Missoula back specialist presents: Your Health-The Road to Wellness. Article #1-Sleep

In this first installment of “Your Health”, missoula chiropractor Dr. Shaun Stuto discusses the crucial role of sleep in your road to wellness. Dr. Stuto is a chiropractor, author, speaker and owner of Transformation Chiropractic. “Your Health” is also available online at Youtube-Missoula Chiropractor . Through a series of ongoing articles we will explore the aspects of health which fall under the umbrella buzzword of “wellness.” We hear this word all the time on television and read about it in the newspaper and magazines but who is defining it? Wellness can be accurately described as the point along the health spectrum between “excellence” and “perfection.” It is the polar opposite of disease and death. There is no pinnacle of wellness. The value lies in the journey and specifically within the implementation of certain behaviors and habits that make up a “well” person. These factors might include a healthy diet, active lifestyle, low blood pressure, appropriate height:weight ratio and low mental stress. At what point does excellent health become perfect? There is no such point of arrival to perfection because health is dynamic and always changing.

Sleep is the first aspect of wellness we will explore. The most important aspect of wellness is a nervous system free of disturbance. This is made possible through a well adjusted spine. The spine houses and protects the nervous system. When a person becomes stressed chemically, physically or emotionally, this can create a disturbance to the nervous system which only a chiropractor can detect and correct. The second most important aspect of health is a tie between a healthy diet and proper sleep. How much sleep do you need to feel your best in the morning? How much sleep are you actually getting per night? How many nights per week? It is common for me to have patients tell me they are experiencing an 80-120 hour/month sleep deprivation. These people feel the best on 7-9 hours of sleep per night and they average only 5-6. Does this sound like you perhaps?

Sleep deprivation can have a deleterious effect to your overall health. The sleep deprived person is often irritable, stressed, chronically tired and quite often a “people pleaser.” This is the type of person that feels they need to be the perfect spouse, child, parent, worker, friend etc…Not surprisingly, this type of person eventually burns out. They simply cannot maintain this lifestyle. Quite commonly they develop inexplicable symptoms that they do not attribute to a traumatic event. The most common are aches and pains of the neck and lower back. This person might commonly say “I must have slept wrong.” How do you “sleep wrong?” What is actually going on is their body is fighting back. The body possesses an innate intelligence built to protect. These unexplained pains are the bodies defense mechanism which will force the person to slow down and rest.

Unless you are an elite athlete training hours/day and burning thousands of calories, you should not need more than 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If you need less than 6 hours see a doctor and if you need more than 9 see a psychologist. It is quite possible that compounding emotional and psychological factors are contributing to your need to sleep so much.

The most important aspect of sleep is your comfort. You must be comfortable in order to maximize your recovery time. With the high stress, high paced lives most of us lead, it is crucial to maximize our time at rest. “Invest in your rest!” I coined the phrase and you should take it to heart. Invest in your rest means spend the money on the highest quality bed you can afford. Most people do best on a firmer mattress.

As your Chiropractor, I personally recommend the Sleep Number bed to ensure your comfort. Remember make price a non-issue. We spend 1/3rd of our lives in bed so we must ensure the highest quality rest possible. The sleep number bed virtually guarantees your comfort because the firmness of the bed is so variable. This is the solution for couples with different mattress preferences. No longer will one person be left to toss and turn. It is so common for households to spend $1000’s on a fancy couch and a flat screen T.V. but want to sneak by with a $300 bed. Does this make sense? No way! Where did you get your bed? Do you remember? How old is it? Do you even know? If you cannot even answer these questions then skip the rest of the article and go order a sleep number bed. Seriously, invest in your rest and do not spend another night on a bed that is hurting you.

You have now heard the essentials of sleep. Ensure you are getting 7-9 hours sleep on the highest quality bed. A sleep deficiency or poor quality of sleep can have devastating effects on a persons body, emotions and overall health. In fact, a poor nights sleep could be leaving you stressed and craving sugar. A lack of quality sleep could actually be making you fat!

Make health and wellness a top priority now. You owe it to yourself. Ensure optimal function of your nervous system by committing to regular chiropractic care. Implement a regular exercise routine and healthier eating habits. Last, get more sleep and a higher quality of sleep through a top quality bed. Aim for 7-9 hours of undisturbed sleep on a consistent schedule each night. Go to bed within 1/2 hour of your scheduled time each night and get up at the same time every day. When you follow this simple plan you will experience unbelievable changes in the way you feel, your energy and your attitude.

I am Dr. Shaun Stuto. This is “Your Health.” I wish you a life of abundant health!

Dr. Shaun Stuto is a Missoula Chiropractor| Chiropractors Missoula MT and the founder of Transormation Chiropractic in Missoula, MT. Call TODAY and Schedule an appointment (406) 728-1250