How to Sleep better after Breast Surgery – Tips for Sleeping after Breast Augmentation Surgery

Having a good night’s sleep can replenish the energy expended on healing your body. Furthermore, sleep has the ability to direct the final outcome of your breast augmentation surgery.Having proper sleep throughout your breast augmentation recovery process is important. Unfortunately, sleep can be elusive in the first days and weeks following your breast augmentation, with your fatigue and emotions still running high.

Learn more about Breast Augmentation

Why people are consider having a Breast Augmentation?

Breast augmentation, is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries. However, the recovery process from breast augmentation can take weeks and requires a lot of energy and guidance.

Breast augmentation is an umbrella term that includes all cosmetic procedures done to enlarge the breast size and alter its shape. Breast augmentation typically involves the placement of breast implants or autologous fat transfer. These two methods can be combined (hybrid breast augmentation- fat and an implant). A breast augmentation may:

Alter breast volume
Address cleavage
Enlarge breast size and its projection
Lift the breasts
Remove excess skin and tighten the breasts
Correct disorders like tuberous breasts, breast asymmetry, hypomastia, etc.

Your plastic surgeon will help guide you in choosing the method that is most suitable for you. This will depend on your preference, goals, medical history, body frame, and existing breast tissue. Depending on your expectations, an experienced plastic surgeon may help you find a suitable option and achieve results. However, a successful recovery from breast augmentation relies heavily on you.

What to Expect During Recovery from Breast Augmentation?

The empowering breast augmentation surgery is an outpatient procedure done under general anaesthesia. You can expect to be discharged by your care team a few hours after your breast augmentation surgery.

During your first week or so, soreness, swelling, and bruising are expected. You will notice your surgical incisional scar either beneath the crease of your breast or around your nipple. This will depend on the type of implants chosen as well as the technique used. The soreness, swelling, and bruising should be completely gone in a month or so following your breast augmentation. Furthermore, your incisional scar should become almost unnoticeable over the years. It is absolutely crucial during your recovery period to adhere to your plastic surgeon’s instructions: from wearing a supportive bra to how you sleep throughout the night. Read more about Reducing Bruising and Swelling after Breast Surgery here.

Why Is Sleep Important During Recovery from Breast Augmentation?

It may be odd to dedicate a whole article to how you sleep. This shows you how getting enough sleep is a vital part of the recovery process, after breast augmentation. As you close your eyes and slip into bed, you may feel that your body is shutting down, but the fact is that sleep is the time when your body is at its busiest repairing and rejuvenating.

Sleep well allows your brain to attend to areas in your body that require healing, this includes the incisional sites from your breast augmentation. Your brain will trigger certain hormones that promote tissue growth and blood vessel repair. This allows the restorations of sore or damaged muscles and helps you heal faster after your breast augmentation. Sleep also helps boost your immunity, warding your body from possible infections.

Furthermore, getting enough sleep allows your body to release hormones that will slow down your breathing and help relax your sore muscles. This will in turn reduce the swelling in your breast tissue, and help you recover faster after your breast augmentation surgery.

Sleep is crucial after any surgery, but for some surgeries like breast augmentation, how you sleep is just as important.

How to Sleep Comfortably After Breast Augmentation?

Like any other surgery, breast augmentation is not a one-stop destination, but rather a progressive journey. You must commit to certain steps and tips to ensure you get the results. As mentioned above, sleeping is essential to the recovery process of breast augmentation, but getting your 8 hours of sleep isn’t enough. Here are some dos and don’ts to sleep comfortably after breast augmentation surgery.

PREPARING EARLY

If you’re one of those tummy or side sleepers, you should start preparing early to ensure a seamless transition to sleeping on your back after breast surgery. This change in sleeping position can be difficult, so you’ll need persistence, you can’t quit when you find yourself sleeping on your tummy or side, always rollback. You can also use extra pillows, by placing them under each arm. Many people report that by doing this before surgery they more successfully sleep on their back after surgery.

SLEEPING ON YOUR BACK

In the first six weeks after breast augmentation, it is essential that you sleep on your back. This will put your breasts in a relaxed position, with minimal strain on your chest, allowing the incisions from your breast augmentation to heal and the implants to settle. However, sleeping flat on your back isn’t the best sleeping position after breast surgery. Keep your upper body elevated at a 30 to 45 degrees angle while on your back to further to reduce swelling and pain after your breast augmentation surgery. This allows your blood to circulate away from your tender new breasts. To sleep better after breast augmentation, consider investing in a few soft pillows to prop under your back, or get a recliner bed if possible.

SLEEPING ON YOUR SIDE

Not all patients can commit to sleeping on their back after breast augmentation for long periods of time. After 2-3 weeks of your breast augmentation surgery, you may be allowed to sleep on your side. However, it’s important to take extra precautions if you decide to do so. This includes wearing an approved surgical bra and placing pillows underneath your breasts. This way, you can avoid unnecessary pressure on your breast and help keep your implants and incisions in place while still managing to sleep comfortably.

SLEEPING ON YOUR FRONT

A lot of people prefer to sleep on their front, however, it’s a no go after breast augmentation surgery. Sleeping on your tummy adds pressure to your new breasts, causing your implants to move, leak or sometimes even rupture. Always wait for a green light from your plastic surgeon before deciding to switch positions to sleep better. If you are a tummy sleeper, you will usually be able to revert back to sleeping on your belly approximately 12 weeks after your breast augmentation. But, you should check with your surgeon first.

Tips and Tricks to Sleep Well After Breast Augmentation

Besides correct sleep positioning, here are some other useful tips that can help you sleep well after a boob job:

Walking: While you may be fatigued after your breast augmentation surgery, moving around is important from day 1. Lightly walking around your house can improve your sleeping pattern and help you sleep better. It also reduces the risk of blood clots by boosting your blood circulation.
Support Bras: After your breast augmentation surgery, your plastic surgeon might instruct you to wear a support bra for at least a month, even during nighttime. Support bras help hold your newly enlarged breasts in place, ease the tension on your surgical incisions, and reduce swelling. This will alleviate any worries you might have of ruining your boob job while asleep.
Warm Showers: Everyone likes a nice warm soak after a long day, and while warm baths should be avoided in the first weeks following your boob job, warm evening showers are perfectly fine. They can help decompress and relax your muscles allowing you to sleep comfortably. Make sure you ask your surgeon when you can shower after your boob job.
Sleep Disruptors: Avoiding sleep disruptors like caffeinated beverages (coffee, sodas, tea…), alcohol, sugar, and electronic screens especially in the evenings can help you to get enough sleep, instead of being left wide awake throughout the night.
Medication: You should never be expected to endure unnecessary pain post-op, this rule applies to boob jobs as well. Your plastic surgeon will prescribe you some pain medication to provide symptomatic relief and help you sleep better. Sleeping aids are rarely needed but may be prescribed if your sleeping pattern is severely disrupted after your breast enlargement surgery.

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How to Sleep Better after Breast Surgery