1. You only use your pillows for your head. If you sleep on your back, wedge one under your knees to take pressure off your lower back. Or if you sleep on your side, wedge a pillow underneath your top armpit to support your arm and one between your legs to keep your spine aligned:
2. You sleep on your stomach. Sleeping facedown can cause some obvious issues — like not being able to breathe, for example. Because you need to turn your head to one side to get air in and out, you inherently twist your spine. Over time, this can cause neck and back pain (not to mention issues falling and staying asleep), says Ilene Rosen, M.D., an associate professor of clinical medicine for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and member of the board of directors for the AASM. To straighten your spine, bend the elbow and knee on the side you typically turn your head toward, and wedge a pillow underneath that armpit and hip. If you tend to kick the pillows and wake up flat on your stomach, tape a tennis ball to the front of your pajama shirt to teach your sleeping self not to roll. And if you really can't sleep in a modified position? Wedge a thin pillow under your abdomen to take pressure off your back.
3. You don't have a bedtime. When you crash hard at 9 p.m. on Monday night and stay up all night Tuesday to binge-watch your Netflix queue, your body won't know when to shut down on Wednesday night. A consistent sleep schedule helps your body know when it's time to fall asleep and wake up, Leve says.
4. You sleep in on weekends. Think you can run on no sleep all week and catch up Saturday morning? Leve says it doesn't work like that. Recent research suggests skimping on sleep can actually lead to permanent brain damage that can compromise your alertness and brain power — and binge-sleeping can't mend that.