Improve Your Health By Sleeping Properly
Everyone should aim to be as healthy as possible. Being healthy doesn’t mean you eat kale and drink smoothies every day. It means you look after your physical and mental health and prevent problems from occurring.
You may not think so, but the way you sleep can impact your health. Sleeping properly can improve it while sleeping badly can damage it. Below, there are a few things you need to remember if you want to sleep properly and improve your health:
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Get The Right Mattress For Your Body
The mattress is definitely the most important component on your bed. This is what will ultimately support your body as you sleep. The worse your mattress is, the worse your health can be. Sleeping on a bad mattress can lead to so many problems such as; neck pain, back pain, and plenty of muscle issues too. Each of these problems is bad for your health as they can restrict your mobility and cause you lots of pain. For example, back pain is the most common issue from sleeping on a bad mattress. If you have a bad back, it can make easy things like standing seem like a tough chore. This means that more active things like running or working out are even harder. Following on from this, you’re forced to be less active, which can have a knock-on effect and cause weight problems.
All of this can come from not choosing the right mattress. The secret is finding one that suits your body. You want the right amount of support so that you wake up feeling comfortable and pain-free every morning. Some people like firm mattresses, some people like soft ones, it all boils down to your body. Then, you have a choice between classic mattresses and memory foam ones. Classic ones use springs inside and tend to last longer over time. However, there is evidence to suggest that memory foam ones are better as they mold themselves to each individual body. The common mistake is that people think all memory foam mattresses are the same density and firmness. This isn’t the case, and there’s a page you can visit for more info at Best Bed Boutique that shows you lots of different varieties of this mattress-type. The only way you can see what mattress is right for you is by trying them out in stores before you buy.
The main thing to remember is that you need a comfortable mattress if you want to sleep properly and avoid health problems.
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Avoid Bad Sleeping Positions
Believe it or not but there are right and wrong ways in which you should sleep. Well, it’s not so much right and wrong but more that there are positions that can cause health problems and positions that help you sleep comfortably.
Many people like lying on their side and almost curling up into a kind of fetal position when they sleep. It feels comfy, but it can actually cause issues with your posture. You see, when you sleep on your side like that, with your legs sort of curled up, you’re almost replicating a seated position. Your hip flexors are in a position that makes them very tight, which can move your pelvis out of position and cause an arch in your lower back which leads to chronic lower back pain. Similarly, lying on your stomach causes an arch in your lower back too. In fact, it’s claimed to be the worst sleeping position. Remember, you should be sleeping for eight hours every night. So, you’re putting your body in these bad positions for hours a day!
The best sleeping position is to lie on your back. Your spine gets supported by the mattress and is kept in a neutral position. None of your muscles are tight or being arched, it’s a perfect position. Sleeping like this helps you avoid postural problems that can seriously damage your health. Trust me, if you have problems with your posture, then your body lets you know about it. You get pains all over the place and become susceptible to injuries. Furthermore, bad posture inhibits your workouts which make it harder for you to do things properly and get the maximum fitness goals you’re aiming for.
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Have A Good Sleeping Pattern
Your sleeping pattern is so important to your health. It’s, well, I was about it say it’s funny how many people don’t realize this, but it’s hardly funny! It causes so many problems for your health if you’re not in a good sleeping pattern. You should aim for at least eight hours, try and sneak in a few more on the weekends if you can. Sleep recharges your batteries, it refreshes you and de-stresses you. People that don’t sleep for long hours are tired, grouchy, and more likely to develop mental issues like depression and insomnia.
Bearing that in mind, what is a good sleeping pattern? Basically, it’s just a pattern that fits around your schedule. For most people that work normal hours, a good sleeping pattern is going to bed at around 11p and waking up at 7 am, every night. That’s the key here, you have to stick to it every night, or it doesn’t become a pattern. If you do this, your body learns when you need to sleep, and that’s when you start feeling tired.
Without a pattern, your body clock is all over the shop, and you’re tired all the time at random periods throughout the day. Tiredness causes stress, which is such a big health problem. Stressed people tend to end up with lots of other issues such as high blood pressure. A lot of stress can be solved just by getting the right amount of sleep. It’s a vicious cycle as you’re stressed because you’re tired and then you start thinking about how tired you are and become even more stressed because you realize you need more sleep.
To sum up; protect your body from health problems caused by physical pain and get yourself a good mattress. Then, stop any postural issues occurring and leading to more health problems by sleeping in the right position. Finally, negate all the health problems associated with tiredness by having a proper sleeping pattern.
