Sleep is an essential function of life.
It helps build a healthy immune system and gets you recharged for the day ahead. Unfortunately, many of us encounter sleep problems that can be overbearing. Whether it’s twisting and turning like a pretzel or having lower back spasms, we all know the pain that goes along with not getting a good night’s sleep. For some of us, sleep is like running a midnight marathon!
With the help of research, experts have devised numerous ways to heal your sleeping discomforts. We’ve got your back on this one! The following topics will discuss the best ways to improve your overall sleep cycle. We’ll break down the and isolate the specific reasons for each pain involved to guarantee you a better night’s rest.
Back Pain
According to WebMd, back pain is defined as minimal to acute discomfort located in the lower, middle, and even upper sections of your back. Symptoms that can arise from prolonged exposure include degenerative disc disease, nerve and muscular problems, severe stress, and even arthritis. If you’ve been having these experiences, then allow these recommendations to soothe your pain.
Replace Old Mattress: Sometimes the best course of action is to replace the mattress itself. Back pains arise more commonly in those who sleep on soft beds. A firmer bed with more even support for your back will work wonders for you.
Try Sleeping On Your Side: Shifting over to your specific side, make sure your right or left shoulder makes contact with the mattress. Then, place a pillow in between your knees in order to allow for better hip, pelvis, and spine alignment. If there’s space between your waist and mattress, then try using a smaller pillow or foam in that area to increase support and balance.
Or Sleeping On Your Stomach: Information from healthline states that sleeping on your side may incur neck stress. However, by placing a pillow under your pelvis and lower abdomen and an optional pillow under your head, you won’t have to suffer issues with your back and neck. Those with degenerative disc disease may be benefiting most since it can ease the tension in the space between your discs.
Shoulder Pain
Sore shoulders? No worries. These strategies target any bothersome irritation that occur on your shoulders. Usually it’s because of consistently sleeping on the same side, or also sleeping on the stomach which can cause misalignment.
Put Your Back Into It: Sleep on your back to avoid feeling pressure on the shoulders. Another suggestion would be to avoid using fluffy, oversized pillows and instead use a smaller pillow and hold it on your chest to ensure shoulder alignment. We recommend trying the Dosaze pillow if you’re a back or side sleeper to reduce neck pain.
Try Your Other Side: Odds are you’ve been sleeping on the same side for a while and its finally starting to catch up to you. From fetal position, raise a leg and locate a pillow in between your knees. Whatever you do: don’t place your hands around or under your head. The reason being is because this causes the shoulders major discomfort.
Neck Pain
This usually arises due to lack of firm support on the neck region. Next time, try sleeping on your back with a pillow under your head and then two additional pillows tucked under each arm. It’s important to observe the type of pillow since your ailments can be primarily attributed to the type of pillow you use. For this sleep position, it is highly recommended to use orthopedic or roll pillow as your preferred choice.
If you tend to sleep on your side: Try using a flat pillow no taller than 6 inches high (no higher than the width of your shoulder). A pillow that fails to meet this small detail can turn out to cause intense pressure on your neck.
For stomach sleepers: Use the very thinnest pillow that you can find on the market. If you can try and avoid this position for some time, you should since it can be the hardest to sleep on when trying to overcome neck pain.
Try Using A Pillow To Reduce Neck Pain, Like Dosaze: As mentioned before, an orthopedic or roll pillow can increase the odds of bettering your neck pain. Look no further than the Dosaze pillow. It’s ergonomic design, memory-foam feature, and comfortable size makes it the perfect sleeping companion for those experiencing neck discomfort.
Having Trouble Getting Up?
For a lot of us, waking up is the hardest part of our day. How do we get better at this? Simple. By going to bed early each time every day and setting your alarm, you are conditioning your body to obey its circadian rhythm. Soon enough, you’ll be waking up punctually and feeling more refreshed than ever before.
While the pillow can help alleviate some shoulder and back pain, it specifically targets the neck area to completely eliminate any ongoing stresses.
Get Rid Of Snoring
Being part of a nightly snoring concerto doesn’t earn you a place amongst classical music’s Mt. Rushmore. Instead, it’s a clear sign of trouble involving your sleep positions that have caused the blaring sounds in the dark.
Lifestyle adjustments such as losing weight and cutting down on smoking and alcohol will reduce the level of how much you snore.
Over the counter nasal strips allow for a widening of air passages so that its easier for oxygen to navigate. Most importantly is trying to solve the primary cause of your snoring which can involve allergies, sleep apnea, wrong sleep posture, and even biological abnormalities like nasal polyps or enlarged adenoids.
Stop Sleeping On Your Back: This habit has been linked to causing throat issues. Also, since your tongue curls backward into your throat, it can block some of the airway passages, thus causing the snoring to occur.
Your Pillow Matters: Using a soft pillow worsens matters because the soft, plush feel sinks your head back even further to narrow your throat. Try using two double pillows with each other to stuff more firmness for your head.
Sleep On Your Side: This will allow your head to be lying in a natural position where no airflow going in and out will be blocked. Increasing circulation and allow non-restrictive air is the best way to combat anymore snoring.
Get Your Tongue And Throat Involved: Practicing different breathing techniques significantly increases your odds of eliminating snoring going further
Try using a pillow designed to reduce neck pain, like Dosaze
Are you having neck, back or shoulder pain? Your pillow could be to blame. The Dosaze contoured orthopedic pillow was specifically designed to correct your posture while you sleep. Poor sleep posture can lead to an array of ailments such as back and neck pain, sleep apnea, excessive snoring and more. You want to feel comfortable when you sleep and the Dosaze pillow’s special memry foam design provides users the proper neck support for back sleepers and shoulder sleepers, therefore, giving them maximum comfort and improving their posture while they sleep.
