The Best Sleep Advice You Weren’t Told
I was going to write a post on breathing. It was going to have some insightful, powerfully simple and useful information. But it’s going to have to wait (you’ll have that to look forward to). I am not sure how or why it happened. But I really want you to know what I know about little hacks to sleep better. Some of these tweaks you can do yourself, some you’ll need professional help with.
Reminder: As always, this information is general in nature and does not take your unique situation into account. You should always consult your healthcare professional before acting on the information contained herein.
Ok. Let’s start with the tips you’ve likely heard before and get them out of the way first. To keep it interesting let’s will start with “Pillow Talk”.
Put a pillow between your knees
The best friend to sleep with is…. your pillow. Or pillows for some people. But you need to use them right. Putting a pillow between your knees will, in most cases help prevent you rolling forward and put your hips closer to neutral (Picture standing straight, hip width apart - that distance). This advice is SUPER useful if you have had lateral hip pain. If you have tight hips, hip bursitis, or a tendon condition this may help you. It takes pressure off these tissues when they are tight or short for any number of reasons. Wedge that pillow between your knees when you’re lying on your side, and you’ll start benefitting right away.
Put a pillow under your knees
Placing a pillow under the knees you’ve likely been told to do before but do you know why?
This hack is for you if you are a ‘back sleeper’. If you have a hip problem and sleep on your back, then it’ll probably help you too. But this one I’m dedicating to everyone with chronic low back pain or acute disc pain, though everyone is welcome to use it. When you lay on your back on a soft mattress your spine can drop into extra extension. Extension is the neutral position of the lumbar spine (lower back) when we stand up tall. The extra extension is like leaning back while standing and staying there. After a while, it will probably get sore. Many of the pain generators for low back pain, are located… at the back. This position can overtime cause pain and discomfort.
Placing a pillow under the knees will do two things.
Bending the knees reduces tension on the sciatic nerve. Reducing tension on the sciatic nerve reduces tension on the nerve exiting the spine by association.
It places your lumbar spine in either a small amount of flexion (bending forward) or back toward a neutral position. In either case, you’ll feel better for it.
Get a contoured pillow that is height adjustable
This step, in my opinion, is so critical to get right. A contoured pillow, when used correctly, is the best investment you can make for your neck health.
If you are a keen observer, you might have noticed I said '“when used correctly”. Many folks buy the pillow and then place the weight of their head (your ear or temple on the edge of the high ridges on the side of the pillow, their neck hanging in space and conclude “it doesn’t work”. Place the weight of your head in the valley of the pillow with the neck supported by the ridge. This is how you use it correctly.
I would strongly recommend you speak to your health professional first about setting up the pillow and how to use it before you make the swap.
Hug a pillow
Why hug a pillow? In my experience it helps with positioning the shoulders, upper back, and neck.
If you are a ‘stomach sleeper’, you know it’s bad for you and you’ve struggled to change, this may help. There are many reasons people sleep on their stomach, but one is the comfort from having something in front of your chest and the feeling of security that brings. Changing this sleep position is not easy and it is not fast.
Hugging a pillow will ‘de-rotate’ your neck and bring you closer to sleeping on your side while keeping something on your chest for comfort. It still isn’t perfect, but it is better for your neck and over time you will become more comfortable on your side, working toward an ideal side sleeping position. If you are struggling to understand why sleeping with a neutral neck position is so important just imagine trying to watch a movie looking over your shoulder.
The best way I have found to hug a pillow is like a pirate.
Let me explain. First, lay on your side with your head positioned correctly on your contoured pillow that you just bought, inspired by the previous tip. Now place a normal size pillow in front of you. It should be low enough to not touch your chin. Place your arm, with a softly bent elbow, over the pillow. Lower than you plan on resting it. Now bring your arm up a little, motion it like a pirate (yarrr). Jokes aside, you are aiming to pull the top of your shoulder down gently and only a little. By doing it this way you are positioning the shoulders to help reduce tightness and tension in the upper trapezius (the muscle on top of your shoulder that goes up to your neck). If this feels uncomfortable at all, just hug the pillow normally and ask your health professional to help you get this right.
Change your pillow and mattress at the recommended times
Pillows and mattresses deform over time. We have all slept in a bed that sagged in the middle. I don’t think this advice needs much expansion except to direct you to talk to a professional about the right time to upgrade or renew the products you use.
With Pillow Talk done, let’s move on.
Mattresses have zones
Did you know that most mattresses have 3, 5 or 7 zones? Newer ones have higher numbers. These zones are often firmer-softer-firmer-softer-firmer. This is to account for the difference in the width/weight of your head vs your shoulders vs your waist vs your hips vs your legs.
The shoulders and hips will press furthest into the mattress and your head, waist and legs will press the shortest into the mattress. This arrangement is partly to help you sleep on your side or on your back, in a neutral position.
If you sleep further down than the top of your bed you might be starting in the wrong zone.
If you aren’t aligned over the right zone if can feel like how it feels when you sleep on the floor, and you won’t be supported where you need it. Conversely if you are in a foreign bed and sleeping in it isn’t working for you, try sliding down a little to feel if it is more comfortable. If it isn’t return to the old position.
Try a mattress similar to the one you used when you were growing up
How do you know which mattress type is right for you? I get asked this a lot.
The truth is there are many factors that may affect what mattress is right for you and these factors can change over time.
The easiest solution is to have a discussion with your healthcare professional and source your mattress from a vendor with a trial period where it can be returned if it isn’t suitable.
If you have been sleeping in a super soft mattress but you grew up sleeping on a firm one then swapping to it may benefit you, despite how you might feel about the idea before trying it.
You need treatment
Last but certainly not least, you might just need treatment. Sleeping is meant to be comfortable. A healthy body, when sleeping, is one not in pain. If you are an avid google-diagnoser you may have read that night pain is a ‘red flag’. In the least, you will have definitely read that you have cancer or other malignancy. In most cases, it isn’t.
On a serious note, if you have night pain, speak to a professional first. Diagnosing serious conditions is critical to do early.
We have already discussed what I call ‘macro-positioning’. These are the things that most people can control and change themselves. This covers most of the information above.
So, before I wrap this up, and assuming you are free of serious pathology, lets discuss one more concept. Micro-positioning.
When I say micro-positioning, I am referring to the exact position, resting tension and location of the tissues of your body relative to one another. If you have a nerve trapped by fibrous adhesion it cannot move millimetres to the side to avoid being crushed when you lay on your side. A swollen, enlarged, and inflamed bursa cannot be compressed into a space meant for a healthy one. A joint that doesn’t have free or easy movement during activity cannot be properly ‘centrated’ at rest.
Treatment from a professional, when done with skill and directed at the correctly diagnosed, problematic tissues can aid with reducing pain and increase pain free, easy movement of and between parts of the body.
If you have tried many of these strategies and haven’t had any success and you would like me to assess you to see if I can help then click here to book now. If you have any questions or any part of this article was unclear, please reach out through any of the means on our contact page, we are happy to help.
