Bee Cave Chiropractor Discusses How Lack of Sleep Alters your genetics and how misalignments in the neck afect sleep patterns
Sleep is important. The idea seems simple enough. However, new research out of the University of Surrey in England has produced evidence that it actually does much more than just make you tired and slow to function.
According to an article published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “Sleep deprivation affects hundreds of genes involved with inflammation, immunity and cells’ response to stress, British researchers have found. The findings might help explain why some people who do not get enough sleep have an increased risk for obesity, heart disease and cognitive impairment.”
CBS reported that “sleep experts recommend seven to nine hours of sleep for the average adult. But, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than one-fourth of Americans say they do not get enough sleep, and another 10 percent have chronic insomnia. The National Sleep Foundation 2012 Bedroom Poll revealed that 41 percent of people surveyed had restless nights at least a few nights a week, and another 24 percent said their sleep was interrupted by their partner’s movements.”
While it may be hard to get the recommended amount of sleep—especially when our to-do lists seem to get longer and longer—you could be doing more harm that you think by skimping out on a full night’s rest. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself, and sleep is a key part of your health! If you have trouble getting to sleeping at night or staying asleep at night, there are plenty of herbal, all natural ways to help fall asleep and stay asleep.
If you are having problems falling asleep or staying asleep then a good place to start in looking for a solution would be to have your cervical spine (neck) evaluated. The brainstem is the top part of your spinal cord, just below your brain. It controls all the coordination and timing of all the organs within your body—basically all of your autonomic functions. That is everything in your body that happens subconsciously, including heart function, thyroid function, lung function, hormone release, etc.. It also controls sleep patterns within our bodies. If it is not working correctly due to abnormal pressure from the spine, your sleep patterns are one of the most common things affected. All it takes is minimal pressure (the weight of a dime) to diminish the function of the tissues the affected nerve controls. The neck should have an arcing curve, but if it is straight it can stretch the spinal cord 5-7 cm. which far exceeds the minimal pressure needed to cause dysfunction in tissues. Now, you can’t feel the loss of curve in your neck, nor can you feel the associated symptoms that are incurred from pressure on the brainstem until they far advanced. The best course of action is to check it to make sure these pressures aren’t being placed on the spinal cord and brainstem.
To read more about the study, check out one of the reports from BBC, CBS or CBC.
