sleep + chiropractic
Sleep... A necessity for all of us, yet sometimes it can be elusive.
Whether you’re looking for those sugar plums to dance above your nestled kiddo’s head, looking for a long winter’s nap, or really struggling with sleep every night we’ve got just the thing to help you sleep in heavenly peace!
While there are many external factors that can interrupt our sleep like ... noise or that extra cup of coffee you probably shouldn’t have drank, it is very common for sleep troubles to actually be something that isn’t operating quite right in your brain's communication with your body!
Signs of this might include waking for no particular reason at all, not being able to fall asleep, or feeling like your brain can’t shut off. This can apply to both adults and kiddos. Sleep deprivation has an accumulative effect on your wellness and can cause a whole host of problems like: irritability, daytime fatigue, weakened immune system, delayed reaction times, difficulty concentrating and memory issues.
In order to sleep your brain and the rest of your nervous system has to be able to tune into the "CALM CHANNEL." Your nervous system has two modes of operation: Parasympathetics (aka CALMNESS) and Sympathetics (aka STRESS).
Parasympathetic is your REST + DIGEST mode. The more the parasympathetic nervous system takes the lead during sleep time, the more your body is able to recuperate, which allows us to store up energy for the next day. This is what is called restorative sleep!
Sympathetic is your FIGHT OR FLIGHT mode! If you’re sprinting through the airport Home Alone style, or if you catch the Grinch trying to steal Christmas out of your very own living room, you want that sympathetic nervous system to kick in so you can spring into action and survive!
If our brain gets stuck in sympathetic mode it doesn’t allow us to enter the parasympathetic state as we should once it’s time to sleep. This ends up with our nervous system being in overdrive - basically the pedal is to the metal all day and all night, which leads us down the path of little to no restorative sleep.
So how do we make sure we can access CALMNESS & RESTORE OUR HEALTHY SLEEP PATTERNS? Through chiropractic adjustments, we can greatly impact the nervous system in a POSITIVE way! Throughout our days, we can accumulate many different kinds of stress: physical, emotional/mental, and even environmental.
Physical like sitting at a desk all day, repetitive movements, poor posture, falls and even birth (for mom & baby!). Emotional/mental such as excessive worry, emotional trauma, normal stress over finances/school/work/family. Environmental like exposure to toxic chemicals that our bodies are not meant to process in our air, water, food, medication and household products. Each of these stressors that our body encounters has the potential to cause major or micro-traumas in all body systems, but they can specifically impact our spine and nervous system in a negative way.
When the spine and nervous system are stressed, it causes MISCOMMUNICATION between the brain and the body. It’s because of THIS that we can get stuck in the fight or flight mode! In our office, we look for very specific areas of stress within YOUR spine and nervous system. Once we identify the areas that are struggling, we use chiropractic adjustments to gently correct them, which allows your nervous system to access CALMNESS. Now, your parasympathetic nervous system can take the lead when it’s meant to, and we can save the fight or flight from the sympathetic nervous system for when it’s really needed!