Many people worldwide suffer from back pain due to factors like exercises, work, chronic conditions and even prolonged standing. Lower vertebrae are prone to muscle and pain exhaustion and one of the aspects of caring for your spine is sleeping properly.
Although some of the recommended sleep positions can take time to learn, it will pay off supporting your back in the long run. Sleep helps to reset pain receptor proteins and relax muscles so that you can wake up feeling no pain and relaxed.
Although a back pain can make getting through the day difficult, it can make attaining a good sleep a nightmare. Getting a comfortable position to doze off can be tough, and there is no guarantee of getting out of bed with no pain.
Get a good sleep for your health and wellbeing
It is indeed essential to get a good sleep for your health and wellbeing. Various studies have revealed that people who are rank to have a quality life slept at least 30 minutes more than those whose health is considered poorer.
If you sit for long hours, you are more likely to experience a back pain. Moreover, lifting heavy weights often or being inactive can as well lead to a back pain. It could be dull, mild, an occasional ache or a nagging irritation. When pains begin traveling downwards to both legs, it is a sign of it getting worse. Additionally, increased fats around the abdomen make lower back vulnerable due to an increased mechanical pressure as well as minimal muscle support.
Once you are at this stage, sleeping with a back pain becomes even more difficult although you need sleep, isn’t it? Getting the recommended sleep time is essential for some reasons; after a long day at work, your body can only rest during sleep. Therefore, if you get insufficient sleep, you cannot expect to have an effective and productive morning, and even worse, it leads to other health hazards such as heart diseases, weight gain and much more that could be scary. But the truth is scary than fiction, right?
As a result, sleeping well is key as well as having a sufficient sleep by getting recommended 8 hours of sleep to avoid many problems. How do you make it with a back pain?
Below are tips that can help you make sleep better within a short time. Try this tips if you have trouble in getting sufficient shut-eye caused by back pain. It will indeed make sleep a little better and easier at the same time.
Identify the right sleeping position
Certain sleeping styles can help you out in easing your back pain, so identify one is most suitable for your back pain needs. You can try having a pillow between your legs for additional support. If you are fond of sleeping on either side, have a pillow underneath your knees while drawing it closer to your chest area. Alternatively, if you are sleeping on the back, try sleeping with a pillow under your knees, or inserting a rolled up towel under your small back.
Avoid sleeping on the stomach because it strains your back area. However, if it is the only position that can make you fall asleep, have a pillow under your stomach to set off some pressure on the back.
Acquire a good mattress
Your body type determines the mattress type that you should get. If you have hips wider than your waist, a soft mattress can be good for you since it will keep your spine straight as your sleep. However, if your waist and hips line up, a harder mattress could be suitable for you since it will provide more support. Although doctors recommend harder mattress, recent researchers have found out that those suffering from low back pains can have a worse sleep if they used it. Having a soft mattress may not be a good option either as it may make you sink in too deep, thus making your joints twist causing more pain.
In addition to the mattress type, check to ensure it is not too old either. If it is older than 10 years, then it time for you to have a replacement. You will need to consider carefully personal preferences to select the most appropriate mattress. And this is a matter that you need to pay a closer attention since a wrong mattress type can worsen your state.
Try sleeping on different mattress types at hotels, friend’s houses to see what suits your comfort needs. If you think a harder mattress could help, have a plywood between your box spring and mattress, or try a few nights in the floor to see if an additional support can help in soothing your back pain.
It is also prudent to buy a mattress from a store that offers a return policy as well as a satisfaction guarantee. It can take some days to adjust to a new mattress, and if your back pains persist after several days of trying the new mattress, you can take it back the store for an exchange.
Pro Tip; Even the best mattress for sleep will not cancel out the damage you could be causing your back during the day. If you spend your time in the office seating, for instance, then you should take some time to learn on office ergonomics.
Use your pillow well
Just like mattresses, pillows are quite different. An improper pillow can hurt your neck and on itself can cause muscle spasms, headaches, and many more effects. If lying flat on your back makes you uncomfortable, trying shifting on to either side:
Allow your left or right shoulder to make contact with the mattress along with your body on that side.
Having a pillow in between your knees
Consider adding a small pillow of there is a gap between the mattress and your waist for additional support.
Always resist the compulsion to sleep on the same side always, whether you use one or two pillows as using quite a number could cause issues like scoliosis, and even muscle imbalance.
How does this help?
Sleeping on either of your sides will not make your back pain better. Instead, it is the use of the pillow between your knees that yields some relief as it will keep your pelvis, hips, and spine better aligned.
What you should look for in a pillow
A good pillow should support your neck and head as well as help out in supporting the upper spine portion. If you sleep on the back, the pillow should fill the between the mattress and the neck completely. Trying using a thicker pillow if you sleep on the side to keep your head in line with the entire body in the same position. Whatsoever you do, avoid placing the pillow under the shoulders.
Back sleepers: You can get best relief on back pain with thinner pillows as well as those pillow with extra padding in the bottom to cradle the neck. Memory foam is a unique material that casts explicitly to your neck. Another option that provides a firm a wholesome support is a water pillow.
Stomach sleepers: Aim to use either the thinnest pillows around or have none. If you sleep on sleep on the stomach often, try sleeping on the side while holding a body pillow. Body pillow will provide you the feeling of something against the stomach while aligning it with rest of the body.
Side sleepers: With this sleeping position, you may wish to have a firm pillow. In fact, try to get one with extra wide gusset to help with the space between the shoulder and the ear. Do not forget to have a firm pillow between the knees, and may even use it instead of a rolled towel.
