While it appears that your body shuts down during sleep, there are many vital processes occurring. Many of us suffer from interrupted sleep. During sleep, your brain is in continuous communication with your body. While your muscles relax and your heart rate slows, your brain declutters, and your body regenerates and repairs. When you get quality sleep, you will wake feeling rejuvenated and restored.
Unfortunately, the majority of us do not get the duration or the type of sleep quality we need. Research shows that inadequate sleep negatively affects the function of our central nervous systems. Sleep deprivation, even the less noticeable sleep deprivation caused by interrupted sleep cycles, can create a lot of problems. Some of the symptoms and consequences of sleep deprivation include:
Interrupted Sleep Cycles
- Chronic fatigue or daytime sleepiness
- Intensification of chronic pain
- Difficulty concentrating and impulsive behavior
- Increased risk of heart disease and diabetes
- Weight gain or difficulty with weight loss
- Impaired immune system function
- Symptoms of anxiety or depression
- Cognition and memory problems
- Intolerance of hot or cold temperatures
- Migraines or frequent headaches
- Digestive disturbances
- Dizziness and balance issues
The Cycle of Sleep Deprivation and Chronic Pain
The pain associated with chronic health conditions creates a vicious cycle. Those who live with pain, no matter what the cause, have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. Sleep deprivation lowers your pain tolerance levels and can make your existing pain feel worse.
This connection between sleep and intensification of pain has been validated in several studies. Research shows that healthy test subjects experiencing 7-14 days of interrupted sleep cycles experienced fibromyalgia symptoms. Fibromyalgia is a chronic health condition. This often misunderstood condition is characterized by widespread body pain, unrefreshing sleep and a multitude of other potentially debilitating symptoms.
Alternately, those living with fibromyalgia often report a reduction in the severity of their symptoms when their chronic sleep disturbances are addressed. These findings reiterate the importance of sleep quality for pain management.
Improving Your Sleep Quality with Proper Support
The pillow you select is just as important to a restful night’s sleep as a quality mattress. While many people assume a pillow simply provides a comfortable area to place their heads, your pillow provides an essential function, to keep your neck and upper spine in proper alignment.
Without proper neck support, your spine cannot maintain its ideal posture during sleep. Without maintaining alignment with a supportive pillow, you may fall victim to strained muscles, irritated tendons and inflamed, sensitive nerves. You may find that you repeatedly wake throughout the night, changing positions in an effort to get comfortable. You may also wake in the morning with a headache or pain and stiffness in your back, neck or shoulders. If you experience restless sleep, or pain upon waking, it may be time to replace your pillow.
The Potential Problems Created by Your Ordinary Pillow
Most pillows are typically a one-size-fits-most product. In your quest for better sleep, you may have already tried several types. It is likely you have found that standard pillows do not provide enough neck support, down pillows can trigger allergies and memory foam pillows often sleep too hot. You may have also noticed that molded memory foam pillows are uncomfortably unyielding, while shredded memory foam pillows flatten during the night, leaving you lying on a hard slab of foam by morning.
The Headleveler Ortho-Cerv Pillow Advantage
When you find your pillow less than comfortable or interfering with your sleep quality, you could benefit from a custom-created pillow from Headleveler. Our pillows are designed based on body type and sleeping styles. They maintain their shape and are crafted to prevent content displacement.
Headleveler pillows support your cervical region throughout the night, from the base of your skull to your upper back, allowing the supporting muscle ligaments and tendons the opportunity to relax and rejuvenate. You could feel less pain while trying to fall asleep, and wake fewer times throughout the night trying to get comfortable.
Headleveler offers seven pillow thicknesses. It only takes a millimeter or two in thickness for you to notice the difference between a good pillow and the best pillow for you. Some additional benefits of a custom Headleveler pillow include:
- Designed to work with your weight, height and neck length
- Produced in accordance with your mattress type and sleep style
- Will not retain heat like memory foam, you stay cool and comfortable
- Will not lose shape, flatten or harden as you sleep
- More supportive than a standard pillow
- Provides superior neck stability
- May relieve shoulder, back and neck pain
- Hypoallergenic and washable
The quality of your sleep will affect your general health and well-being, positively or negatively. Investing in the correct pillow for your body type is essential to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep. Lack of sleep and interrupted sleep cycles potentially increase your risk of several health complications.
When you need a new pillow, you can rely on Headleveler ortho-cerv pillows, recommended by healthcare professionals for nearly 30 years. Headleveler pillows are hypoallergenic and custom designed for men, women, and children. Visit us at Headleveler to learn more about our custom-created pillows and how a hand-made Headleveler pillow can help you get the sleep quality you need to wake feeling well rested, while reducing your risk of complications caused by sleep deprivation and interrupted sleep cycles.
Sources:
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disorders-problems/pain-and-sleep/page/0/2
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/pain-sleep#2
https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/robert-rosenberg-sleep-answers/fibromyalgia-blame-sleep-problems/
http://sleepmedicine.com/disorders.cfm?disorder=3
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/24/interrupted-sleep.aspx
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