For years the internet has repeated that sleeping on your left side is the healthiest. A sleep expert now says it plainly: there is no single perfect sleeping position, and for most people the left-side rule is simply unnecessary. Doctor Fadi Halal, a neurophysiologist specialising in sleep medicine, says position can affect sleep quality and neck and lower-back pain - but it mustn't become an obsession.

The left-side myth is rooted in truth, but a much narrower one than people think. „The left side is recommended only in specific situations - for example in advanced pregnancy, where it improves venous flow and circulation, or in some people with reflux. Outside those cases, there's no reason for it to be mandatory,” says Halal. In other words, most people sleep perfectly well on their right side, and that is no health crime.

What about sleeping on your stomach? Halal avoids absolute claims - it isn't bad in itself, but it often requires the neck to stay turned to the side in order to breathe, and that creates muscle tension and pressure on the lower back. Another thing many people take as a problem but is actually normal: the body unconsciously turns over through the night. That's healthy - it relieves pressure points and maintains circulation through the different phases of sleep.

Instead of a hunt for one perfect position, the expert offers a few practical things: a pillow that keeps the neck in line with the spine, a firm but adaptable mattress, and a pillow between the knees when sleeping on your side. And one rule worth more than all the tricks - listen to your body. If a position regularly brings you pain, it simply isn't for you. The goal isn't to sleep „correctly,” but to wake up rested.