October 14, 2014

What’s the outstanding part of a long, stressful work day? Sleep!

Why best? Well, you may well like to sleep. Your body without a doubt demands sleep. Statistics say that Americans don’t sleep enough. On average, we sleep about 6.8 hours a night. Seven to 9 hours a night are recommended. (1) Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers sympathizes with our Baton Rouge patients who come into the office feeling drained more some days than others! So let’s look at sleep a little more thoroughly from the viewpoint of how it influences what we chiropractors, we back pain specialists, seek to relieve: back pain, neck pain, leg pain and arm pain. And Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers offers Cox Technic in its Baton Rouge chiropractic practice for its capability and safety. But now, back to sleep...

Needs

Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers submits to the medical literature for the finest wisdom about sleep. Research reports that sleep is to health and cognitive function. It keeps our brains functioning and our bodies healthy! Sleep allows our bodies to regenerate and recover from the stresses of the day. As a matter of fact, researchers even equate some of the metabolic changes due to a lack of sleep – like those linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes – to changes related to stress. (2,3) Today 59% of us sleep our 7-9 hours whereas in 1942 84% of us did! (1) Baton Rouge folks need more sleep!

Poor sleep quality affects neck pain relief adversely. Neck pain patients are less likely to improve when they don’t sleep well. (4) So talk with your chiropractor at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers about your sleep quality.

Risks

Strong evidence links especially high demands at work (active jobs) with severe sleep disturbances. (5, 6) Sleep disturbances may intensify the link between high strain and troublesome neck pain, shoulder pain, and arm pain. (6) If your job is really demanding, be sure to schedule time with your Baton Rouge chiropractor to keep neck pain at bay.

Sleep disturbed firefighters are more prone to developing chronic lower back pain. (7) So those Baton Rouge workers whose schedules keep them from sleeping regularly will want to pay attention to their bodies and their sleep patterns to prevent back pain. Visit Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers for back pain care and prevention tips.

Wants

Are you sleepless in Baton Rouge? Probably! 43% of us say we’d feel better if we got more sleep. (1) How about you?

Interestingly, the older you are, the more you sleep. The fewer kids you have, the more you sleep. The older your kids are (over 18), the more you sleep. The more kids you have under 18, the less you sleep. (1) Make sense? For most of us in Baton Rouge, that sounds about right!

Contact your Baton Rouge chiropractor at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers to manage any neck pain, shoulder or arm pain you may have. Consider your sleep habits. Maybe adding a few zzz’s to your night will benefit your prevention and relief of neck pain and back pain.

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