You sleep, I sleep, we all sleep. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, “70% of adults report that they obtain insufficient sleep at least once a month, and 11% report insufficient sleep every night” Sleep is vital to our learning abilities, reaction times, mood, hand-eye coordination, and many other daily aspects of life. So why is it that 70% of people report insufficient sleep- and better yet, how can these people help themselves AT HOME, now?
Who Gets Tense and Stiff Before Sleeping?
Millions of people struggle with tension and stiffness before sleeping. If you feel this way, then you are not alone. Athlete’s may have tension from overuse of their muscles throughout the day, while office workers may suffer from the same tension as a result of not using the muscles in their body to support their skeletal structures. Regardless of your occupation or profession, you will most likely suffer from tension at least once in your lifetime.
Millions of people struggle with tension and stiffness before sleeping. If you feel this way, then you are not alone. Athlete’s may have tension from overuse of their muscles throughout the day, while office workers may suffer from the same tension as a result of not using the muscles in their body to support their skeletal structures. Regardless of your occupation or profession, you will most likely suffer from tension at least once in your lifetime.
Why does the body get tense before sleeping?
Bad Habits. Our lives are set up to do everything in front of us (think of phones, computers, televisions etc.), and all day we stay there. Tight muscles in the front of the body that constantly pull forward over time (whether it be from looking down at our phones, or pushing our necks forward to read the text on a screen, or just an uncomfortable seating position) is too much for the back muscles to handle. For instance, the upper traps get tight when the shoulder blades are pulled forward.
The shoulder blades rely on the ribs for stability. If pulled far enough forward, that stability in the body is lost. So now when you go to reach to lift something, your upper traps are forced to work harder to hold it up. Because the upper traps are attached, now your neck must help hold that object up too. No wonder it gets stiff and sore. It is a downward spiral that progressively gets worse. Various techniques can be used to decrease the tightness and spasms in your neck and other muscles in the back that feel tight, restrict your ability to turn your head, or often lead to pain and sometimes headaches before sleeping. So, how can we slow this downward spiral?
Bad Habits. Our lives are set up to do everything in front of us (think of phones, computers, televisions etc.), and all day we stay there. Tight muscles in the front of the body that constantly pull forward over time (whether it be from looking down at our phones, or pushing our necks forward to read the text on a screen, or just an uncomfortable seating position) is too much for the back muscles to handle. For instance, the upper traps get tight when the shoulder blades are pulled forward.
The shoulder blades rely on the ribs for stability. If pulled far enough forward, that stability in the body is lost. So now when you go to reach to lift something, your upper traps are forced to work harder to hold it up. Because the upper traps are attached, now your neck must help hold that object up too. No wonder it gets stiff and sore. It is a downward spiral that progressively gets worse. Various techniques can be used to decrease the tightness and spasms in your neck and other muscles in the back that feel tight, restrict your ability to turn your head, or often lead to pain and sometimes headaches before sleeping. So, how can we slow this downward spiral?
Stretch before bed- to try and relax the muscles. Stretching allows blood, oxygen, and vital nutrients to flow to get to hard-to-get to muscles in the body. If you don't know how to stretch, or what good stretches are, just search for some on YouTube! Find a video that guides you as you unwind and relax. Light yoga or just simple stretches with peaceful music are also shown to be extremely effective!
Don’t eat 6-8 hours before bed- eating before bed can seriously disrupt the bodies’ ability to settle down. It takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through the stomach and small intestines. So, when we lay down before bed with food in our stomachs, the food can slosh around, causing gastrointestinal issues such as heartburn or chest burn.
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