This is a bit of an odd question but I have noticed, especially of late, that when I go to bed and sleep on my stomach my heart races uncomfortably fast. I have heart palpatations and I have had blood tests to ensure that there is nothing more serious than that, which there isn't. However, I have noticed that when I am sick (for example, when I have a cold), my palpatations get worse. At the moment I have a minor cold because of the freezing weather so my heart is constantly skipping beats and beating fast along with the normal symptoms of a cold, but I have rarely noticed my heart beating so vigorously when I sleep on my stomach. It has happened before, but never this bad. Am I just being paranoid? Or is this another part of my cold or something?

Hi shatterme,

When you are a bit under the weather, no matter what it may be.. in your case,a bad cold... I think you always feel worse.I know you have had blood test etc. but I would go back to your doctor and tell him of your concerns, especially if you suffer from palpatations and an irregular heart beat.It could be that when you are sleeping, you are not breathing properly or perhaps you stop breathing every few seconds.On waking you would have no knowledge of this only that you may feel tired during the following day for no apparent reason.

My son suffers from sleepapnea( not to sure of the correct spelling for this)it is a condition where throughout the night or whenever he sleeps he will stop breathing, it is quite a common condition, unfortunately he has a severe case of it.. but this is very rare normally.


I am wondering whether you may have this condition, mainly because you say it's difficult to breath when you are sleeping on your tummy, which if you suffered from this condition then sleeping on your tummy would make it difficult.

Your doctor should refer you to a clinic/ hospital where they can test you for this by connecting you to a monitor that you wear throughout the night,this will show your heart rate and breathing regularity in great detail whilst you sleep also showing whether or not there are any problems.If you are unable to stay at the hospital,you are able to take the monitor with you and carry out the test at home, returning the monitor the next morning.

You may not have this condition at all, it may just be a bad position for you to sleep in, but I personally think it's a good idea to check this out.


Visit your doctor as soon as you can,to set your mind at rest.