When you wake up with back pain, you know it the instant you open your eyes! This makes it difficult to go through your daily tasks. Everything from driving to sitting at your computer to getting chores done is now painful. Obviously, a day like this should be avoided at all costs. And how? By focusing on your posture! Nearly everyone knows that good posture is important. What you may not realize though is that good posture doesn't only apply to sitting at your desk, walking, and standing. Your posture matters when you sleep too! You see, the muscles and ligaments of your back relax and heal themselves while you sleep. In order to protect your back, good posture is important while sleeping.
Another way to think of posture is by calling it your “spinal alignment.” As you sleep, you want your head, neck, and back to all be lying in a way that is healthy and comfortable. Proper alignment of your body puts less stress on the spine and helps you have good posture when you are standing. It also keeps you back pain free.
Here’s how this proper spinal alignment can be achieved:
Focus on your sleep position.
It should go without saying that some sleeping positions are better for waking up without back pain than others. Regardless of your sleeping position, try to keep your ears, shoulders, and hips aligned. In a perfect world, we would all sleep on our sides to keep our spinal alignment intact. By far, sleeping on your stomach is the “worst.” If you can, try to consciously roll over and sleep on either your back or side. If you have a hard time doing this, an adjustable bed base can help. If you raise your torso even a few degrees, your body won’t be as tempted to roll onto your stomach after you fall asleep.
Sleep on a supportive mattress.
Your spinal alignment relies on a high-quality, supportive mattress that holds you in just the right position all night long. You should choose a mattress that provides support for the natural curves of your spine and is comfortable. There is not a “right” mattress for everyone. Body types, sleeping positions, and comfort preferences make one person’s ideal mattress different from someone else’s. The mattress that's right for you lets you wake up feeling rested and free of pain or soreness. This is why City Mattress offers over 90 mattress comfort options! You’re sure to find the brand, material, and feel that you love.
Remember, mattresses can be made from a wide variety of materials and designs. The foam, coils, or inner springs are what provide the support you’re looking for. Each individual mattress varies in the number and arrangement of these coils or springs, or the density of the foam. There may also be padding on top of the mattress that comes in many different thicknesses. Mattress depths can range anywhere from seven inches deep to more than double that! Some foam is cheap and synthetic, while others feature all-natural latex foam that is much more supportive in the long term. You’ll want to come into your nearest City Mattress location and lie down on several in order to feel the difference for yourself.
Choose high-quality pillows.
Your head is heavy! If your pillow is flat, old, lumpy or cheap, the weight of your head will crush it down and make proper spinal alignment impossible. Your pillow should support the natural curve of your neck as well as be comfortable. A pillow that's too high can put your neck into a position that causes muscle strain on your back, neck, and shoulders. One that is too low does the opposite, but creates pain just the same. Choose a pillow that will keep the neck aligned with the chest and lower back.
Pillows aren’t just for your head! Depending on your sleeping position and body, you may benefit from pillows placed elsewhere. One popular option is to put a pillow in between your knees and sleep on your side. This creates ideal spinal alignment.
Back pain happens to nearly all of us at some point in our life, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. This pain can be both confusing and inconvenient. What is causing your back pain if you haven’t changed anything in your daily schedule? The answer may surprise you- it could be your sleep posture. If you haven’t yet come into City Mattress to buy a new, high-quality mattress then this should be first on your to-do list. If you have, it may be time to purchase an adjustable bed base or new, more supportive pillows. We can help with it all!