Remember to have your pillow changed every 18 months or thereabout while you are at it. Although pillow protectors can be good barriers, pillows still hold many allergy triggers such as dust mites and mold.
Be careful when getting in and out of bed
This may sound obvious, but being careful when getting in and out of bed is imperative. Movements such as bending forward at the waist or making jerking and quick movements can cost you a back pain. Take time and roll over onto one side while using your arms to push your way up. After that, you can swing out the legs out of your bed to stand up. When it is time to lie down, whether at night or resting, reverse these movements.
Importantly, avoid staying in bed for too long. Even though you are experiencing severe pain, and you are tempted to lie down longer, resist the urge. The more you lie in bed, the more pain increase. Evidently, having more time in bed due to back pain will do nothing other than more harm. It will just worsen your conditions since more pressure is exerted on the lower back, and even gets worse by lying on the stomach.
A maximum of eight hours is sufficient especially if you feeling to be getting worse.
Exercise your core
Regular exercising is a great sign of improving your sleep quality. However, doing targeted physical exercises will strengthen your core, particularly muscles in the abdomen, pelvis, hips and lower back can go a long way in easing back pains.
Additionally, building flexibility and strength in these muscles can minimize the chance of straining your back as well as undergoing muscle spasms during sleep. To help tighten these muscles out, hold a plank position with a hand under the shoulder and legs straight out. Begin by holding 15-30 seconds pose while trying to maintain a proper alignment and the body, with abdominal muscles engaged and your body in a straight line.
You can also try mild yoga stretches before sleeping. Intensive stretching or yoga can help out in reducing lower back pains. Additionally, it helps in stress reduction and thus making you sleep better. Have a conversation with your physician about safe exercises to practice, and those that will worsen you back pains. It could be prudent to start off with yoga props such as bolsters and blocks for additional support, which makes you hold poses more comfortably. Moreover, you can take few yoga classes with an instructor to ensure that you are doing correctly as well as breathing well. Breathing well is key to relaxation and is not a bad idea altogether.
As a way of exercising your core, you should follow a sleeping routine as well, with picking sleeping time being the first step, which is when you will be going to bed. Ensure that it will be sufficient for you to fall asleep and sleeping for at least eight hours every day. If you know that it takes you about 20 minutes to fall asleep, for instance, go to bed 20 minutes earlier such that the total time in bed is 8 hours and 20 minutes. Moreover, pick unwinding activities to do every day before retiring to bed. One of the ideal activities that slow down the nervous system is calm stretching. You can as well try some heat as it could make you sleeping
After steadily following the routine, it will flag your mind that it is time to sleep. The routine is entirely based on the principle that doing off can be learned and made a custom. It is that simple!
Listen to Slow Music before bedtime
Your body is indeed incredible at learning. It can learn anything, including pain, which explains why a lot of aches and pains continue, even when there is no more organic origin.
This is because human bodies learn pain and continue to agonize. Of course, focusing on something else is something you can do about it! And this is where calm music that you like come into play.
You may easily be carried away by the happiness of listening to favorite music, and you might notice that back pain is no more after a while. It is simple and simply works.
Pro Tip:
Directed deliberation is becoming more common and popular. Applications such as Headspace are noteworthy at what they do to help out many people. You can identify meditations, for example, that help soothe the types of anxiety that lead to back pain.
Buy sleeping aids
You can acquire some sleeping aid that is intended for those agonizing from lower back pains. You can buy a support wedge, for instance, that you can abode on the back while you sleep. Choosing the most appropriate position can reduce back pains. After identifying that particular position, learn it! As stated earlier on, our bodies are remarkable at learning.
Avoid electronics use before bedtime
Turning off all electronics in your room at least 20-30 minutes before heading to bed is something you should think of. You can easily confuse your body as to the time of the day by the lights emitted by electronic devices, thus making you harder to doze off with or without a back pain. One of the rules you can come up with is never taking your phone to bed so that there is no screen light or LEDs from any electronic. Regarding screen light, you should avoid, by all means, blue light coming out of any screen. Applications such as flux are splendid for that.
Other sleep hygiene tips
Some other ideas for getting a better bedtime rest and reducing back pains are outlined below.
Avoid the use of caffeinated drinks such as coffee and other stimulating substance: If you must have a caffeinated drink, have the last cup before noon.
Save hard physical activities and exercises for morning or early afternoon hours: Any rigorous activities before bedtime can raise levels of adrenaline and body temperatures.
The two factors make it difficult to sleep.
Remember that alignment is key in relieving back pain: It does not matter the sleeping position you chose; proper spine alignment is key part of the equation. Therefore, you should focus on aligning your hips, shoulders, and ears. You can also notice gaps between the bed and your body that could be straining your spine and muscles. These stresses can be reduced by using pillows to fill the gaps.
Be careful when turning: You can easily lose your alignment when twisting and turning, so you need to be more careful. Always move the entire body while keeping core pulled in and tight. You can also bring your knees towards the chest as you roll over.
However, for pain relief use cold gel or an ice pack before moving to bed. It could help in reducing inflammation on your back causing the pain. You can apply a cold pack 15-20 minutes before hopping to bed.
Importantly, remember that if your back pains persist, you should book an appointment with your medical professional to check if there is anything serious to be worried about. At times, fixing a back pain can be a matter of consulting an experienced and knowledgeable chiropractor, so do not be scared!