"Have You Ever Seen Anyone Sleep Like This?"... IU Receives Unexpected Warning Over Unique Sleeping Posture [Health Talk]

[Financial News] Singer and actress IU (31) shared her bedtime routine, which she follows even when abroad.
Recently, IU uploaded a behind-the-scenes video of the 'Asia Artist Awards (AAA) 2025' on her YouTube channel.
After arriving in Kaohsiung for the awards ceremony, IU showed her hotel room on the 23rd and said, "I brought towels from Korea," adding, "I usually lay a towel on my pillow and sleep."

Experts explained that checking your pillow and bedding in the morning can be a clue to detecting health issues.
Sleeping with a towel over your pillowcase, as IU does, can help maintain healthy skin. This is because pillowcases can trigger skin troubles. Sweat and dead skin cells released during sleep easily accumulate on pillows, providing a breeding ground for bacteria.
According to Professor Jon Jongsik Chun of the Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, pillows were found to contain 96 times more bacteria than toilet seats, as well as mold and mites. Such contaminants can cause respiratory illnesses like asthma and rhinitis, and may also contribute to acne.
For the sake of your skin, it is advisable to lay a towel over your pillow and change it frequently, or to wash your pillowcase regularly. If washing your pillow often is difficult, you should at least shake or beat it to remove dead skin and dust. It is also recommended to air it out in sunlight for at least 30 minutes once a week.

There was also a warning that habits such as sleeping curled up with bent elbows and wrists, or placing your hands under the pillow like IU, can put strain on the body and lead to health problems.

IU was once shown on a TV program sleeping with both hands placed inside her pillow, revealing her unusual sleeping posture. At the time, online users commented, "I've never seen anyone sleep like this," and "Even her sleeping pose is cute," making it a hot topic.
Shelby Harris, an American clinical psychologist and sleep behavior expert, explained, "If your elbows and wrists remain severely bent for a long time, the ulnar nerve running inside the elbow can be compressed, causing physical stress to muscles, ligaments, and nerves." She added, "If you habitually sleep with your arms bent, it is better to gradually change this by adjusting pillow height or using cushions to limit arm position, rather than trying to change overnight."
In fact, a foreign academic journal in 2023 reported that sleeping with bent elbows increases nerve pressure and exacerbates related symptoms. Repeated nerve compression throughout the night can lead to neurological symptoms beyond temporary numbness.

If you wake up in the morning and find your pillow or bedding drenched in sweat, it is advisable to get a checkup.
Health experts from the National Health Service (NHS) and British research institutes warn that signs of cancer can appear on your pillow and bedding in the morning. They noted that severe night sweats visible to the naked eye could be a sign of cancer.
Cancers that may be suspected due to night sweats include blood cancers. Blood cancer refers to malignancies that occur in blood cells, hematopoietic organs, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. Representative examples are malignant lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.
In particular, cold sweats during sleep, a mild fever around 38°C, and hives are symptoms of blood cancer. Blood cancer cells often release inflammatory substances for no apparent reason, and as the body's immune system responds, cold sweats can occur. Inflammation caused by blood cancer cells under the skin often leads to generalized itching.
If such symptoms persist for a long time, it is best to visit a hospital for a thorough examination.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter