Q: I have not been able to manage a good night’s rest for years now. I wake feeling unrested and sore. Could it be my mattress that is causing these aches and pains? Can you help me?
A: A good night’s sleep is essential to good health. It allows the body to recharge. Unfortunately, forty to sixty percent of people have trouble sleeping. Many factors can contribute to poor sleep, among them discomfort caused by well-worn pillows and mattresses.
A mattress, for instance, should support the body’s weight evenly so that the spine can stay in its natural curve. Here’s one tip from the American Chiropractic Association: turn your mattress clockwise every few months so body indentations can recover. Once a mattress loses its supporting ability, you make yourself prone to nighttime back aches.
As for pillows, if the pillow is too soft it won’t give your head and neck proper support. The healthiest position for sleeping is on your side with a pillow between the knees, or on your back with a pillow under the knees and a small pillow that supports under the neck to give it its normal curve. The latter is usually the best position as side posture can aggravate shoulders. Sleeping on your stomach has NO benefit to your back and neck.
Certainly, repetitive improper posture during sleep can lead to back, neck, shoulder or headache pain to name a few. These are easy to remedy for chiropractors, but it is difficult and expensive to make the mattess and sleeping habit changes necessary to prevent the issues from coming right back. But in the end, it is usually well worth the cost.
Rather than taking sleeping medication, which can leave you hazy in the morning and possibly habitual, talk with a chiropractor about ways to keep your body in good position while you sleep.
Chiropractors are experts in the care and maintenance of the body’s musculoskeletal structure. If nagging discomfort continues to keep you awake, chiropractic treatment may be the best answer.
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