- 1 in 3 adults doesn’t get enough sleep regularly, according to a study by the CDC.
- In America, 70% of adults report insufficient sleep at least one night a month, and 11% report insufficient sleep every night.
- It is estimated that sleep-related problems affect 50 to 70 million Americans of all ages.
I think we all have heard the rule of thumb of getting 7-9 hrs of sleep each night. However it’s sometimes hard to get the right amount of sleep, isn’t it?
Especially when you have two dogs laying in bed with you! My dog’s Leo and Stella sleep in bed with us. But, there are rules! The pups sleep on Danettes side. I lost the battle of no dogs in bed, so our agreement was that they sleep on her side. But that doesn’t stop from being woken up by the occasional Stella paw either in the face or the back.
Getting ready for bed and finding the right routine helps me sleep better. Of course, I like to stay up on my phone staring at useless sports and Instagram.
I’ve noticed it causes muscle tightness in my neck and prevents me from getting tired!
Over the years I always beg my wife Danette to rub my head. It helps me relax and I’ve noticed better sleep. It got me wondering what are the effects of bodywork such as massage and mobilizations, and does it help with sleep?
Well. Boom, it sure does!
What does your bedtime routine look like? Do you lay in bed browsing your phone, watching TV, reading a book, or writing in your journal?
What if you added some type of bodywork. It could be as easy as a head massage. Instead of lying in bed watching the minutes click by on a clock, there are ways that you can help your body fall asleep and one of those is through bodywork.
It relaxes the mind and helps the body feel calm and at peace. Getting bodywork or a massage isn’t always about pampering yourself.
Two things can happen when you’ve got someone manually manipulating your muscles and joints. First, your body automatically relaxes, helping the nervous system calm down. Second, there’s a physical response such as a decrease in pain, blood pressure, and stress, and an increase in the production of serotonin, which helps you relax.
Serotonin helps stabilize our mood, regulates anxiety, and helps improve our overall happiness.
Bodywork is relaxing, and when serotonin is released it then produces melatonin, which helps with sleep.
There is a productive change to the body and many noticeable things happen when bodywork is performed. Like, improved posture and alignment. When you lay down your muscles and joints are relaxed, and finding a comfortable sleeping position will feel much easier.
If you suffer from back pain or have neck pain that causes headaches. Those symptoms probably affect your sleep. Bodywork helps release the tension in those areas and increases circulation which can eliminate back pain and headaches. Treat yourself to a session or two every so often and feel the lasting effects it can have on your sleep patterns.
Or a simple 2-minute head or shoulder massage also can do the trick from your spouse.
Bodywork can help improve your quality of sleep you just have to convince your significant other to buy in as well. Offer a trade and you can work on each other so you both have an amazing night’s sleep!
