I don’t really understand what it’s saying. Do you/they mean like the mirror image of 4 and 5? (maybe 12 comes the closest?)