Do you know how to sleep? How to ease your aches and pains
Bradley Davis
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s the most tired workday of the year, the Monday after the daylight savings “leap forward.” While you try to catch up on the zzz’s, you could be doing it in a way that sets your body back.
Physical therapists say some of our favorite sleeping postures can hurt our joints when we get out of bed.
“So the problem with laying on your stomach is it’s actually good for your lower back because it decompresses the discs. However, when you’re on your face and you’re turned so much, these little joints in here they’re called cervical facet joints, they get compressed,” Fyzical Therapist Rocrimmon doctor Scott Moser said.
Moser and his co-workers recommend lying on your back or your side. Keep your pillow at a comfortable height, not too high or too low, so your neck is supported. If on your back, they say to put a pillow underneath your legs to take pressure off your lower back and keep your spine straight. On your side, they say to move the pillow between your legs to have the same effect.
Physical therapist Karly Lindroth said she uses a practical approach when coaching adults on how to improve their sleep.
“I think you just have to look at their function. If they’re saying, ‘hey, I’m not getting any sleep because I’m in so much back pain,’ that’s the best way to approach it. You’re like, ‘well, let’s try the sleeping position. Let’s try the stretches, let’s try the exercises to take pressure off the spine,’ And see how that goes,” Lindroth said.