How To Keep Your Shoulders Down While Sleeping

Do you know what position you sleep in? Sleep posture matters more than you think—especially if you’re snoozing with shoulders hunched by your ears.

One bad sleep habit is sleeping with your shoulders up or your hands above your head. That’s right, that age-old comfortable position might not be suitable for your back health.

This article reviews how to train yourself to keep your shoulders down while sleeping and why healthy sleep posture is crucial. Let’s dive straight in.

How Should Your Shoulders Be When Sleeping

If you’ve spent your whole life sleeping with your arms above your head, you might not think there’s anything wrong with this position.

However, your shoulders shouldn’t be raised or hunched in bed. Poor sleep posture can cause lumbar and cervical back problems during daily life (Cary, Jacques and Briffa, 2021).

The best sleeping position for your shoulders is on your back, with your spine in a neutral position. This position removes excess pressure and strain from your shoulders, which should be parallel and your arms down by your sides.

You can also sleep in a healthy side position with your shoulders at a parallel angle. In this case, your hands should also be down by your sides while sleeping on your side.

It doesn’t necessarily matter which side you sleep on, but it can be helpful to alternate between sides for maximum comfort. Note that sleeping on your side may worsen shoulder pain if you already have it (Zenian, 2010).

Negative Impacts of Sleeping With Raised Shoulders

Raised or rounded shoulders during sleep can strain your neck, lower back, and misalign your spine, especially if you twist or sleep on your stomach.

Over a long time, sleeping with raised shoulders can lead to certain health risks, such as chronic neck pain or back aches.

Shoulders are central to good sleep posture. The key aims of a good sleeping position include keeping your neck, head, and shoulders in alignment and without pressure.

When your shoulders are rounded, these goals aren’t fulfilled, and you’re more likely to wake up with a sore neck after sleeping.

Back and neck problems aren’t the only impact. Poor sleeping posture can lead to various other issues.

For example, lower sleep quality. Chronic insufficient sleep can lead to a poor attention span, slow reaction times, fatigue, and other serious impacts (Chattu et al., 2018).

Is Sleeping With Arms Above Your Head Bad?

Sleeping with your arms above your head or hunched shoulders can worsen shoulder, neck, and back pain. This unsupported, misaligned position often leads to discomfort, especially over time.

So, it is best to avoid sleeping with your arms over your head whenever possible.

How To Keep Your Shoulders Down While Sleeping

If you often sleep with hunched shoulders or hands overhead, try keeping your shoulders relaxed and down.

This doesn’t have to be an uphill battle! Adopting a healthier sleep position is simple with the tips below.

1. Change Your Sleeping Position

Start by switching to sleep positions that promote relaxed, lower shoulder placement.

Back sleeping is the best position for a comfortable night's rest.

In this position, sleep on your back with your arms relaxed at your sides. It’s perfect for a restful night without straining your neck or spine.

2. Explore Memory Foam Pillows

You can also add supportive or specialised pillows to your nighttime routine.

An ergonomic or  memory foam pillow offers extra support and pain relief, allowing you to embrace a better sleeping posture without hard work.

Memory foam pillows provide many benefits, including pressure point relief, improved sleep quality, and scientific spinal alignment.

Just make sure you know how to sleep on a memory pillow before you start using one!

3. Try Shoulder Stretches & Exercises

If you've been sleeping on your shoulders for years, you can also relax your shoulders through stretching and exercises before you sleep.

Tension-relieving exercises can reduce overall stiffness caused by incorrect sleeping patterns (Healthline, 2018), making you feel more comfortable in bed.

Pair these with an aligned sleeping position for the best results.

4. Put Everything Together

Don’t pick one or two! Optimise your health with a mix of all the tips to beat hunched shoulders while sleeping.

Combining a healthy sleeping posture, professional pillows and bedding, and shoulder exercises will give you better sleep hygiene and a more comfortable and deeper night of sleep.

When To See A Medical Professional

If you're dealing with persistent or worsening shoulder pain, it's time to see a healthcare professional.

The at-home advice in this article helps improve your sleeping posture and relieve minor aches and pains from rounded or raised shoulders.

However, any pain lasting over two weeks, inhibits your movement, or causes numbness requires immediate medical attention.

Conclusion

Let’s face it—good sleep is crucial for your overall well-being. Not only does it leave you feeling well-rested, but it impacts other parts of your health and life.

If you’ve been sleeping with your hands above your head or shoulders hunched, it’s time to make a change for better sleep and fewer aches in the future.

Want better sleep now? The Original Groove memory foam pillow is here to relieve pain and improve your sleep hygiene.

Or keep learning about healthy sleep habits. Read more on the Groove blog.

References

• Cary, D., Jacques, A. and Briffa, K. (2021). Examining relationships between sleep posture, waking spinal symptoms and quality of sleep: A cross sectional study. PLOS ONE, 16(11), p.e0260582. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260582.
• Chattu, V., Manzar, Md., Kumary, S., Burman, D., Spence, D. and Pandi-Perumal, S. (2018). The Global Problem of Insufficient Sleep and Its Serious Public Health Implications. Healthcare, 7(1), p.1. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7010001.
• Healthline. (2018). Tight Shoulders: 12 Stretches for Fast Relief and Tips for Prevention. [online] Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/tight-shoulders.
• ‌Zenian, J. (2010). Sleep position and shoulder pain. Medical Hypotheses, 74(4), pp.639–643. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.11.013.