Sleep plays an important role in both physical and mental health, helping you to look and feel at your best. After any kind of surgery, sleep is one of the best ways to boost your immune system and help your body heal faster. But it’s not possible to sleep in any position you want after cosmetic surgery. For example, if you have a tummy tuck with MAYCLINIK, your surgeon will advise you on the best sleeping position during the initial healing phase so as to avoid putting pressure on the surgical site that can damage the sutures, cause bleeding, increase swelling, and compromise recovery and results.
Numerous studies have shown that people who give priority to sleep are more likely to have a sharper memory, to find it easier to maintain a healthy weight, and even to have younger-looking skin compared to those who sleep less than they need. Getting proper sleep is particularly important for patients who are recovering from cosmetic surgery as it promotes healing and helps your immune system to function optimally. Sleep helps you get back to your normal energy level and optimizes your surgical performance as quickly as possible. As you try to get quality rest during your plastic surgery recovery, you should know what sleeping positions are best for you. Let’s take a look at the ideal sleeping position for some popular procedures.
- If you have had a facelift, your surgeon will recommend that you sleep upright to help minimize swelling. You may be advised to use a travel neck pillow to help maintain your position throughout the night or to add two to three pillows under your head to support yourself.
- In patients with breast enlargement, surgeons would recommend sleeping on the back with several pillows or in a recliner for approximately 4 to 6 weeks during the early recovery period. This prevents excessive strain on the incisions and keeps the pressure off the soft breast tissues as they heal. This also prevents you from using your hands and pectoral muscles to get out of bed when you wake up. After a couple of weeks, you can sleep on one side, use a pillow that will keep you in one position while you’re asleep.
- For patients who have had a tummy tuck with MAYCLINIK, it is best to sleep on a recliner with the head up at 45 degrees and maintain a position that keeps the body slightly bent forward to prevent strain on the incision between the hipbones. It is crucial to maintain a semi-reclining position and not to lie flat for a few weeks.
- Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a buttock increase procedure that combines liposuction and fat grafting to provide youthful, perky, firm buttocks, and a more sensual body profile. During recovery after BBL, patients are advised to avoid sleeping on their backs and to use a donut pillow or inflatable pillow when they need to sit and sleep on their stomachs or sides. This is to improve the survival of the fat grafting since it is in the early weeks after surgery that the cells mature. Once the cells are mature, the fat that has been transferred will be longer.
It might be hard for some people to change their sleeping positions all of a sudden. So if you are scheduled to have plastic surgery, you may be able to practice your modified sleeping position a few weeks before the procedure. This way, you can get used to the sleeping position recommended for recovery. Every patient is different, and you may have needs that are special to your situation. When the body recovers and the swelling goes down, it would be easier to sleep in the recommended sleeping position. As healing progresses, you will be able to change your sleeping position on the advice of your surgeon. Following your surgeon’s guidance on how to recover from sleep and any other problems, it is important to maintain your performance.
