SWEET DREAMS: THE ROLE OF CHIROPRACTIC IN QUALITY SLEEP
Do you ever wake up in the morning and still feel exhausted? Sleep is essential for the body to function properly every day, but many still have issues even if they are exhausted. In this week’s blog, we will discuss the importance of sleep and explain how we can help.
Understanding Sleep
Sleep is a biological process that involves a decrease in physical and mental activity while the brain and body continue to perform important functions. While sleeping, both brain and body activity are hard at work, removing toxins and refreshing the body to fully charge and prep for the next day.
During sleep, the body goes through four different stages throughout the night. The first three stages of sleep are considered NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and stage 4 is considered REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep:
Stage 1 (N1): N1 occurs when a person first falls asleep and can last 1-7 minutes before entering stage 2 sleep. During N1 sleep, the body has not fully relaxed, though the body and brain activities start to slow with periods of brief movements. There are light changes in brain activity associated with falling asleep in this stage.
Stage 2 (N2): N2 can last 10-25 minutes and involves the body entering a more subdued state. Characteristics include a drop in temperature, relaxed muscles, and slowed breathing and heart rate. At the same time, brain waves show a new pattern and eye movement stops. Brain activity slows, but there are short bursts of activity that help resist being woken up by external stimuli.
Stage 3 (N3): N3 can last 20-40 minutes and is considered deep sleep. We spend the most time in deep sleep during the first half of the night. Muscle tone, pulse, and breathing rate decrease in N3 sleep as the body relaxes even further. Experts believe that this stage is critical to restorative sleep, allowing for bodily recovery and growth. It may also bolster the immune system and other key body processes. Even though brain activity is reduced, there is evidence that deep sleep contributes to insightful thinking, creativity, and memory.
Stage 4 (REM): During REM sleep, brain activity picks up, nearing levels seen when you are awake. At the same time, the body experiences atonia, which is a temporary paralysis of the muscles, with two exceptions: the eyes and the muscles that control breathing.
REM sleep is believed to be essential to cognitive functions like memory, learning and creativity. REM sleep is known for the most vivid dreams, which is explained by the significant uptick in brain activity.
Under normal circumstances, we do not enter a REM sleep stage until we have been asleep for approximately 90 minutes. As the night progresses, REM stages get longer, especially in the second half of the night. While the first REM stage may last only a few minutes, later stages can last for around an hour. In total, REM stages make up around 25% of sleep in adults.
What Causes Disturbances in Sleep?
There are many things that can contribute to irregular sleep patterns including age, alcohol, recent sleep pattern changes caused by work shift changes, going to bed at different times every night, or sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or restless leg syndrome.
Sleep pattern disturbances can also be caused by both physical and mental attributes. Physical attributes include body pain or medical conditions that cause body pain. Mental attributes include stress, anxiety, depression, or when thoughts flood the mind.
What Can We Do to Help Improve Sleep?
Symptoms of lack of sleep include daytime sleepiness, mood changes, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, increased clumsiness, headaches, poor dietary habits, weight gain, stress, and reduced sex drive.
For those who suffer from sleep disorders, please refer to a sleep specialist for further testing. However, studies show that chiropractic can improve symptoms of sleep apnea. Regardless, a specialist should be consulted because of the multiple factors that can cause sleep apnea.
When sleep disturbances are caused by physical pain, we can help. When pain levels are astronomical, our top priority is to improve quality of sleep because increased sleep will help reduce inflammation and decrease pain levels. When sleep disturbances are caused by mental attributes, we can also help with that to a degree. A few weeks ago, we talked about stress. To learn how we can help with stress, refer back to our previous blog.
When sleep is disturbed day in and day out, the nervous system becomes impaired because it’s not on a continuous pattern. When exhaustion takes over during the day, the nervous system must work harder throughout the day to meet daily requirements and put the body into sympathetic overdrive. Routine chiropractic adjustments help reduce sympathetic overdrive and allow the body to relax, and ultimately improve sleep.
To conclude on this week’s topic, sleep is just as essential as food and water are for survival. For normal daily function and proper body equilibrium, sleep is imperative. If you have any questions about sleep, please call us at (724) 547-3377 and check out our website at www.laurelmountainchiro.com for more content.
Yours In Health,
Brian M. Steinert, DC
Larry E. Wilkins, DC