Chiropractic

The Impact of Poor Posture on Sleep and How to Improve It

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Can individuals have a full night of sleep by making small changes to their sleep posture to reduce general aches and pains?

Introduction

Many individuals know that after a long, hard day of working or running errands, getting much rest is necessary to reduce tension in the body and put it in a relaxed state. Getting a quick nap to a full night of sleep is important not only for the body but also for the posture. However, many people get a bad night’s rest from various environmental factors that can keep them from getting the full benefits of eight hours of sleep. It can range from stressful events impacting a person’s life to overlapping risk profiles correlated with chronic conditions. Today’s article focuses on how poor posture can affect sleep and how there are different ways for a person to get a good night’s rest, improve sleep posture, and find the right mattress and pillows to allow the individual to stay asleep. We discuss with certified medical providers who inform our patients how various environmental factors can cause overlapping risk profiles and not getting a full night of rest. While asking informed questions to our associated medical providers, we advise patients to incorporate various techniques to improve sleep posture when getting a full night of quality sleep. Dr. Alex Jimenez, D.C., encompasses this information as an academic service. Disclaimer.

 

Poor Posture Affecting Sleep

Do you feel extremely tired throughout the day, even after a full night? Do you experience stiffness in the morning that gets better throughout the day? Or how often do you wake up constantly at night and have trouble staying asleep? Many individuals who have experienced these scenarios are frequently correlated with bad sleeping habits. Many individuals have dealt with poor sleeping habits throughout the day due to environmental factors that can impact their sleep. Some environmental factors, like poor posture, can affect how people sleep at night. Poor posture has always been associated with musculoskeletal disorders. When musculoskeletal disorders have overlapping risk profiles from physical workload and psychological stress, it can become a predictor or even correlate with sleep disorders. (Hammig, 2020) This is because having habitual in-bed behaviors like movement and posture could cause health complications and prevent people from getting a good night’s rest. (Elnaggar et al., 2023)

 

 

This is due to how individuals’ posture can affect their sleep quality and overall health. For instance, individuals dealing with chronic spinal pain will begin to develop poor posture over time. When this happens, it can coexist with other comorbidities like insomnia, which can lead to a larger negative effect on a person’s physical and mental functioning while preventing them from being less productive and having poor quality of sleep. (Bilterys et al., 2021) When people experience spinal pain, causing them to develop poor posture, it can lead to sleep disturbances. The correlation between sleep disturbances and poor posture can cause impairment of the physiological process that can contribute to maintaining chronic pain. (Skillgate et al., 2021) However, there are numerous ways for people to get a good night’s rest while improving their posture.

 


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Ways To Get a Good Night Rest

When it comes to finding ways to get a good night’s rest, many people will try to devise solutions to establish a routine for their bedtime. Some of the ways people can utilize for a good night’s rest include:

  • Lowering room temperature
  • Keeping a sleep diary
  • Limit caffeinated drinks in the evening
  • Limit electronics before bed
  • Stick and create a sleep schedule

By creating some of these habits and sticking with them, many people can get much-needed rest and more energy when they wake up. At the same time, proper sleeping habits can help improve sleeping posture.

 

Improving Sleep Posture

There is no right way to do it regarding proper sleeping habits and improving sleep posture. Everyone has a position they favor more to be comfortable. For instance, a person who sleeps on the back is more relaxed than sleeping on their sides. Since sleep posture is associated with sleep quality, poor posture may provoke increased wake time and affect a person’s ability to maintain an asleep state. (Cary et al., 2021) So, by listening to the body and following its natural sleep flow, a person can stay asleep longer and be comfortable.

 

Finding The Right Mattress & Pillow

 

 

At the same time, improving one’s sleeping posture is not the only way to get a good night’s rest. Finding the right mattress and pillows is important, too. When people seek mattresses and pillows to improve their sleep quality, many often seek out tempur-pedic mattresses to support their body and have the best sleep. Many tempur-pedic mattresses can help reduce pressure from the body, making a person comfortable and minimizing movement. Additionally, new pillows supporting the neck and lower back can reduce somatic symptoms and provide neutral spinal alignment for the body. (Yamada et al., 2023) When it comes to having the best quality of sleep, it can be achievable with proper sleep habits, a new set of pillows and mattresses, and a comfortable position that will allow people to feel refreshed and re-energized.


