By Robin Sipp, MSPT, Clinical Director, Aquacare Lewes – Route 24

“The NSF has committed to regularly reviewing and providing scientifically rigorous recommendations,” says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, Chair of the National Sleep Foundation Scientific Advisory Council. “The public can be confident that these recommendations represent the best guidance for sleep duration and health.”

The panel revised the recommended sleep ranges for all six children and teen-age groups. A summary of the new recommendations includes:

• Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)
• Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)
• Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
• Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
• School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)
• Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)
• Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
• Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
• Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

How Exercise Helps You Sleep

It is not fully understood by researches how exercise improves sleep. Some things that have been verified is that exercise increases the amount of slow wave sleep you get.

Slow wave sleep has a direct correlation to deep sleep. Deep sleep is where the brain and body have a chance to rejuvenate. It is the time when your muscles repair and grow. Exercise can also stabilize your mood and helps to relax the mind. In turn, this cognitive process is important for naturally transitioning sleep.

How Diet Can Help You Sleep

If you want a good night sleep, one needs to emphasize a balanced diet to include fresh fruits, whole grains, and low-fat proteins. A diet low in fiber and high in saturated fats could take a toll on your sleep by decreasing the amount of deep, slow-wave sleep that you get during the night.

Be aware about the amount of sugar intake as well, too much sugar could result in wakeups during the night. Key vitamins are B vitamins which are found in fish, poultry, meat, eggs, and dairy. Research shows that B vitamins could help to regulate melatonin which is a hormone that regulates your sleep cycle. A proper diet can also control one’s weight. A reduction in body fat will make you less likely to struggle with sleep problems such as snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, etc..

Conclusion

Spinal pain is a major and growing health problem with increasing rates of disability. (1) In the last two decades there has been an increase in imaging, opioid prescription, injections, and surgery with questionable benefit, (5-7) so it would make more sense to focus on the risks that can be changed.

Changing physical risk factors like type of movement pattern, (8) level of strength and conditioning, (9,10) and sustained or repeated postures (11,12) are relatively risk free, cost effective, and show enormous potential.

Sleep posture is an example of a sustained physical risk factor that is modifiable. (64.65) Other modifiable risk factors are one’s diet and level of exercise. The impact sleep can have on one’s daily life is significant, especially with having the ability to modify a risk factor. Modifying risk factors can have one of the greatest impacts on the health of the spine, as well as the health of our mental wellbeing.

Sleep posture is not something one should just push aside along with the other low cost modifiable factors. The quality of sleep we get will have an huge impact on the overall quality of our lives.

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References:

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