Sleep is essential for overall health and well-being, but for those experiencing neck pain, a restful night can seem elusive. This is specially true for executive mums juggling the demands of a high-powered career and the responsibilities of raising young children. Neck pain can often disrupt this much-needed rest, making it challenging to perform at your best. In this blog, lets discuss we'll explore effective strategies for executive moms to manage neck pain and achieve restorative sleep amidst their busy lives.
When we sleep all our joints and muscles should be in a neutral position to prevent any stresses from building up on them during the night so we can wake up refreshed and pain free. A poor sleeping posture is one of the most common reasons for neck pain upon waking up. Some people sleep on their back or side but some sleep on their stomach. Sleeping on the stomach is a position that can cause neck pain or increase an existing neck pain. When one sleeps on the stomach the neck has be turned to either left or right because it is not possible to breathe with the neck in the midline. This creates a lot of stress around the neck muscles and the cervical spine, thereby causing neck pain. Try and avoid stomach sleeping, when possible. Exception to this is if you have been told by a doctor to sleep on the stomach due to any surgery or medical condition.
If you are a side sleeper the pillow thickness should be equal to the distance between the tip of your shoulder and your ear lobe. When you sleep on your side, there is a big gap between the tip of your shoulder and the side of our head. A pillow is needed to bridge this gap or else the head tilts excessively to one side. To avoid this you might put your hand under the head. This manages to put the neck in a neutral state but the arm muscles and muscles of the shoulder blade are activated throughout the night and cannot relax, putting an excessive strain on them. This gradually builds up as the nights go by and may lead to other problems such as upper to mid back pain, shoulder stiffness, nerve pain, arm pain, etc. If you are a back sleeper it is recommended that the height of your pillow be equal to the distance between your upper back and the back of your head.
It is also important to be mindful of your neck postures in the daytime as the stresses that build up on the cervical spine in the daytime can manifest as pain and stiffness at night or the next morning. Here is a video on How do you know if you have a good Sitting Posture?
It is important to know that most of the issues leading to neck pain are caused by inflammation. If you want to learn more about how to reduce your inflammation and neck pain you can find the details HERE.
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