The way we lay down in bed could pose health risks beyond just a sore back, according to experts. Your go-to posture can cause pain, reflux, snoring and even nerve symptoms that show up the next morning.

“What we care about is if someone is comfortable in their sleep position. Often times we sleep in certain ways because of comfort,” Shelby Harris, clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep specialist, told Fox News Digital.

However, the way we sleep can often leave us uncomfortable. When sleeping in awkward positions, our bodies lie motionless in that position overnight, adding stress not only to our nerves, but to our muscles and ligaments as well.

Contrary to popular belief, experts say that sleeping in curled up positions isn’t necessarily tied to what’s going on mentally, or how much stress you’re under, meaning a physical approach to changing how you sleep could be your best bet for relief.

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“Someone’s sleep position means really nothing about their psychological state or tension or stress or trauma.”

Nerve damage is a concern when sleeping in positions that involve bending or tucking the arms. Dubbed “T. rex position” on social media, health experts point out that arms going numb at night are often related to nerve compression.

A 2023 review of cubital tunnel syndrome, where people experience symptoms of numbness and shooting pain in their forearm, specifically warns that sleeping with the elbow sharply bent or tucked under a pillow can increase pressure on the nerve and worsen symptoms.

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While back sleeping may seem like a good way to keep your arms untucked, it can contribute to snoring and acid reflux, according to the Sleep Foundation. But it’s important to know the benefits and risks before you flip over.

In a detailed breakdown of stomach sleeping, the Sleep Foundation notes that lying face-down can put the spine out of alignment and is linked to back, neck and shoulder pain, largely because you have to twist your head to one side to breathe. 

It is also the least common sleeping position, despite evidence linking it to a decrease in snoring.

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Harvard Health, referencing Sleep Foundation data, notes that side sleeping is the most common position and can be helpful for many people.

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Mayo Clinic guidance on back pain also recommends side sleeping with knees slightly bent and a pillow between the legs to better align the spine, pelvis and hips and take pressure off the back.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that position matters more as you get older or develop medical issues, highlighting back or side postures as more supportive options.

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Several medical centers and sleep resources recommend transitioning gradually to side or back sleeping and using thinner pillows (or none) if you can’t immediately give up stomach sleeping, to limit neck twist and lumbar arch.

If you struggle to sleep regardless of position or feel like your sleep isn’t restorative, Harris recommends seeing a sleep specialist.

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Chronic pain can be debilitating and frustrating, especially among aging adults.

While physical remedies and treatments can provide some relief, experts have found that shifting one’s mindset — or the way the brain approaches pain — can actually ease the discomfort.

Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, has studied how changing the brain can help defeat chronic pain, as shared in his new book, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain.”

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In an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital, Amen noted that many people don’t know that chronic pain doesn’t just live in the joints, the knees or the back.

“If it’s been around for more than three weeks, it is now living in your brain,” he said. “There are actually circuits in your brain that feel pain. They feel both physical pain and emotional pain.”

Some medications that treat depression are FDA-approved for chronic pain, treating both emotional and physical imbalances, according to Amen.

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“It’s because they work on the same circuits in the brain,” he said. “The healthier your brain is, the less physical pain and emotional pain you’ll be in.”

That doesn’t mean, however, someone is “making up” the discomfort in their head, the psychiatrist emphasized.

If the brain — which is an organ like any other — begins to work too hard in certain areas, or not hard enough, finding ways to balance it can ease pain and calm the whole body, Amen noted.

In his book, he introduces the “doom loop” — chronic pain activates the suffering circuit in the brain, which then triggers negativity and muscle tension, followed by bad habits.

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“It gets you into the spiral … Your brain is out of control,” Amen said. “Which means if you have back pain, all the muscles around that inflamed area are clamping down and making you hurt even more.”

“It doesn’t mean you won’t need surgery — it just means it’s going to be a lot more effective if you get your back and your brain working together.”

“The healthier your brain is, the less physical pain and emotional pain you’ll be in.”

For people dealing with chronic pain, Amen recommends first checking in on the health of the brain.

“Ask yourself, ‘What does the pain mean to you?’” he suggested, adding that the biggest worry around pain is often the fear of losing freedom.

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Pain is often a symptom of repressed rage, Amen said, citing rehabilitation physician and chronic pain author John Sarno.

“Repressed emotions have to go somewhere, and they in fact go to the pain circuits in your brain that can then activate back pain, knee pain, neck pain,” he shared.

The doctor suggested a practice he calls “emotional freedom,” which involves journaling about every five-year span of your life, writing down what happened during those blocks of time. This can include positive experiences, or moments of sorrow and anguish.

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“You really get a sense of where these repressed emotions could be,” he said.

Keeping a positive attitude and optimistic outlook can also suppress anger, therefore relieving pain, the doctor added.

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