How to fix waking up with a sore body.

Introduction

If you feel a sharp pain in your back, neck, or hip when you wake up in the morning, chances are your mattress or pillow is the primary reason for the pain. While It is true that bad posture might cause body aches, a good mattress supports all sleeping positions and ensures your body gets the support it needs. Read on to know all the different areas that are affected by a bad mattress, and how these pains can be alleviated.

Neck Pain

Your spine is made up of three main parts — the lumbar (bottom), thoracic (middle) and cervical (top – your neck). When you sleep in an awkward position, the weight of your head can irritate the joints in between the vertebrae of your neck, causing muscle spasms and inflammation. This causes discomfort and pain, meaning you wake up with an aching neck.

Read More: The Science and History of Pillows.

Choosing the right pillow can make a huge difference to the way you sleep. The right pillow for you might not be the right choice for someone else, so it’s important to try out different pillows to see which one works best for you. Test out different sizes and levels of firmness. Try to ensure that your head is not sinking too low, raised too high or unsupported due to a really soft pillow as all of these factors can contribute to muscle stiffness. If you do happen to wake up with a sore neck try doing some gentle neck exercises to loosen it.

Back Pain

Like neck pain, back pain can also be credited to improper support, however, this time it’s the fault of the mattress. Back pain can also be caused by improper sleeping positions, and choosing the right mattress will help you gradually fix your sleeping position. Professionals at the Cleaveland Clinic suggest that sleeping on your back is the best position to sleep in, as this keeps your spine straight; i.e. the natural position of your spine. Sleeping on your back evenly distributes weight across the widest surface of your body, minimising pressure points and ensuring proper alignment of your internal organs. If you’re a side sleeper, try keeping a Sleepkraft Mini Pillow between your legs, as this will help keep your pelvis, hips, and spine aligned, reducing back and hip pain. 

Hip Pain

As you can probably see by now, neck, back, and hip pain are all related and are caused by similar sleep issues. With hip pain, the cause can lie in your mattress. Having a mattress that’s too hard or too soft might not be good for your body’s natural alignment. A poor-quality mattress can also cause this as it will not give the proper support that your body needs. Certified athletic trainer and therapist, Carla E. Larson from WatchFit suggests you should “Get the hips ready for bed.” Perform stretches such as standing forward lunge, knee to chest, trunk rotation, sitting cross overstretch, butterfly or frog stretch and 90/90 hamstring stretches to help relax and loosen the muscles from the day’s activities.

When waking up with hip pain, you can also ice the sore area which will reduce inflammation and pain. You should ice the area for 15-20 minutes and wait at least 30 minutes before icing the area again. This can be repeated throughout the day. However, the pain usually lessens when walking around. Remember never to sleep with an ice pack as this can cause further issues.

Sleepkraft Suggests

The Sleepkraft Health lineup has been specifically designed to reduce or prevent most kinds of back and hip pain. The Health lineup has caters to all price points and sleeping positions, so you’re bound to find something that will suit your taste. We’ve got the mattress blogs for the Health lineup listed below, so it’s easier for you to read up and decide which one is for you.

• Healthea Blog – Buy Now
• Curia Blog – Buy Now
• Opera Blog – Buy Now
• Regalia Blog – Buy Now
• Restora Blog – Buy Now
• Superia Blog – Buy Now

As for neck pains, we’ve got something to help you out with that as well. Check out the product page for Sleepkraft Pillows here.