🌙 Proper sleep posture helps prevent neck and back pain while promoting deeper sleep.
We all know that getting a good night's sleep is important for our overall physical and mental health.
Dr. Jeannine Baer, a private chiropractor and with the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors Board of Directors, says a good night's sleep promotes a stronger immune system.
It regulates heart health, blood sugar, and weight management. It improves cognitive function when we're awake, such as our memory, decision-making, and concentration.
It helps to regulate our moods, reduce stress impacts on our mental and physical selves, helps with tissue repair, and helps increase daytime energy, among many other things," Baer said.
So, it should be no surprise that our sleep hygiene plays a huge role in getting a good night's sleep. Sleep hygiene involves the habits and routines a person does every night to help get a better night's sleep, Baer explained.
That includes going to sleep and waking up around the same time every day, including weekends. This helps regulate our body's internal clock, she said.
Also, create comfortable sleep environments. Have supportive mattresses and pillows. Keep the bedroom quiet, cool, and dark. Create a relaxing bedtime routine about an hour before bed. Baer said that means limiting caffeine and other stimulants, and alcohol consumption, reducing screen time, and avoiding big meals.
But how do you know if you need to improve your sleep hygiene? Baer said to look out of the signs, such as waking up feeling fatigued, in pain, and not refreshed. Also, if you're going to bed and waking up at different times every day, and needing a nap during the day, it could be a sign that your sleep hygiene is in need of a tweak.
She suggests keeping a sleep diary for about two weeks. Track the time you go to bed, the time you wake up, when you take medications, when you drink caffeine and/or alcohol, when you eat dinner, what you eat for dinner, nighttime snacks, and when you shut off your phone or turn off the television.
Once you've established good sleep hygiene, then it's time to pay attention to your sleep posture.
Everyone has a posture when they stand, sit, or move. But they also have a posture when they sleep. Baer said people can sleep on their side, back, or stomach. That's sleep posture.
To achieve the best night's sleep. Baer suggests sleeping on your side or back.
"That allows our pillows to support our neck the best way that they can, and the mattress to help support our back and hips. We just don't want to sleep on our stomachs. It can lead to neck pain, back pain, which can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, which can interrupt really important sleep cycles," Baer said.
To avoid sleeping on your stomach, Baer said, when you go to bed, start with the side or back position.
"If you're still awake about 20 minutes after you've gone to bed on the proper posture, you can turn and fall asleep however you need to, and over time that should correct itself and you should start to fall asleep on your side or your back," Baer said.
If you find you're still turning onto your stomach, she suggests placing a small pillow either between your knees or in front of your chest and tummy so if you roll, you won't roll over all the way.