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It’s hard to beat the blissful feeling of laying down in bed after a long, tiring day. Ah, sweet rest at last. But if you were to hear that some sleep positions may be healthier than others, that might throw a bit of stress in the mix. After all, no one wants to sleep in a position that’s going to leave them feeling achy or unrested the next day. The National Sleep Foundation ranks sleeping on your back as the best sleep position since it allows your spine, neck, and head to stay in a neutral position and keeps unwanted pressure off of those areas as you rest. But sleeping on your back isn’t actually recommended for everyone—there are some important considerations to keep in mind, like comfort and whether you suffer from certain health conditions.

To learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of sleeping on your back, we reached out to a few of the top sleep experts. Here’s what they had to say:

Kaliq Chang, a physician and interventional pain management specialist at the Atlantic Spine Center, says sleeping on your back can be an optimal position as long as your spine is aligned in a neutral position. Since alignment is important here, you’ll need to keep your neck in a neutral position rather than allowing it to tilt to one side or the other. “The key to restful sleep is keeping the spine in natural alignment,” Chang says.

Before you start making a huge effort to try sleeping on your back, it’s important to understand that this sleep position isn’t recommended for all people, particularly those with sleep apnea. If you haven’t heard of sleep apnea, this is a condition where a person’s breathing is interrupted, often repeatedly, while sleeping.

“Back sleeping may worsen snoring or sleep apnea, says Terry Cralle, a registered nurse and sleep expert with the Better Sleep Council. “In people with mild obstructive sleep apnea, symptomatic improvement may be achieved simply by avoiding back sleeping.” She adds that people with positional apnea experience the majority of their breathing abnormalities while sleeping on their backs. So if you suffer from positional sleep apnea, back sleeping most likely isn’t for you.

Comfort plays a role in deciding which sleep position is best for you, too. Our experts agree that sleeping on your side can be just as healthy as sleeping on your back. Put simply, sleep experts recommend sleep in whatever position is comfortable for you. Though they do advise against sleeping on your stomach, which can lead to neck and back pain. “Stomach sleeping is generally not recommended, as the low back is hyperextended without an easy way to correct it, and the neck is forced to the side,” Chang said.