Understanding the Basics of Neck Pain and How It Can Impact Your Sleep

If you have even a minor neck injury, then it may be impacting more than just how your neck feels. It could be impacting your sleep, which just so happens to impact just about every other aspect of your life. In today’s blog, we’re going to cover the basics of neck pain and how it can impact your sleep. Don’t worry, we’ll also cover some ways you can tackle neck pain or at least take the edge off so you can sleep better.

Tips to Alleviate Neck Pain and Improve Sleep

Neck pain is just the worst. If you’re suffering from neck pain right now, or have to deal with it off and on on a frequent basis, then we can provide you with some tips to help.

• Start by optimizing your sleeping position 
  • The best sleeping positions for reducing neck pain are your back and on your side
  • Avoid sleeping on your stomach
  • You may want to consider a knee pillow which helps align the spine, and therefore, the neck
• Invest in Supportive Bedding
  • If you have neck pain and are losing sleep because of it, then your bedding may be the culprit! 
  • Replace your current pillow with one that is more firm and supportive like memory foam or orthopedic options
  • Consider investing in a new mattress, especially one that is more firm and supportive than your current model
• Incorporate Neck Stretches And Exercises Into Your Bedtime Routine
  • Try some simple neck stretches just before bed
  • Next time you’re working out, try a few neck and shoulder strengthening exercises. Sometimes having weak muscle groups around your neck can increase neck pain frequency and severity 
• Try To Destress Before Bed
  • Practice breathing techniques or guided meditation before going to sleep and even a few times during the day
  • Optimize your sleeping environment for a more calm, relaxing end to the evening. Put on relaxing music, limit screen time, and read a good book among other things
• Apply Heat And/Or Ice
  • Try starting with an ice pack on your neck and shoulders as you first get into bed and then after about 30 minutes, put on a hot pad or heated rice sock as you get closer to actually going down to sleep. That will help you stay comfortable and help reduce the swelling and inflammation in your neck so that the muscles will hopefully relax and cause you less pain
• Seek Professional Help
  • If all of this doesn’t work, or you just want another pair of eyes on the situation, then we recommend making an appointment with your healthcare professional of choice.
  • Chiropractic care can really help with neck pain! Contact us today to set your next appointment. 

For The Road

We hope you enjoyed learning about how neck pain can impact your sleep. If you would like to know more about this or anything else along these lines, we are happy to help. Just contact us and we can go over your options and help you find the best path for your health and nutrition goals. Schedule a consultation for any of our amazing services by reaching out to us here. We look forward to hearing from you.