A recent study confirmed that your body position plays a major role in how fast the medicine you take is absorbed. What’s the secret? A simple position can help your pill work two to three times faster!
The Right Body Position Can Make All the Difference
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently studied how medicine dissolves in the stomach in different body positions. The result? If you want to feel the effects as quickly as possible, it’s best to take your pill lying on your right side. This way, the medicine settles in the lower part of your stomach, where absorption is most efficient.
On the other hand, lying on your left side slows the process significantly – the relief you’re waiting for can be delayed by more than an entire hour. This happens because the stomach isn’t symmetrical, which greatly affects which position helps medicine absorb fastest.
When you lie on your right side, the pill almost immediately reaches the deepest part of your stomach, so it starts dissolving faster. Sitting upright – like when you take medicine while seated – also works fairly quickly, but it can still take twice as long compared to lying on your right side.
The worst choice? Resting on your left side. Then the pill gets “stuck” in the upper part of your stomach, and surprisingly, it can take up to 100 minutes before the active ingredient reaches where it’s needed.
“Your body position can make as much difference as having serious stomach function issues,” emphasized Rajat Mittal, the lead researcher of the study.
What the Numbers Say About Positions
The researchers tested four body positions. They found that lying on your right side, the medicine starts working in 10 minutes, while lying on your left side takes over 100 minutes, as mentioned.
Sitting or standing isn’t a bad option either: it takes about 23 minutes for the medicine to take effect. So next time you take medicine, try lying on your right side. If that’s not possible, stay upright—either sitting or standing.
Though this kind of research might seem minor at first, it can have a huge impact on daily life. The right body position not only speeds up how fast pills work but can also help you use medicine more effectively, sometimes needing less for the same result.