References

Bilterys, T., Siffain, C., De Maeyer, I., Van Looveren, E., Mairesse, O., Nijs, J., Meeus, M., Ickmans, K., Cagnie, B., Goubert, D., Danneels, L., Moens, M., & Malfliet, A. (2021). Associates of Insomnia in People with Chronic Spinal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Med, 10(14). doi.org/10.3390/jcm10143175

Cary, D., Jacques, A., & Briffa, K. (2021). Examining relationships between sleep posture, waking spinal symptoms and quality of sleep: A cross sectional study. PLOS ONE, 16(11), e0260582. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260582

Elnaggar, O., Arelhi, R., Coenen, F., Hopkinson, A., Mason, L., & Paoletti, P. (2023). An interpretable framework for sleep posture change detection and postural inactivity segmentation using wrist kinematics. Sci Rep, 13(1), 18027. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44567-9

Hammig, O. (2020). Work- and stress-related musculoskeletal and sleep disorders among health professionals: a cross-sectional study in a hospital setting in Switzerland. BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 21(1), 319. doi.org/10.1186/s12891-020-03327-w

Skillgate, E., Isacson Hjortzberg, M., Stromwall, P., Hallqvist, J., Onell, C., Holm, L. W., & Bohman, T. (2021). Non-Preferred Work and the Incidence of Spinal Pain and Psychological Distress-A Prospective Cohort Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18(19). doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910051

Yamada, S., Hoshi, T., Toda, M., Tsuge, T., Matsudaira, K., & Oka, H. (2023). Changes in neck pain and somatic symptoms before and after the adjustment of the pillow height. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 35(2), 106-113. doi.org/10.1589/jpts.35.106

Disclaimer

Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on "The Impact of Poor Posture on Sleep and How to Improve It" is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

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Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN*) in Florida
Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
Compact Status: Multi-State License: Authorized to Practice in 40 States*

Presently Matriculated: ICHS: MSN* FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner Program)

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
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Dr. Alex Jimenez

Specialties: Stopping the PAIN! We Specialize in Treating Severe Sciatica, Neck-Back Pain, Whiplash, Headaches, Knee Injuries, Sports Injuries, Dizziness, Poor Sleep, Arthritis. We use advanced proven therapies focused on optimal Mobility, Posture Control, Deep Health Instruction, Integrative & Functional Medicine, Functional Fitness, Chronic Degenerative Disorder Treatment Protocols, and Structural Conditioning. We also integrate Wellness Nutrition, Wellness Detoxification Protocols and Functional Medicine for chronic musculoskeletal disorders. We use effective "Patient Focused Diet Plans", Specialized Chiropractic Techniques, Mobility-Agility Training, Cross-Fit Protocols, and the Premier "PUSH Functional Fitness System" to treat patients suffering from various injuries and health problems. Ultimately, I am here to serve my patients and community as a Chiropractor passionately restoring functional life and facilitating living through increased mobility. Purpose & Passions: I am a Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in progressive cutting-edge therapies and functional rehabilitation procedures focused on clinical physiology, total health, functional strength training, functional medicine, and complete conditioning. We focus on restoring normal body functions after neck, back, spinal and soft tissue injuries. We use Specialized Chiropractic Protocols, Wellness Programs, Functional & Integrative Nutrition, Agility & Mobility Fitness Training and Cross-Fit Rehabilitation Systems for all ages. As an extension to dynamic rehabilitation, we too offer our patients, disabled veterans, athletes, young and elder a diverse portfolio of strength equipment, high-performance exercises and advanced agility treatment options. We have teamed up with the cities' premier doctors, therapist and trainers in order to provide high-level competitive athletes the options to push themselves to their highest abilities within our facilities. We've been blessed to use our methods with thousands of El Pasoans over the last 3 decades allowing us to restore our patients' health and fitness while implementing researched non-surgical methods and functional wellness programs. Our programs are natural and use the body's ability to achieve specific measured goals, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, un-wanted surgeries, or addictive drugs. We want you to live a functional life that is fulfilled with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, and less pain. Our goal is to ultimately empower our patients to maintain the healthiest way of living. With a bit of work, we can achieve optimal health together, no matter the age, ability or disability.

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