There is a correct way to swallow pills. Here’s how you do it.

Looking for more immediate relief to that headache?

Pop that ibuprofen while lying on your right side.

New research from Johns Hopkins University found that pills taken while lying on your right side dissolve more than twice as fast as those taken while sitting or standing. And 10 times more quickly than when lying on your left side.

In other words, lie on your right side after taking a medication and you’ll have to wait only 10 minutes for relief instead of the 20 minutes that’s standard for many oral medications when taken upright.

The study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, evaluated how quickly medications dissolved when taken in one of four different positions: upright, lying on your back, on your right side, and on your left side. Researchers used a simulation model, called StomachSim, to test how the stomach’s position affects dissolution rates for medication.

Though useful for people looking for a quick fix to their headache or heartburn, the research is intended to help people who are bedridden and have no choice but to take medications lying down.

“For elderly, sedentary or bedridden people, whether they’re turning to the left or to the right can have a huge impact,” said Rajat Mittal, a Johns Hopkins engineer and an expert in fluid dynamics, and the report’s senior author.

Most pill medications begin working once the stomach has released the pill’s contents into the intestine. So the closer a pill lands to the part of the stomach that breaks down foods, the faster it will be moved along to the next phase of digestion.

Sitting or standing — the standard for most people — is still a good way to take medication, Mittal said. Gravity helps pills settle at the bottom of your stomach, where they can be dissolved and absorbed.

But lying on your right side helps pills settle in exactly the right spot along this bean-shaped organ’s bottom, right where it connects to the intestine.

“That’s where all the action is at its peak,’ Mittal said.

Pills taken while lying on the right side dissolved 2.3 times faster than pills swallowed in an upright position.

Meanwhile, pills swallowed while lying on the left side land on the opposite wall of the stomach and need much more time to dissolve. A pill that took 10 minutes to dissolve on the right side needed more than100 minutes to dissolve on the left, according to the study.

Lying flat on your back is about as effective as taking medication upright, according to the study.

The takeaway?

“Posture can have a huge impact,” on how quickly medications begin to take effect, Mittal said.