Do you get a comfortable, good night sleep every day? How often do you experience back pain in a month? It is very important to get adequate amounts of sleep to stay energized and fresh for the rest of the day. The intriguing thing is that not just the older people but the millennials too experience some back discomfort in their lives.
Technology has encapsulated our lives so much that it becomes important to sit and work for long hours in front of the laptop screens, which can give rise to so many back issues. A study shows that more than 80% of adults experience some back pain once in their lives. In this article, I will guide you through some ways with which you can protect your back while sleeping. Some of them are:
1. Find the right position
Your sleeping position must be in coherence with your comfort level. Don’t even try to put yourself in trouble by opting for a position which makes you feel uncomfortable about yourself. The right position will give you a comfortable sleep throughout the night. Many people often make a big mistake of sleeping on their stomach, which gives birth to severe back pain. So if you feel okay to sleep in a position with your face adjacent to either one of both sides from left or right, you are good to go with it.
2. Get a good mattress
A mattress is a very important part of the bed. It is the foundation on which the body rests for the entire night. If you don’t have a good quality mattress, you won’t have a good night sleep at all. This is also the reason you see babies crying at night due to not having the best crib mattress under them. There are many cheapskates in the market who sell poor quality mattress to people. Beware of them and always buy one which is of the finest quality. An ideal mattress can last for more than five years. However, if your old mattress has worn out already, you must purchase a new one. If you have back pain you must check with your doctor who will suggest you a medicated foam to sleep on.
3. Don’t put your feet on the folded blanket
Try not to stack multiple blankets on the footer section of the bed. Even if you don’t plan to use those blankets during sleep, try not to cross your feet and put them on the footer blankets. When you do this, you form an acute angle in the body, which is not good for your back. Always have a separate space for blankets in the bedroom. Weighted blankets for adults can take up a lot of space on the bed and in the room, therefore, you’ll want to have a separate stand for them.
4. Get in and out of bed carefully
Some people have a habit of jumping into bed during night time. They also get out of bed energetically, not even realizing the damage they’re doing to themselves. Bending out of bed in excitement or making weird postures while getting out can cause massive damage to the spinal cord and the back. Therefore you need to be mindful about your movements in bed. With little care, you can protect your back from severe back pain.
5. Always put a water bottle on the side table
It is common for all of us to feel thirsty during the night and wake up in the wee hours. So if you will have to wake up very late at night, getting out of bed will be an extra effort for the back. Why not have a water bottle on one of the side tables? When you have everything by your side, there will be no need to put in extra energy to get it. An ideal situation is to also have your medicines in the bed drawer to avoid getting out of bed frequently.
6. Try yoga stretches before going to bed
If you have severe pain in your back already, you must exercise before going to bed and after getting out of it. An ideal yoga posture is to cross legs and chant silent prayers to feel good about yourself. Whereas one can also try other cliché postures of yoga to get a healthy back. Yoga has the power to cure many diseases and severe body pains. Therefore you must incorporate this habit in your daily routine to get rid of all issues.
7. Sleep with a back pillow under your knees
Many people have a habit of sleeping by hugging their pillow tight. Don’t do that, for it will instill pain in your back due to that obtuse angle. Just allow your right and left shoulders to make contact with the mattress with a pillow under your knees. If you experience a slight gap between the mattress and your waist, there’s no harm in installing a pillow to fill the loopholes. Many medical practitioners prescribe this habit globally. Whether you use one or two, there should always be an urge to change the sleeping position.
8. Distance yourself from your partner
It is common for husband and wife to sleep close to one another; however, repeated lovemaking can cause problems even. Once in a while, sleeping together is fine, but consistency in that can cause massive problems. The ideal way is to distance yourself from your partner to have a comfortable sleep. Keep in mind when you sleep on the bed, it is natural for that position to go down because of weight and form a gradient. With two people, the weight will be even larger, causing the formation of a bigger gradient thus causing back pain. Therefore it is better to sleep with some distance apart.
9. Always rest your head on a standard sized pillow
Don’t incorporate large pillows in your bedroom. Many people are opting for the modern large-sized pillows in their bedrooms, which is even bigger trouble. People don’t realize that they’re hurting their spinal cord and back because of that. Therefore to have no back pains it is important to rest your head on a standard-sized pillow which is not too high from the mattress. An ideal bed should have not more than three pillows. The more stationery you’ll have, the higher will be the craving to rest on multiple pillows.
10. Sleep on one of the sides with a pillow between the legs
This is another ideal position to avoid back pain. If you are accustomed to sleeping on one of the sides, you can choose one side and position a pillow in between your legs. Usually, people start crossing their legs during sleep which disturbs their back. So it is better to avoid not having a pillow in between legs. By incorporating this habit in routine, you will be able to form a comfortable angle between the legs and balance out the rest of the body.
11. Change positions frequently during the night
Some people have a rigid habit of not changing their position during sleep. This habit is very notorious and can cause much damage to the body. You must change several positions during the night. People who sleep in extreme positions are always at a higher risk of experiencing bad pains in their back. The benefit of changing position is that the body moves physically relaxing the joints from any pressure. If you continue to sleep in an extreme position, the joints will succumb to the pressure from the weight hence causing trouble.
12. Don’t sleep on a mattress that is too soft
A soft mattress has the power to do great damages to the human body. When was the last time you changed your mattress? Has it been a while now? Do you feel uncomfortable sleeping on a mattress that is too soft? Refrain from continuing with that habit. A soft mattress is so flexible that it starts fluctuating the back with multiple movements during sleep. So a soft mattress can cause much damage to the body if you lie on it. An ideal mattress should neither be too soft nor too hard.
13. Refrain from using a mobile phone during sleep
One of the worst habits of this generation and millennials is the constant use of the phone during bedtime. Most people use a phone while sleeping, which is an unhealthy practice. When both the arms stay in one position for quite some time, it is natural for a person to experience back pain. Furthermore it is common for people to sleep in awkward and extreme positions while using phones, which is another issue. The best habit is to refrain from using phone or any technical gadget during the night. An 8-hour sleep/rest is the right of the body which you should not deprive it of.
14. Try the starfish posture
This is caliche position in which you sleep on your back. Doctors prescribe people with back pain to sleep in this posture very often. In this posture, your legs are spread apart, and arms are bent on the side of your head. If you want to adopt this position you must sleep on a fine mattress and put a pillow under your knees. Many medicated forms have flexible properties which allow a person to get relieved from neck and back pains. Interestingly the mattress also allows for the free circulation of air so that the foam doesn’t get dry from the inside.
15. Sleep on bended knee
Pillows are not just important as a mandatory accessory of the bed and but they equally provide comfort to the back. One way to make your spine even better is to sleep with a pillow under your knee. With this way, you will be able to reduce stress and pressure on your spine just as the pillow supports the curve under the neck and shoulders. If you put a pillow under your knees that will help in aligning the spine. Moreover, it will also reduce stress in the hips and lower back. People who have issues in their spine often have a dedicated medical pillow which is designed for such patients.
Conclusion:
To have a healthy life, it is crucial to exercise regularly and carve good eating and sleeping habits. Another way to get rid of back pain is to use zero gravity chair while taking in sitting posture. Millions of people across the globe suffer from spinal issues, which is why doctors have to come up with interesting ways to curtail such issues. The shocking figure is that over 31 million Americans experience some back pain in their lives. Lower back pain is an epidemic which is not just mutual amongst the old age people but has equally infested the lives of young millennials. Not sleeping the correct way is just one reason; there are many other multiple reasons such as not exercising, obesity, pulling heavyweight, etc.
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