Health, Sleep

Inflammation, Sleep, And What We Can Do About It

We’ve taken a look at the various aspects of life that can negatively affect your sleep, from stress to your bed and beyond. However, if you find that you simply can’t get comfortable at night, or even that you experience pain when trying to lie down, then it might be that inflammation is the issue. If our joints don’t have the support that they need to handle the pressure we put on them, it can lead to swelling and pain, known as inflammation. This can be with us all day, but a lot of people find it especially noticeable at night. So, what do we do to take care of it?

sleep

Get your blood pumping

There’s a lot that exercise can do to help you fight inflammation. It can increase blood flow to the areas that are affected, which carries anti-inflammatories in the bloodstream, reducing the swelling. If it feels a little painful to get active as of late, then you can look at low-impact exercises designed to go easy on your back and joints, as well.

Try Elderberry Capsules

Elderberries are full of antioxidants which are very potent and powerful when it comes to dealing with inflammation and supporting our immune systems. Try using private label elderberry capsules and seeing if you find an improvement in the situation. Given that Hippocrates called the elder tree his “medicine chest” and he was the founder of medicine there must be something in it!

Try to reduce your weight

Another way that exercise can help is to manage your weight. As mentioned, inflammation tends to happen when your joints can’t effectively deal with the pressure your body puts on them. Strengthening the muscles around those joints can help make them better able to deal with the load, but a weight loss routine can also help lighten the load that they have to deal with in the first place. What’s more, fat cells have been found to contribute to chronic inflammation. This is partly due to the fact that fat cells don’t only store fat, they send out faulty signals to the immune system, which is what causes the pain and the swelling of inflammation in the first place.

Ensure your have the right bed

If we’re talking about how inflammation affects your sleep, then we need to think about how we are physically positioned when we lie down for our night’s sleep. Depending on your position, the type of bed you’re lying in might be a bad choice. For instance, if you are a side sleeper then you want to choose a bed that will cushion the points of contact (usually the head, shoulders, waist) while supporting the rest. This prevents those pressure points from bearing the weight of the rest of the body. On the other hand, people who sleep on their back can ease the pressure on their body with a firm mattress that evenly supports the body. You may also want to look at sleep aids like compression socks.

Make good use of natural anti-inflammatories

tomatoes anti-inflammatories

The body naturally produces anti-inflammatories that can help quell the swelling and pain of an inflammatory response. As with everything else that our body does, there is food that we can eat to better fuel this process. When it comes to inflammation, try to incorporate more salads in your diet. Especially if they make good use of tomatoes, leafy greens like spinach and kale, and olive oil. All of these have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, as has green tea. Furthermore, there are other natural remedies that might be able to help with inflammation, too. A lot of uses have advocated for the use of CBD oil. In fact, many of its strongest proponents include those who are more likely to have regular experiences with inflammation. For example those who exercise on a regular basis and people with arthritis.

Take the hands-on approach

The stress that our muscles can place on our joints and back when they are tensed up can cause the body to respond with inflammation. Furthermore, increasing blood flow to areas of the body affected by inflammation can help reduce the symptoms of swelling and pain. As such, it only makes sense that massage therapy, which can improve blood flow and help relax tense muscles, can also be the solution that you need. The jury is still out on whether massage therapy directly reduces inflammation. With some arguing that it does and others saying that it cannot. However, it has been shown by a lot of proponents to be able to address the pain associated with inflammation. This might be all that you’re worried about when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep.

Cut down on the drinks

There are outside influences that can stress the inflammation response of our body as well. Often we’re in direct control of them. Cutting out alcohol from your diet, even temporarily, has been shown to help reduce existing inflammation issues. Alcohol itself, in moderate measures, can have a positive impact on long-term inflammatory health. But if you’re currently dealing with the symptoms, it’s best to cut it out. Caffeinated drinks can also increase your inflammation response, so if you are drinking one or more cups of coffee or black caffeinated tea, then you might want to swap it out for green tea, instead. Not only will it reduce the impact of caffeine on your body, but green tea can stop further inflammation, too.

Talk to your doctor about it

back pain massage doctor

If you are dealing with inflammation that seems to keep coming back on a regular basis or is getting worse over time, then do not sit around and let it dictate your life. There are a lot of medical treatments that your doctor can recommend to help you fight the swelling and pain. Furthermore, there are causes of chronic inflammation that may be worth looking more closely at. Autoimmune disorders, arthritis, and a host of other conditions may be the root cause behind a case of chronic inflammation. These have been linked to issues such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and other serious chronic illnesses.

Inflammation can be a real trouble-maker, as far as sleep is concerned. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do about it with or without the help of the doctor. Follow the tips above and, hopefully, it should allow you to get that sleep you have been missing.