Daylight Savings Time officially began this past Sunday, March 10th, and many of us groan at the thought of "springing forward" - and losing an hour of sleep! So, let's discuss the importance of good sleep, its benefits, and what you can do to help.
If you lose a bit of sleep, don't worry - in general, nearly all of us have had a night when we couldn't sleep at least once. Between the demands of work, family, and school - or even worries about world events, it seems that there's always something to keep us up at night. Plus, it's even harder to sleep if you're in physical pain, which a saddening number of us live with.
Indeed, sleeping troubles are common; according to the Cleveland Clinic, a third of people around the world have symptoms of insomnia, or chronic sleep difficulties. 1 in 10 people have enough symptoms to diagnose them with insomnia disorder. While these symptoms obviously include trouble sleeping, they also include the daytime effects of sleep deprivation. Some examples are trouble concentrating, poor memory and reaction time, irritability or anxiety, slower thoughts than usual, and more.
Unfortunately, these negative daytime symptoms (besides feeling unpleasant) can have harmful effects in your life. If you have trouble concentrating or remembering things, your performance at work may suffer. Likewise, if you're more irritable than usual, you may say something off-the-cuff to a beloved family member that you may regret later. But one of the most severe effects of sleep deprivation is drowsy driving - which, as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes, has the same effect as driving under the influence. Thousands of such preventable car accidents occur every year that can lead to terrible consequences, and if you're injured in a crash, the pain may prevent you from sleeping even more. It could turn into a vicious cycle. This underscores the importance of recognizing and treating the cause(s) of poor sleep.
So, how is insomnia treated? Aside from prescription medications and over-the-counter supplements such as melatonin, the CDC recommends sleep hygiene, which you can read about here. In addition to these small steps that you can take to improve your sleep, we at Jade Oasis Wellness encourage you to treat the root cause of the problem. Whether it's stress, physical pain, a mental health condition, or a chronic illness, many aliments can contribute to a lack of sleep.
Luckily, massage therapy can treat many of these ailments, affecting your insomnia as a result. For instance, a research study (Field et al., 2007) cited by the American Massage Therapy Association found, through an experiment on adults with lower back pain, that massage therapy can reduce your pain, anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties when compared to relaxation therapy without massage.
How does this happen? Well, it's also proven that massage therapy reduces the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body. Plus, it can treat your physical pain, as the back pain study shows. These effects work together to improve your sleep quantity and quality, which in turn, have positive effects on your mood, mental health, and quality of life! It's certainly no fun being sleep-deprived, so a change here can have a ripple effect on your life's outlook and philosophy. In other words, massage therapy turns the vicious cycle of sleep deprivation into a virtuous cycle of sleep preservation! We work alongside your doctors and care team to make this happen and get you back on the path to healing.
Just last year, our client Tina (who gave us permission to share her story) was beginning her healing journey with us, aided by her podiatrist who recommended us to her. She suffered from multiple health ailments - and on top of them, she was hit by a car in a parking lot in late 2022. Not only did our massage therapy work to improve her pain, but she also slept better as a result. Recently, she referred to our treatment as life-changing and told us that it improved her entire perspective on life! To read her whole story, please head here.
Would you like to see for yourself? Our Licensed Massage Therapists offer multiple massage modalities here at Jade Oasis Wellness, and most importantly, they adapt to your specific needs to create a tailored massage for improving your health and quality of life. We work with your medical team to provide treatment that works best for you. If that sounds wonderful, you can visit our massage services page or give us a call at (425)679-6198.
Remember, while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional!
