Struggling with the stomach flu
Sleep on your side with your head elevated: If you find yourself vomiting a lot, then sleep on your side with your head elevated.
No matter the root cause of your nausea or nauseous symptoms, you should usually try to sleep on your left side. Why? Your stomach is located below and slightly to the left of your esophagus and diaphragm. When you sleep on your left side, gravity can help settle your stomach.
Multiple research studies have found that sleeping on your left side. View Source is the best sleeping position for GERD. Sleeping with your left side down reduces reflux episodes. View Source and exposure of the esophagus to stomach acid.
To improve digestion while sleeping, try lying on your left side. Gravity will help food move through your intestines. Laying on your right side, back, or stomach can increase your odds of reflux. Getting enough sleep and sleeping at the right times for your body clock will also help improve digestion.
Position #2 to avoid at night is sleeping on your right side. When lying on your right side, your stomach is actually above your esophagus, creating a leaky faucet spouting stomach acid into the delicate lining of your esophagus.
Reflux and heartburn: If you suffer from heartburn, sleeping on your right side can make symptoms worse, Salas says. That's true for people who have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and for people who have heartburn for other reasons, such as pregnant women. Flip to your left side to cool the burn.
Acid reflux is worse at night for three reasons. First, the concentration of acid in the stomach is higher at night. Second, in the lying position, it is easier for acid to reflux and to remain in the esophagus., Gravity does not take the acid back down into the stomach. Third, while we are sleeping, we don't swallow.
Sleeping on your left side lets gravity do some of the digesting work for you, which can reduce stomach problems. When you're feeling bloated or gassy, often it's simply a matter of having too much poop in your system (again, sorry to use all these scientific terms).
When you have the stomach flu, your body needs rest in order to fight off the infection. Get plenty of sleep and reduce the amount of activity you normally do during the day. This means lounging on the couch when you're not in bed.
The virus can live on hard or soft surfaces for about two weeks; in still water it can live months or possibly years.
Here's what to do: First, when you're feeling nauseous, avoid lying down. When you lie flat on your back, gastric juices can rise and increase feelings of nausea and overall discomfort. Instead, when you're nauseous, try reclining with your upper body elevated and moving around as little as possible.
Sleeping with the Stomach Flu or Nausea
Try distracting yourself with a podcast or streaming show. And get as comfortable as possible. This may mean sleeping at an incline or on your side, especially the left side because it keeps the stomach acid lower in the esophagus.
The result is that the area gets inflamed (swollen or appearing bruised before healing). This inflammatory process can bear down on nerve endings and cause different levels of pain.” That same process occurs in the stomach lining and — just like a skinned knee — it can “ache” or “hurt” in varying intensities.
Cons: Sleeping on the left side can put pressure on the stomach and lungs, and affect blood flow, so it is best to switch it up… or you may experience numbness in your arms from resting on one for too long.
Research reveals more women prefer to sleep on the left side of the bed than the right - and the reason why is super cute.
Because your head functions like a north pole, sleeping with your body in a north-facing position is considered a worst-case scenario, according to vastu shastra. It creates tension that may lead to headaches and other health problems.
“It's resistant to many common disinfectants,” Hall said. CDC recommends using bleach to kill it, including chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide. That's why health departments often require restaurants to use bleach to clean countertops and kitchen surfaces. It's also able to survive being dried out.