Doctors Explain How Sleeping on Your Left Side Can Affect Your Body

later pregnancy, and many people find the left side comfortable.

 

The potential advantage of left-side sleeping relates partly to circulation. The uterus can put pressure on the inferior vena cava, a large vein that returns blood from the lower body to the heart. Lying flat on the back late in pregnancy can increase this compression in some people.

Side sleeping helps reduce that pressure. The left side has traditionally been emphasized because it may support circulation while avoiding compression of this vein, although right-side sleeping