Do you toss and turn each night and wake up feeling exhausted or unrefreshed? Interrupted sleep often can be the result of pain, stiffness or irritation in the cervical spine. Compounding that pain is often additional anxiety, which can keep people from sleeping.
Interrupted sleep is the worst, and loss of sleep can adversely impact your health. “To maintain overall health and mental function, you should always try to get as good quality sleep as possible,” says your Greenville chiropractor, Dr. Brown.
How Pain Can Result
Some things that can cause pain, irritation, stiffness, or loss of range of motion are issues with the vertebrae that make up the cervical spine. If there is aberrant movement or slight displacement of the vertebrae, that can cause irritation to the nerves that exit the spinal cord through those spinal bone segments. The muscles, ligaments and tendons then can become irritated, and the muscles may go into spasm due to the nerve root irritation.
That irritation can result from the following:
- Falls
- Occupational responsibilities
- Looking down at your phone or other digital device
- Automobile injuries
How Chiropractic May Help
“By restoring normalcy to the vertebral segments-the joints of the neck in the cervical spine-you will experience less discomfort and less restricted range of motion,” said Dr. Brown. When you have less stiffness and pain, you can sleep more soundly at night without being interrupted by the pain and discomfort.
Pick a Proper Pillow & Mattress
Good sleep is often affected by pillows or mattresses that are not optimally designed. If your mattress is worn out or has indentations, it is probably a good time to replace it.
When it comes to the proper position for a pillow or its design, you want to think of the cervical spine while you’re sleeping.
Do you like to sleep on your side? If yes, you want to have a straight line right down through your body, where your spine should be straight, if you’re looking straight on. In this position, your neck isn’t too pushed up or too low.
If you’re a back sleeper, there are special pillows that have a built-up area underneath the neck to restore a good lordotic curve to the neck the way it’s supposed to be.
Stomach sleepers should switch positions, as it’s bad for the cervical and lumbar spines. This position twists your neck in either direction and can cause pain in the low back, as the position causes an extended lordotic curve in the lumbar spine.
If pain keeps you from getting the crucial sleep you need, we want to help you get relief. Contact Brown Chiropractic Center today to book an appointment with Dr. Brown!