We have all been there, no matter how hard you try to follow those sleeping position rules, eventually you find yourself sleeping on your stomach. Somehow, it feels good to sleep in this position, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if sleeping on your stomach help reduce belly fat or flatten this stubborn fat area?
Those who struggle with a big belly pooch might want to read today’s blog.
Overweight people are the ones who are most interested in knowing whether sleeping on stomach helps flatten it or not.
This informative blog will help you to find out, does sleeping on your stomach help flatten it and reduce belly fat or not. Plus, I will also provide all the other information related to belly fat and sleeping on the stomach.
Key Insights:
- Sleeping on your stomach is believed to be good for sleep apnea which indicates its role in inducing deep sleep and restoring health.
- Deep sleep has a major role to play in belly fat loss, but there’s yet to be any solid evidence for sleeping on stomach.
- Stomach sleeping has pros as well as cons that we need to consider.
Below we are going to go into a detailed discussion that first answers the main question and then proceeds to list some sleeping positions you can use to encourage belly toning.
Does Sleeping on Your Stomach Help Flatten It?
There is no scientific evidence available that says that sleeping on your stomach can reduce belly fat. In fact, this particular sleeping position isn’t favored by many in the health and fitness community.
But, in the midst of these hate comments and remarks, people have forgotten that this particular sleeping position can have some unique benefits too. In fact, those benefits are the only reason that has led to the belief of belly fat loss due to stomach sleeping.
Health experts believe that sleeping on your stomach can also reduce sleep apnea. This may prevent your tongue from falling back and closing the airways. This way sleeping on the stomach can reduce snoring, thus preventing poor sleep and additional weight gain.
However, this statement alone also doesn’t prove the flat belly benefits of stomach sleeping. The next section details some of the reasons why sleeping on your stomach can actually be bad for your waist slimming goals.
How is Sleeping on Your Stomach Bad for Belly Fat?
We have discussed earlier in the blog that napping on your belly is the most hated thing in the fitness community.
So, is it bad for you to sleep on your stomach? Yes, because not only does sleeping on your stomach doesn’t help flatten it or reduce belly area, but it also affects your spine health negatively.
1. Affects Spine and Posture
Health experts believe that sleeping on your stomach can increase belly fat because it makes it difficult for the body to maintain a neutral spine position, which puts a strain on your back and spine.
There’s a high chance that this back strain can affect your standing and sitting posture. Poor posture can weaken the abdominal muscles, which can lead to a protruding belly.
2. Slows Down Digestion
Sleeping on your stomach may affect the digestive process as it puts a lot of pressure on the abdominal area. Your digestive system is awake all the time; it keeps doing its work even when you are asleep.
So, when you sleep on your stomach, it puts undue pressure on your abdominal muscles. This discomfort interferes with the digestive system which may lead to poor fat breakdown.
The body starts the fat breakdown process right from the mouth, but most of it happens in the intestines. This is why when you put pressure on the stomach area, the digestion gets affected which leads to fat accumulation. These accumulated fats will usually be stored around the stomach. Furthermore, poor digestive health also causes bloating, which is another reason for your protruding or pot belly.
This proves that a good posture can surely be of help when it comes to losing belly fat to flatten your stomach. So, if you wish to keep your posture and intruding belly in check, then you should stop sleeping on your stomach.
Why Do People Believe Sleeping on Stomach Can Reduce Belly Fat?
As we have discussed sleeping on the stomach can help reduce apnea, which may provide numerous benefits like:
Sleeping on Stomach Aids Deep Sleep and Recovery
Well, this is probably the only benefit you will get from this sleeping position. Because stomach sleeping helps avoid sleep apnea and snoring, it can induce a better quality of sleep for some people.
Poor sleep quality can affect numerous physical functions including the breakdown of fat cells. Moreover, sleeping well also improves recovery and fat metabolism, preventing belly fat accumulation.
So, those who are struggling with poor sleep due to snoring and apnea will find relief by sleeping on their stomach. Still, I would say it’s not worth the negatives that are associated with the sleeping position.
In fact, it’s better to find other ways to sleep to reduce belly fat. The following suggested sleeping positions should be your first choice to alleviate pressure on stomach and avoid any belly fat gain.
Best Sleeping Position to Lose Belly Fat and Flatten Stomach
If you have come this far in this blog, you must have got the answer to all the questions like, does sleeping on your stomach make you fat, thinner, or anything else?
We also believe that by now you know that sleeping on the stomach is not a good idea for reducing belly fat. But worry not, as there are some other better sleeping positions that can help:
1. Sleeping on the Side
If you wish to have a positive effect of sleeping position on the belly then nothing can be better than sleeping on the sides. It will not affect your spine like the stomach position but will provide the benefits of it.
Sleeping on your side will help with the apnea problem and we know how it can be effective for reducing belly fat. Additionally, if you choose to sleep on your left side, then it will be more beneficial for your belly.
Sleeping on the left side can help with digestion as it is more suitable according to the location of the gut. A better digestion means less fat accumulation and it will also reduce bloating, which is one of the causes of a protruding belly and the appearance of belly fat.
2. Sleeping on Your Back
Sleeping on your back is not as desirable as sleeping on the side because it doesn’t provide benefits like it. Health experts believe that it can make issues like apnea and acid reflux worse. But, does sleeping on your back make your stomach flatter?
Well, this position can only be beneficial for those who are free of issues like apnea and acid reflux and have already hurt their posture by sleeping incorrectly. This is because it keeps your spine aligned, which helps to improve posture.
Additionally, it also improves your breathing while you sleep which plays an important role in improving sleep quality, which can be of help in flattening your stomach.
Interestingly, many of the weight loss enthusiasts believe putting pressure or pressing the stomach will somehow help them get rid of belly fat. But it simply doesn’t work like that. Sleeping to your left side or even on your back will prove to be a much better practice.
FAQs
Following are some of the most common queries we get from readers regarding sleeping on stomach and flat belly hacks.
1. How do I flatten my tummy?
Well, honestly, there are better ways to flatten your tummy than focusing on the sleeping position. Start with eating less than your maintenance calories and do regular exercise.
2. Will wrapping my stomach flatten it?
Like sleeping on your stomach, wrapping it is also not supported by science. The only weight you will lose with it will be off the water, which can be gained instantly.
3. What is the best position to sleep when overweight?
Sleeping on your side is the best position for overweight people as it can help with issues like apnea and acid reflux.
4. What are the benefits of sleeping on your stomach?
Reduced snoring and apnea are two of the most important benefits of sleeping on your stomach.
5. What happens if you keep sleeping on your stomach?
Sleeping on your stomach for a long time can affect your spine alignment, which can cause pain in the back.
Conclusion
In this blog, we got to know if sleeping on your stomach help flatten it or not. In concluding the topic, we can say that there are no clear answers as there’s no research or body of evidence to indicate its fat loss benefits.
On the contrary, common sense indicates that stomach sleeping can have damaging effects, and it’s better to avoid this sleep position altogether.
Remember that the few benefits of sleeping on your stomach are not worth it when you consider the cons. This is why we have also provided the possible side effects of sleeping in this position for belly fat because we don’t want you to follow something blindly.
Share this blog with your friends who are trying to flatten their belly and ask them which benefits and side effects they think can be really related to sleeping on the stomach.