How To Address Morning Aches And Pains

For this week's article, we've got a guest blogger! The experts at The Sleep Help Institute are sharing the scoop on what is causing your morning aches and pains, and how to overcome them.

We have all woken up after a bad night’s sleep and found that we’re achy all over, with cricks in our necks and backs. It’s not unusual to happen every once in a while, but if you find it happening on a regular basis in your own bed, you should make some changes to help yourself get a better night’s sleep.

Over time, the pain meds that you use to fix those aches and pains at home will quit working as well. You can build up a tolerance to the medicines, your pain tolerance is reduced, and because chronic sleep deprivation can reduce your response to pain medicine.

If you're sleep-deprived, you’ll be in pain and may not have a great way to deal with it. The anxiety about waking up in pain can also cause you to have trouble falling asleep, thus continuing the cycle.  

According to a 2005 study, scientists theorize that loss of sleep affects the body by increasing inflammation throughout the body, which could have an impact on the treatment of patients with chronic pain.

Losing sleep can harm every part of your life, from your mood to your food choices to your mental health, so it’s important not to let chronic sleep issues cause you trouble.

Evaluate your bed and your space, so you can to figure out what’s going on. Is it your mattress? Your pillows? Do you need to stretch before bed?

Having a mattress that is too firm, or not firm enough can cause your spine to become misaligned and could be causing the aches and pains. Most people sleep well on a medium firm mattress, but if your mattress is old, it will have softened over time. An older bed may lead to your spine be misaligned just from sleeping on your mattress.

Another possible culprit is your pillows. Using the wrong kind, or the wrong combination of pillows could also contribute to the aches and pains. If you sleep on your side, try a pillow between your knees, or behind your back for back support.

To stop waking up with aches and pains, you can do a few things. 

You should aim for a mattress that doesn’t put too much pressure on your shoulders and the bones in your rear end but isn’t so soft that you sag into it when you get settled into it.

If none of this works, you should look into finding a chiropractor near you. A professional will be able to help you figure out ways to keep the aches and pains away, as well as help relieve the pain you’re in now. They can also teach you stretches that will alleviate the pain, and even put it off, in the long term.