How Sleep Hygiene Can Improve Your Sleep
The definition of hygiene is; conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness. But, have you ever heard the term “sleep hygiene”?
Sleep hygiene refers to the practices of sleep quantity and quality, let’s explore some ways to help you get the best night’s sleep every night.
What’s your mattress situation?
Have you started waking more at night, feeling your partner turn over more, or are you waking up in pain?
All of these are signs it’s time to look at the health of your mattress.
Most mattresses today are meant to last 7-10 years before their supportive qualities start failing. Avoid adding mattress toppers on older mattresses, as they are a band-aid to a bigger issue. Our favorite mattress is a memory foam with a small box spring underneath to make it slightly firmer.
While you’re at it think about your pillow.
Get comfortable and then feel how your pillow is supporting your neck, is the crown of your head pointed toward the ceiling or in a perfect neutral position for your spine?
Not sure how it feels? We will do a free pillow evaluation for you.
If you’re looking for the right pillow, our office supplies Pillowise Pillows. They are a semi-custom, light weight, memory foam pillow. Pillowise comes in many sizes for every body type and we even carry a travel pillow!
What’s your sleep position?
Sleep position is a major factor in how we feel the next day!
How many times have you slept on your stomach and woke up the next day with a stiff neck?
Sleeping on your back is best, just like for babies!
Sleeping on your back allows your spine to stay in a neutral position, allowing it to decompress from the day. It also allows the body to breath from the diaphragm, which in turn reduces stress, improves your mood and attention span while relieving sinus buildup. Back sleeping also promotes healthy skin and reduces wrinkles, how’s that for a bonus?
If you have tried everything and just can’t sleep on your back our 2nd choice is side sleeping.
Sleeping on your left side specifically helps aide in digestion, as your stomach is already positioned that way. Avoid sleeping on your stomach at all costs. Stomach sleeping has been shown to increase restlessness, create poor posture and increase nerve irritation to name a few.H
How long should you sleep?
Depending on your age, our bodies require different amounts of sleep.
- Babies. As babies are growing, they need the most amount of sleep for their bodies to develop, newborns generally get 14-17 hours a day and gradually tapper down.
- Early school age children still need 10—12 hours of sleep.
- Teenagers move down to 8-10 hours.
- Adults need 8-10 hours of sleep in general, with women needing more than men.
- As we get older, our bodies only need 7-9 hours of sleep and you’ll find that going to sleep earlier and waking earlier is the new normal.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s, May 29, 2024 article, Here’s what happens when you don’t get enough sleep:
“Sleep is an active process for every organ of the body, including the brain,” Dr. Foldvary-Schaefer says. “We need sleep so we can restore nutrients, clear toxic materials and recharge for the next day. Even missing as little as 1.5 hours can have an impact on how you feel, causing short-term problems like: Lack of alertness, memory problems, moodiness and agitation and an inability or unwillingness to participate in normal daily activities.”
Sleep and Chiropractic Care
Getting a chiropractic adjustment helps the body to self-regulate and maintain an optimal state of health.
When the nervous system is more regulated under chiropractic care, it allows the body to sustain a more regular and uninterrupted sleep cycle. With a routine sleep cycle, this allows the body to recover during sleep at an ideal pace.
Getting a good night’s sleep feels so good.
One of our most viewed pages on our website is Sweet Sleep. Why is that? Because NOT getting enough sleep makes you tired and cranky. You become more prone to getting sick as during sleep, your body is healing itself and you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face a new day!
Let us help you get some sweet sleep:)
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Dr. Hughes, Dr. Shannan, Dr. Harris
