Study Finds the Best Body Position for Taking Pills
Some pills are taken with food, and others
after; some are taken first thing in the morning, and others before bed.
Every pharmacist will tell you that before selling you any medication,
prescribed or over-the-counter; and every medical leaflet states these
directions in black and white.
But what about the position you assume when you’re taking oral
medications: should you be standing, lying down on one side, or sitting
at the table? Does that change anything? It turns out that it does -
according to a recent study from Johns Hopkins University. A seemingly
minor detail like your body position and posture can either speed up or
slow down the absorption of the medication.
Briefly, here’s what the study found
The closer the pill lands to the bottom of
the stomach, the more rapidly it will dissolve and move on to the small
intestine. The best way to achieve this is either by standing or lying
on the right side. “If you’re standing upright or you’re lying down and
leaning to the right, then the pill lands very close to the end region
of the stomach. As a result, it dissolves pretty quickly,” said Prof.
Rajat Mittal, the lead author of the study, to Verywell Health.
Somewhat counterintuitively, lying on the left side was found to be the
worst position. So, remember, the right side is the RIGHT side for
taking pills.
To test this, the researchers used an anatomically-accurate model of the
human stomach called StomachSim. The team tested 4 possible positions
for taking medication:
Lying down on the back
Lying on the right side
Lying on the left side
Standing and sitting upright.
The results were clear - sitting or leaning on the left side made the
stomach 4 times slower at absorbing the medication compared to all other
positions.
The posture is important too - sitting
sloping to the left side is the least beneficial. As Mittal stated,
“depending on which way you’re leaning, whether you’re standing up or
lying down, it can really affect where the pill lands in the stomach.”
Given that most medications are absorbed in the small intestine (the
penultimate destination in your GI tract) the closer the pill is to the
exit of the stomach, the faster it will begin working.
Professor Mittal also added that taking pills while lying back straight
are also good options, so if you or someone you care for is sedentary or
bedridden, these are still good positions.
Who should switch positions while taking pills?
If you’d like a specific pill, like a pain relief medication, to work
faster, try taking it while standing upright or lying on the right side.
It’s certainly a great trick to keep up your sleeve. However, that
doesn’t mean that you should be mindful of your position every time you
take pills. After all, every medication is designed to be absorbed fully
by the body; it might just take your digestive system slightly longer
to take it in.