Feel Less Stress And Feel Better

Stress is the bodies way of helping us avoid a potentially life threatening situation. In order to cope the body goes through some major changes which include:

  • stress hormones being released
  • an increased heart rate
  • rapid and shallow breathing
  • glucose flooding the body
  • brain activity changes
  • tensing of muscles
  • reprioritisation of bodily functions

These changes are appropriate to help get us out of danger, however, being continually in this state is not good for our health.

If you experience stress on a frequent basis here are 6 techniques you can use to reduce it:

  • ensure you get good quality sleep
  • eat a healthy diet
  • participate in relaxation techniques such as yoga
  • practice mindfulness
  • spend time with people you love
  • take regular exercise

Take the above on-board and feel less stressed and feel better.

Is Your Sleep Affecting Your Back?

back care advice from our chiropractor leigh on seaIt’s National Bed Month and we thought we would turn our attention to your bed/mattress and how it can affect your back. Research undertaken by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) showed that a large proportion of people who get back pain said it could be brought on by a night’s sleep.

Our chiropractor in Southend stresses that choosing the right bed for yourself is really important and can help your back. Given you spend a third of your life in bed it makes sense to choose carefully.

So how do you know if your current bed/mattress is right for you? Our chiropractor suggests that you ask yourself the following questions:

  • Are you and your partner having a comfortable night’s sleep? If not, it could be your bed/mattress.
  • Can you feel the springs through the mattress?If so, it’s time to buy a new one.
  • Is your bed more than 10 years old? If it is, it may be time to start looking for a replacement.

How do you choose a new bed/mattress?

It’s a case that one size doesn’t fit all, so you need to set time aside to look for your new bed. This is an important decision and the more time you take in researching and testing beds the more likely you are to find the right one for you.

Find a store that has a good selection of beds and mattresses so that you can properly test out different options.

Buy the biggest size bed that you can but make sure it isn’t too big to accommodate comfortably in your bedroom.

You are looking for the mattress that is most supportive for you. You need to confirm this by lying on the mattress. As a guide when you are lying on your side your spine should be parallel to the mattress. You’ll need to get someone to check this for you. You also need to ensure that the pillow is an extension of this parallel line – resulting in your neck being a continuation of your spine, straight and parallel to the mattress.

If you have a partner, it’s important that you shop together for your new bed/mattress as both your needs could be very different. If this is the case, you may want to buy two single mattresses that zip together to ensure you both get the support that you need.

We can’t stress how important a good night’s sleep is for your back and overall health.

Our experienced team of chiropractors at Cliffs Chiropractic in Southend are here to help you should you have any questions or concerns regarding your back.

Common Sleep Mistakes That Cause Back Pain

Getting more back pain than forty winks at night? Check these two common sleeping mistakes from our Southend chiropractor and you could discover the guilty culprit:

Sleeping in the wrong position

Your sleeping position could be causing your back pain. If you sleep on your back, try placing a pillow beneath your knees. If you snooze on your stomach, put a pillow underneath your lower abdomen. And if you’re a side sleeper, tuck a pillow between your knees.

Sleeping on an old mattress

If you’ve had your mattress for 7 years or more, it probably isn’t doing your spine any favours. If you can’t invest in a new mattress right now, adding plywood underneath your existing mattress may help to reduce your back pain and discomfort.

Sleep is crucially important to the overall health of your spine. Don’t let back pain get in the way of a good night’s rest.

More tech time than sleep time can damage your health – Tips from Cliffs Chiropractor Southend

New technology is great. It has really enhanced our lives and changed it for the better. We can do banking, work and importantly connect with people all across the world in an instant. It really is remarkable what technology is capable of.

However this does come at a price and a new report claims the average adult in the UK spends more time on their technology devices than they do sleeping. As a leading Chiropractic Clinic near Southend I feel it is my duty to offer advice to my patients and readers on how to keep their back safe whilst on their technology.

More tech time than sleep time

The average UK adult is said to spend 8.5 hours a day on media and communication activity according to a report by Ofcom. That means we spend more than half of our waking day using technology.

As we continue to develop technology and it grows to be more and more useful it seems that we are pushing sleep aside to make room for it.

What this means on your health

Pushing sleep aside for technology can not be a good thing; we shouldn’t forget the value of sleep. Not only can it affect our ability to perform in work and personal life but a lack of sleep can cause long term problems and stress.

From my point of view as a leading Chiropractic Clinic near Southend all this tech time can also be damaging on your back. Poor posture whilst slouched over a computer, on your phone or tablet or even in bed can damage your back and cause you a great amount of pain and discomfort.

What you can do about it

As a busy Chiropractor near Southend it is my duty to offer advice to my patients on avoiding back pain and the other associated problems with all this ‘tech time’;

Avoid using technology so much – First of all it is a simple one, use technology devices less. This is easier said than down and can only be done if you set strict rules like no phones, TV and computers in the bedroom etc.

Don’t use your phone as an alarm – One of the main reasons we all use our phone before bed and as soon as we wake is because we use our smart phones as an alarm. This means we have it in our hands last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

Avoid poor posture – Finally if you do have to use technology devices or you just want to use them you should avoid poor posture. Stop hunching over your phone or tablet, sit correctly at your computer desk and make sure you get up and move every 40 minutes or so.

If you have any injuries or other concerns please get in touch with us as we offer a lot of help and advice to get you back up and running as soon as possible. You can contact us at Cliffs Chiropractor Southend on 01702 430430.