A recliner may even provide better sleep than a bed for people with sleep apnea, GERD, or back pain. If you want to increase your comfort level, try to pack extra blankets to keep yourself warm and use extra pillows to support your back and neck to ensure that you have a decent nap or sleep in your recliner.
By reclining the body while you sleep, you take the pressure off from your joints and spine, relieving the tension felt in the back. You also allow your core muscles to rest, which will support their healing and becoming stronger.
Adjustable beds offer many of the same benefits as a recliner chair, but without the limitations. Adjustable beds allow you to sleep in a more upright position, help you to get in and out of bed more easily, and give you the space to move during the night. This can prevent muscle tightness from building up over time.
Sleeping in a reclining position is preferable for sleeping with lower back pain and/or sciatica. Specifically, pain that feels worse when standing up straight, and better when bending forward, is a sign that sleeping in a supported reclining position may be beneficial.
Sleeping in a reclined position may help ease heartburn and reflux by keeping the body in a more upright position. Sleep apnea, which is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. It increases with age and so some elderly people find it easier to sleep in a more upright position in a recliner.
Recliner chairs can help with sleep apnea
Staying at an upright angle can alleviate people with sleep apnea and emphysema. It's recommended that those with conditions like sleep apnea and emphysema sleep at a more upright angle versus on their backs, says Dr.
So, yes, seniors can sleep in a recliner but, when choosing this type of lounger, you should also consider existing diseases and the health condition in general.
Your head should rest against the headrest with the neck aligned above the spine and not tilting forward or back, which puts strain on the upper back and neck. Seat depth – you should be able to sit with your buttocks and hips against the back of the chair and your knees just past the edge of the seat.
Reclining for a Better Future
The ideal seated position for your spine is a reclined position at 135 degrees of angle between your thighs and your torso. A 90-degree angle puts too much strain on your back in the form of compression and can lead to spinal issues later in life.
Are recliner chairs bad for your back? Slumping and hunching is bad for back pain, upright can be too. But reclining is not bad for back pain. In fact, research has identified that sitting in a reclined position is better for your back than sitting upright.
Easier Breathing
Different sleep-related breathing problems can be improved by switching sleep positions. A reclining sleep position has been found to relieve the symptoms of: Sleep apnea: leaning your head back will avoid the tongue falling back and blocking the windpipe.
Improves Circulation
At the end of the day, relaxing on a recliner actually improves blood circulation. Swollen legs and feet are caused by poor body circulation, clogged veins are caused from standing or sitting for long periods of time.
For this reason, it's very important to maintain a good posture and to take every opportunity you can to sit back in the chair, relax and offload body weight to the chair backrest. Your knees and feet should be spread wide apart and you should have good foot contact with the floor- no tucking your legs under the chair.
So, Ideal Footrest Length for a Recliner? Ambassador recommends the ideal footrest length allows for the ankle full clearance of the footrest. The ideal position is to have your heels extend past the footrest. This distributes the weight evenly to a large portion of your legs, allowing you to sit in comfort.
The reclining position gently stretches your back muscles without overstretching them, relieves compression on the spine, and is typically more comfortable and soothing than other positions. With reclining seating, you should be aware of two other positions: your arms and your neck and head.
Best: On your back with a pillow under your knees, or on your good side with a pillow between your knees.
Some individuals may find sleeping sitting up, like in a recliner chair, to be more comfortable than lying down. This can be due to a recent surgery, medical conditions, such as obstructive pulmonary disease, or chronic morbid obesity.
If spinal stenosis is causing your sciatica, bending forward slightly may give you some relief. A bent-forward position helps open the narrowed spaces in the spine. Using a large wedge-shaped pillow under your head and upper back. Sleeping in a reclining chair or adjustable bed with the head elevated.
"When you're sitting in the recliner with a right angle between your torso and your upper leg, and your knee is bent, the tension in your sciatic nerve is low. When you raise the leg rest, it straightens your knees, putting tension on your sciatic nerves.
Potential benefits of sleeping on the floor include a cooler sleep temperature, relief from back pain, and better posture.
Sleeping on your back
According to Dr. Vasyukevic, the supine position is the best position all around for prolonging youthful skin. Not only does it prevent wrinkles due to the lack of wrinkle-inducing friction, it also stops the skin from feeling the pressure of your face "folding" into the pillow.
As mentioned earlier, a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to an increased risk of dementia. A study published in Translational Psychiatry found that older adults who spent more time sitting had a higher risk of developing dementia than those who were more physically active.