Do you have a favorite side to sleep on? Odds are that most people do, but there are health benefits to sleeping on your left side. The great thing about sleep is that you need it to recharge for the next day, which is why you feel great after a good-night’s sleep, but your body actually never stops working. Just because you’re sleeping doesn’t mean your body shuts down completely.
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The left side of the body is the dominant lymphatic side, so the majority of the body’s lymph fluid drains into the thoracic duct, which is located on the left side. Lymph fluid, which carries proteins, glucose, metabolites and waste products, which are purified by the lymph nodes, and then drained through the left side of the heart. This is why the following organs can benefit from the gravity pull as you sleep on your left side:
Heart
Your heart is on the left side of your body and when you sleep on your left side, gravity pushes the lymph drainage toward the heart taking off some of the workload as you sleep.
Spleen
Your spleen filters your blood and when you sleep on your left side, drainage back to the spleen is also helped by gravity.
Stomach
After a meal, you can benefit from getting a boost of energy by lying down for 10 minutes on your left side. Your stomach and pancreas hang naturally, which allow you to digest your food more efficiently. Sleeping on the left side allows gravity to move food waste easily from the small intestine to the large intestine. By the time you get up the next morning your colon will be full, which is why you have to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning.
Liver and Gallbladder
Your liver and gallbladder are on your right side, so resting on the left side allows them to secrete precious bile into the digestive tract and blend fats and neutralize acids found in your stomach.
Interestingly, a recent study found that people who sleep on the right side of the bed tend to earn more than their partners at the left. Left side sleepers on the other hand are more cheerful and have a more positive attitude.