Sleeping Clinic
Our sleeping clinic is all about sleeping posture this month..you can also check up on your current plans in Sleep Routine Guide.Or need to know more about sleep go to All About Sleep.......
POSTURAL CARE PROFILING
2009/2010 TECHNIQUES
It is common place to select or be advised on a firmer (orthopedic titled) mattress as a suitable surface to sleep on.This however is a misconception driven by a general consumer "understanding" that a harder, firmer system will last longer and improve or solve musculoskeletal trauma. (aches & pains - lower back).
Quick profile reference:
Ectomorph: narrow, smaller bone structure- thin-slim- toned torso
Approx male female: Height range 1.52m > 1.98m - Weight range 44kg > 83kg
Mesomorph: medium bone structure-muscular torso- broad shoulders-narrow waist. Approx male female: Height range 1.52m > 1.98m - Weight range 51kg > 89kg
Endomorph: larger bone structure- broader shoulders-muscular torso-wider waist. Approx male female:Height range 1.52m > 1.98m - Weight range 64kg > 95kg
(1kg = 2.2 lbs - 1stone = 14lbs) ( 1.52m = 5ft > 1.98m = 6'6ft)
To ensure you gain maximum benefits mentally and physically from sleeping you need a HWS profile & product match.
Quick check: Adopt a natural foetus position on your mattress without a pillow, on your favourite side, normally the opposite side to your dominant side. Right handed = Left side. Arms gently folded, pull the knees up into the chest and then gently relax back out to just below the hip line and ideally ask a partner, friend to play the role of coach. Maintain your head in a position that feels comfortably aligned with your spine.
If you have a gap of more than 5cm between your head and mattress and or feel your head dropping onto the surface your product could be too firm or hard adding unnecessary pressure and resistance all the along your lighter horizontal body weight. Like wise to soft or collapsed if your head is raised out of line by the mattress and or the hip area dipping.The spine, neck vertebrae, shoulders, joints and muscles will all be aggravated, sleeping on a mattress surface that is not profiled correctly.
The ideal combination of mattress layers will accept your full body shape and weight with ease and balance releasing sensitively into the neck and under the head without the need for a pillow.
So when you adjust in sleep to either your front or back the neck, shoulder and back muscles are correctly aligned without being raised or twisted by the use of a pillow.
"Modern mattress cores are designed to be lighter, breathable, washable and body sensitive,with one ideal sleeping surface not two, to maintain a consistent level of support and comfort".
Expensive products and or quality materials cannot compensate for poor posture alignment or guarantee sleeping without disturbance when in-balanced against you’re very sensitive skeleton,lighter horizontal sleep weight and shape.
Once this is established all that should be required is one very shallow soft comforting head pillow, if any at all, when actually asleep.Specific pillows for specific concerns can be used when required in-conjunction with adjustments made to the layers to maintain a balance or when sleeping away from home.
Pillows purchased separately for head comfort without considering how they balance and work in-conjunction with you and any mattress is a main cause for many sleeping concerns.This counter productive approach ensures it is almost impossible to maintain a consistent balance when the natural adjustments take place in sleep.
"sleepers play with pillows or throw them off the bed in sleep"
Naturally sleepers will start by adopting a side position facing something that is familiar to them, a window, door, left or right side.At which point and through the entire sleep period they will always try to stay in or go back to this position. Pillow Huggers: As pressure builds on the shoulder and hip, blood circulation is restricted, so by raising the arm and (tucking) placing it under the pillow with a slight adjustment to the hips going to a more front position they are able to release that pressure.However this position places allot of pressure on the neck vertebrae being raised and twisted and creates additional pressure to the spinal column down into the lower back. Huggers creep right to edge of the pillow.
With partners however we have to compromise on which side. and will normally adopt a back to back position when finally entering a sleep state as it is unnatural to be face to face with a partner. From this point pillow hugging becomes a common habit and method to release pressure and maintain a level of comfort even if only for a very short period. Natural movement becomes restrictive as subconsciously they will only adjust when the partner is facing away.
Snoring: caused by the soft upper pallet vibrating when breathing heavily through the mouth or nose. Common when adopting a back sleeping position, with the head raised by a pillow restricting air flow as the muscles relax in sleep. Sleeping partners become disturbed and develop poor quality sleep cycles, together creating a disturbed sleeping environment with anxiety about going to sleep.
Solo sleepers will not always record this common habit but the sleep side effects are the same.
Constantly adjusting sleeping positions (toss n turn), upper body aches and pains, lower back pain, over heating, heavy breathing, snoring, tired and under slept are common factors of incorrectly profiled products and pillow abuse.
Click here to start your personal sleeping profile
SLEEP8 SPORTS KIT SYSTEM:
Today’s elite athletes adopt pro sleeping systems, made up of specific layers to optimize postural and mental comfort and adapt to any change in circumstances. They wash and replace the individual parts frequently to maintain performance levels and higher degrees of sleep hygiene using a second set of the key individual parts when circumstances prevail sleeping away from the controlled home environment.
Layer1: SLEEP-MATT CORE
Layer2: POSTURAL TOPPA
Layer3. COMFORT TOPPA
Layer4: BODY-MATTPRO-TECTOR
Layer5: PILLOS - COMFORT - POSTURAL - TRAVEL
Layer6: BODYTECH DUVET
Layer7: PRO LINEN
Layer8: LIGHTWEIGHT BREATHABLE SLEEPWEAR
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First Team Recovery Partners of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Professional Cycling Team 2010