Chiropractic Sleep Posture Tips
Have you ever woken up with back or neck pain and don’t understand why? Do you often find yourself waking up sore several days of the week? Well odds are it’s your sleeping posture that is at fault. This post from our experts at Great Life Chiropractic aims to provide you with some sleep posture tips and help improve your daily sleep routine.
Stop Sleeping on Your Stomach
Stomach sleeping is one of the more common forms of sleeping especially with younger kids. It is normal for us to see patients that are often sleeping on their stomachs, yet this posture can lead to future posture and spine issues. Sleeping on your stomach can force the neck into awkward positions, which can then aggravate spinal postures that are already out of normal alignment. For example, if you have forward head and neck posture, sleeping with your neck rotated can cause more tension in your nerve system.
Understanding Side Sleeping
Side sleeping is a very popular sleeping position among many individuals. According to a nationwide Tempur-pedic survey “54 percent of people interviewed regularly sleep in the side position.” With side sleeping, your neck posture is the most important thing to consider. If your pillow is too high, it may be pushing your neck upwards towards your shoulder in a side bend sleep posture. On the other hand, if your pillow is too soft or too thin, your neck may be dropping downwards into your shoulder instead of keeping straight in a neutral posture. Schedule a consultation with our experts at Great Life Chiropractic to ask what pillow thickness is best for your neck.
Minimize Head Pillows
Did you know that one of the most common causes of morning neck pain is your pillow setup? It’s no surprise that having too many pillows or a pillow that is too thick or dense, causes your neck to curve upward, which as a result can create pain in your neck and shoulders and stress to your nerve system. This is even worse, if you have forward head and neck posture. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep your neck posture as neutral as possible (no flexion or side bend) when it comes to head pillow use. Sleeping on your back with just one pillow under your head can help for good posture.
Try Back Sleeping
Sleeping on your back is by far one of the best resting positions for your posture and spinal health, but is oftentimes a difficult habit to start for many. Keeping your spine in a healthy alignment position is crucial, and regularly sleeping on your back is very helpful for your posture alignment. Also helpful while sleeping on your back, is to place a pillow under your knees or a rolled towel under your lower back to maintain the spine’s general curve. In general, back sleep posture is definitely the best when it comes to a healthy sleep, and we encourage everyone to try it!
If you are experiencing any sleep posture issues you may need to see a chiropractor. Schedule an appointment with our Great Life Chiropractic experts below. Let us provide you with an exceptional chiropractic experience!
