Side-sleeping is going to be your best bet when you’re feeling stuffed up, as doing so will help reroute blood flow from one nostril to the other and provide at least a little one-sided relief. “When you lie with one side down, the dependent (down side) fills with blood, while the up side will decongest or shrink,” Dr. Christie Barnes, residency program director of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told Sleepopolis. “This makes up the majority of reasons why people can’t breathe at night and have to flip over to breathe better.”
While flip-flopping back and forth all night may not sound like the most ideal solution, it certainly beats the discomfort of post-nasal drip when lying completely horizontal on your back. If you’re a devoted back-sleeper, however, be sure to elevate your head and neck. Not too much, though:Â Sleepeezee cautions that having your head at too high an angle can force your head to droop over your airways and further hinder breathing ability. Not to mention, you may wake up with a painful ache in your neck or shoulders the following morning.