Home Chiropractic Solutions How to Get "Straight" to Sleep (Part I)

How to Get "Straight" to Sleep (Part I)

Not experiencing a good night's sleep is horrible.

There is nothing worse than having to drag yourself out of bed tired and run down from a lack of sleep. There are several causes for not being able to sleep. They can be physical, chemical, or emotional. In this first part of a three part article, I will focus purely on the physical causes.

To get a restful sleep, you must put your body in the most neutral position possible. What do I mean by neutral? When you put your car in neutral, all the stress is removed from the gears, it is the same for your body, you need to be in a neutral position to remove all the stress from your spine and your joints. This will make it easier to get "straight" to sleep.

Before I go into detail about sleep, it is important to first understand about what is normal posture when sleeping or standing. When you look at your body from the front, it is straight i.e. neutral (relaxed). In the picture below (left side), notice the shoulders and hips are level. The head is straight as well. When you look at posture from the side, the ear, shoulder, hip and ankle should all be in alignment as demonstrated in the picture below (right side) in order to take stress off the joints and muscles. This same normal standing posture is what we want to have when we are sleeping as well.

So what is the best sleeping position? There are actually two, either on your back or on your side.

If you sleep on your back, you want your body to be in the normal posture as I described earlier. So if you are one of those people who likes to use two pillows" when you sleep, chances are you are pushing your head forward, which puts stress on the neck muscles, neck joints and tension on your nervous system. This can cause a condition called subluxation (misalignment of your spine). This will put more stress on the neck muscles, neck joints and tension on your nervous system. This can lead to problems like: Headache's, Neck Pain", sinus problems, Blood Pressure and much more. To fully understand subluxation go here.

So to keep yourself neutral either on your back or your side, I suggest a scientifically designed sleep system. The mattress should allow your shoulders to recess and your pillow" should be height adjustable. Your mattress and pillow" should work synergistically to align your neck and spine. I recommend this bed here.

Finally, it is important I discuss sleeping on the stomach. This is unfortunately not a healthy way to sleep at all. Have you ever had your head turned for quite a while to one side while speaking to someone and noticed afterwards your neck was sore? Sleeping on your stomach requires you to turn your head all night long. Your neck nerves, muscles and joints will not like this. It is also hard on your lower back. If you are a stomach sleeper, I suggest you start off by sleeping on your back with a pillow" underneath the back of the knees to prevent you from rolling over. It might take a few nights, but soon you will have a new and healthy sleeping habit.

To recap, sleep in a neutral position to take stress off the joints. Sleep either on your side or on your back and never on your stomach. Use a pillow" and bed that provides proper support. Also, you should have regular spinal checkups from a wellness chiropractor. I wish you all a great night's sleep.
I wish you all a great nights sleep.

Adam Arnold is a wellness chiropractor and has helped 100's of families have a happier and healthier life. In the past 12 years he has practiced in the local community of Chatswood NSW. He regularly lectures on wellness to his community.