Prevent Feeling Sleeping During The Day
Be aware of your daily routines and what things have been affected by sleep. If you notice you’re dozing off while reading or paying attention, then odds are you’re experiencing warning signs of sleep issues during the day. Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends napping before 3 p.m. and also for less than an hour so it does not interrupt with your bedtime sleep.
No matter what you decide to do, just follow this rule of thumb: sleep until you feel adequately refreshed so that you don’t experience a strong lack of rest. If all of the above does not seem to be working, talk to a medical professional and feel free to share your medical history since conditions like narcolepsy are root causes for concern.
Leg Cramps
One of the worst feelings is catching a cramp while sleeping. It’s truly a horrendous sensation we think nobody should go through. The gut-wrenching sensation is thought to be only caused by dehydration, but research shows that a nerve damage, disease, or lack of trace elements can contribute to cramps at night.
Few To Seldom Instances: Stretch or massage the particular area of discomfort. Most cramps can be treated the moment they arise by stretching the muscle out and treating it immediately.
Frequent To Severe: Seek medical attention immediately. It may have to do with nerve damage that has created a negative impact and it may be irreparable to do anything else.
Laying Awake
Tired of your phone keeping you up at night? Can’t seem to get away from your constant late night text messaging? One thing to help minimize damage to your sleep cycle would be to reduce the blue light in electronics such as phones, pads, and computers. Doing so will keep your mind less attentive to react to your impulses of searching for information or reaching for your phone.
Also, do not consume heavy sugar or caffeine before bedtime. Sugars and caffeine can seriously spike up your blood pressure and have you turning into a bat during the middle of the night!
Good diet and exercise reinforces a stabilized schedule that allows your body to feel rested after a well-rounded day. Make a plan for morning and after-noon routines to help maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Frequent Waking
Pay attention to room temperature when this happens. Usually, keeping your room at a cool 20-22 degrees Celsius (68-72 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain a good sleeping environment.
How to Beat Insomnia
The MayoClinic defines insomnia as a common sleep disorder that makes it exceedingly hard to fall or stay asleep as well as early wake ups that prevent a full rest. It’s tough to be stuck in a tug-o-war between being alert and dozing off and that’s why it’s important to do all you can to try and mitigate the disorder’s effects.
Changes in your sleep habits can positively contribute to managing your insomnia one sleep cycle at a time. Making sure your bed is perfectly firm or soft depending on your needs, regular exercise, reducing caffeine consumption, de-stressing before bedtime, and eliminating alcohol and smoking can tremendously benefit you in your battle against insomnia.
If insomnia is debilitating enough to inhibit functional motor skills throughout the day, contact a medical professional for stronger treatment. The NHS also provides sleep apps that can aid in getting better sleep.
Additional Sleep Problems
Do you suffer from heartburn? If so, lie on your left side. Doing so will prevent stomach contents from making their way back up the esophagus stopping the heartburn.
Aching legs at night can make you lose sleep. If your legs ache at night keep your legs lifted with a roll pillow or the foot of your bed. Having your legs lifted will allow the venous blood to run downward, getting rid of the pain. You can also try lightly massaging your legs before bed and avoid drinking caffeine a minimum of 6 hours before going to sleep.
Shift Work Sleep Disorder
This occurs when your work schedule and your natural sleep cycle are not matching as they should. In our modern society, some people tend to work the grave yard shifts that can plunge this deficiency even deeper. The result is a confusion of when to fall asleep and the body doesn’t know how to react to this trick. The help with this, follow some of these suggestions:
Take regular breaks and try to have the shifts change as minimally as possible
Since it’s easier to adjust forward in time, attempt to request a shift that’s later instead of earlier.
Increase light exposure at work and reduce it when it’s time to go to sleep.
Talk to your doctor about taking melatonin if push comes to shove and you’re limited by your options.
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
Delayed sleep phase disorder happens when your biological clock is significantly backtracked. Consequently, you awake much later than most people and can make it extremely hard when you have to stick to a normal schedule. This can make tasks like going to school or even showing up to your 9-5 job a major struggle. These are more tips to keep in mind when trying to combat this type of disorder:
Usually, those with delayed sleep phase disorder are unable to get to sleep earlier than 2am-6am despite how hard they try.
Regular sleep schedules become automatic and slowly becomes hard to change since your body is most comfortable doing this.
Most common in teens, but they oftentimes grow out of it.
If you continue to have a hard time dealing with this, seek light therapy and chronotherapy for assistance.
Jet Lag
Have you ever traveled on a plane and noticed an awkward sensation of shifting in your sense of time? You’re definitely not the only one. Symptoms of experiencing jet lag include daytime sleepiness, fatigue, headaches, stomach problems, and insomnia.
Typically jet lag worsens the longer the flight and if flying eastwardly. Recovery time can be approximated by how many time zones you cross, so if you fly from Los Angeles to New York (3 time zones), then your jet lag woes should be gone within 3 days.
Now that you’ve read through our recommendations, we hope to have answered many of your questions concerning issues in sleep routine. The knowledge shared here is guaranteed to have you sleeping on a cloud next time you go to bed. Make sure to share the wealth of information with your friends and family!
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