Posture is super important for our general everyday life. But what most people don’t consider is that posture is not only important for sitting, standing and general day-to-day movement. Good posture is crucial when it comes to your sleep.
The reason your sleep is interrupted could be because of your posture. Most people disregard posture when considering why they are struggling to sleep but just consider it for a second; the way you carry yourself affects your entire body all the time. Postural imbalance can impact countless aspects of your body from the digestive system, anxiety levels and yes, sleep quality and patterns.
Good posture requires minimal effort for maximum reward but is often neglected. Sitting and standing throughout the day causes stress and tension on the back and neck. The muscles and ligaments in your back utilise sleep to relax and heal. Sleep is a crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to your overall health. But poor posture can seep into the bedroom.
Posture all comes down to the position of your head as it relates to your body. According to medical experts, ‘good’ posture is when your head is centred over the pelvis. In this position, your neck and back muscles are not straining as much to support your head. The more the muscles have to work to support the head, the worse your posture could be.
Life today means the majority of people struggle with maintaining good posture. With prolonged periods of sitting and extensive screen time posture has never been more compromised. As you sit hunched at a laptop all day, you may not realise the impact this could have during the night. Do you wake up in pain? Are you struggling to get to sleep? Are you waking up stiff and uncomfortable? Or are you just waking up tired? Then maybe it’s time to think about the connection between bad posture and poor sleep.
- FATIGUE
Poor posture, as stated previously, forces the muscles in your neck and back to work harder than they need to. This results in your body using up a significant amount of energy. The head being out of alignment results in the rest of the body constantly trying to compensate. It is possible, therefore, that poor posture could leave you with increased levels of fatigue. This is as a result of each movement the body makes throughout the day requiring more energy and effort. This could make sleep patterns more irregular.
- BREATHING
A study carried out at the US National Institute of Health ‘showed that alteration of head and neck postures had an effect on respiratory function.’* Poor posture reduces the strength of the diaphragm as a result of reduced activity. The study also stated that the impact of prolonged sitting or looking down at screens can lead to breathing dysfunction and shallow breathing. This has negative impacts on sleep function causing potential irregularity in sleep patterns and restorative sleep.
- ANXIETY
According to the ONS ‘the number of people reporting high levels of anxiety has sharply elevated during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’. Anxiety is frequently connected to sleep problems whether it’s struggling to get to sleep or waking throughout the night. Often, this leads to negative sleep cycles occurring as sleep deprivation is a contributing factor to worsening anxiety. Poor posture or slouching is a defensive position. Poor posture tells your brain that there’s a threat which ultimately forces the brain to focus on protection often causing higher levels of anxiety.
Alongside fatigue, breathing issues and anxiety there are a number of other reasons bad posture is linked to poor sleep. While this may sound initially intimidating, there are ways to improve your posture and your sleep patterns.
Focussing on improving your posture is a great place to start. There are multiple ways to improve your posture;
- Move more! Go for a walk, do some yoga or even challenge yourself to a workout
- Check in with your posture
- Take regular breaks from laptops and phones
There is one ultimate sleep and posture tip which is changing the way people tackle sleep problems and posture all at once; PostureKey!
PostureKey is designed to improve your posture. It is a natural two-piece device which uses your bodyweight to relax and realign the body. PostureKey is the perfect sleep aid for people struggling with their sleep; from irregular sleep patterns or the process of falling asleep. Integrating PostureKey into your nighttime routine could prove game-changing to your shut-eye.
Before bed, have a 15-30 minute PostureKey session. It is designed to promote relaxation and release tension throughout the body. This not only improves your posture for your everyday life but could aid with nighttime posture and sleep problems.
PostureKey tackles the three issues discussed above; fatigue, breathing and anxiety.
- PostureKey improves posture allowing the body to expel less energy correcting misalignment.
- PostureKey realigns the body allowing respiratory function to improve.
- PostureKey promotes relaxation. Lying on PostureKey is a relaxing and revitalising process that allows you to switch off and encourages the body to realign. PostureKey improves posture which is linked to lower levels of anxiety.
Many products on the market promote better sleep patterns and sleep function, but very few tackle sleep-related postural problems head on. PostureKey is specially designed to improve posture, but also has incredible anecdotal results in countless other fields including sleep.
Good posture is the hidden secret to good sleep. So if you are struggling, then a great place to start is by improving your posture with a product like PostureKey. Make an active effort to improve your posture and notice the difference this could make to your sleep.
