Trouble sleeping?... Try Chiropractic!

Sleepless nights usually boil down to an imbalance between the energy out (sympathetic) and energy in (parasympathetic) aspects of your nervous system.  Balance is key in providing your body with energy to complete physical and mental tasks throughout the day, as well as the ability to relax, recharge, and recover.  Key barriers to this balance include Stimulants such as Caffeine and Artificial Light, Lack of routine at the end of the day, and spinal misalignment.  

Stimulants such as caffeine block the signals that typically tell your body it’s time to rest.  This makes it difficult to relax, recharge, and recover.  I’m no model of perfection in elimination of caffeine in my life.  I love a quality cup of coffee in the morning, but limiting to one cup can be a huge step in restoring balance in your body and restoring some capacity for quality sleep.  

Artificial light typically has wavelengths of light that signal your body to stay awake.  Blue light from phones, TV screens, and lighting can all contribute to your body’s resistance to restfulness at the end of your day.  Limiting exposure to these screens and lights a few hours prior to your desired bedtime can go a long way towards falling asleep and staying asleep for the night. Turning devices off, or, if you can’t turn them off, blue-light blocking glasses can help overcome or minimize these obstacles.

Routine plays a major role in getting restful sleep as well.  Just like Pavlov's dogs responding to a bell, if we have a consistent stream of events at the end of the day that help us relax, it can help our nervous system communicate to the body what it should be preparing for... hopefully some good sleep.  

Spinal misalignment can also disrupt your energy-out, energy-in balance.  For example, a misalignment can commonly cause muscle tension, pain, nerve dysfunction, or just feeling “off”.  These signals continue to stimulate the nervous system until the misalignment is corrected.  While massage and other relaxation techniques can be helpful, correcting the misalignment is the best way to get past these signals and return your nervous system to balance. This is why many patients report experiencing the best sleep of their lives after starting chiropractic care.  If you haven’t experienced the health promoting effects of carefully applied chiropractic care, you should sign up for a consultation or come to our next Coffee and Chiropractic event.

For more information on misalignment affecting your nervous system, hormones, and immune system here's a good (but long) read: Vertebral Subluxation and Systems Biology: An Integrative Review Exploring the Salutogenic Influence of Chiropractic Care on the Neuroendocrine-Immune System - PMC (nih.gov)