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A Chiropractor's View On Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene is one of those terms that is becoming a buzzword but does, in fact, have a much greater significance. If you are having trouble falling asleep or if you wake up in the morning and don't feel rested, the reason could be poor sleep hygiene.

Millions of Americans are already visiting chiropractic offices with complications ranging from back pains to neck pains. As it turns out, many of these problems are caused by poor sleep hygiene.

What is Sleep Hygiene?

This term is used to refer to a number of habits and practices that are required for you to enjoy a good night's sleep. Therefore, poor sleep hygiene refers to a broad spectrum of behaviors that limit your ability to sleep properly at night. Some of the habits that are associated with poor sleep hygiene include:

  • Pulling all-nighters

  • Sleeping in over the weekends

  • Adopting a wrong posture when sleeping

  • Taking long naps during the day

Many people will go for years without realizing that they have poor sleep hygiene. However, the impact of such poor sleeping habits can be seen through a lower quality of life, reduced productivity, insomnia, and many other problems.

How Can You Avoid Poor Sleep Hygiene?

The easiest way of adopting good sleep hygiene is through behaviors that naturally encourage you to sleep better at night. These include:

  • Adopting the right posture when sleeping.

  • Using the right type of pillow—a collapsed pillow doesn't support your neck and doubling up on your pillow raises your head higher than it should be

  • Waking up correctly—when getting up in the morning, avoid sitting up quickly as this can cause you to strain your body. Remember to stretch first as well.

  • Adopting a sleep schedule and adhering to it.

  • Avoiding using phones and other electronic devices in the bedroom.

Since children are likely to be unaware of the long-term problems caused by poor sleep hygiene, ensure that you guide them as well.

When Should You See a Professional?

For many people, the damage that comes with poor sleep hygiene has already been done. At this point, simply trying to adopt a better posture when you sleep may not solve all of your problems. Seeing a chiropractor at this point is a good idea.

Chiropractic treatments such as spinal adjustments can help to undo some of the damage that has been caused by the years of poor sleep hygiene. 


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