SLEEPING DIFFICULTIES in COLORADO SPRINGS

Getting a good night's sleep in Colorado Springs should be at the top of your priority list. But for most people, getting a good night's sleep isn’t all that easy. Sleep is critical to good health and is so important to not only feel good but in making good decisions, performing well at work, in the classroom and even in the gym. Most importantly sleep affects how our body responds to environmental simulations and even with feeling happy on a day to day basis.

According to Dr. Amanda Moore, D.C. “We require sleep in order to heal, restore mental acuity, and it’s also when our bodies focus on making new cells and keep us going. Without it we lower our immune response and increase our risk for chronic disease.”

Nearly 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleeping disorder. That number is alarmingly high but what you may not know is that the health of your cervical spine is connected to how well you are sleeping. How? It’s simple. Your brain stem.

SLEEP AND THE FUNCTION OF YOUR BRAIN STEM in Colorado Springs

Your brain generates two different types of sleep - SWS (known as slow-wave sleep) which is deep sleep and REM (known as rapid eye movement) which is called dreaming sleep. There is a small group of cells in your brain stem called the subcoeruleus nucleus. They are in charge of controlling REM sleep. However, when these cells become injured or begin to die, people are unable to experience the muscle paralysis associated with REM sleep which ultimately result in several sleeping disorders.

But the crazy thing is that your brain stem is not simply in your body unprotected. The C1 vertebrae (known as your atlas) is the top bone in your neck. It rests at the base of your skull and surrounds and protects your brainstem right where it meets your spinal cord.

So, what happens when your C1 vertebrae shifts out of place in what we call a subluxation? It begins to no longer be a protector to the brainstem. Instead, a misalignment of your atlas begins to compress, irritate and put pressure on your brain stem affecting its function and leading to sleeping disorders. Since your brain stem also controls your breathing, it can affect how your body breathes in a variety of ways, most often leading to sleep apnea.

HOW CHIROPRACTIC CAN HELP

What lengths would you go to ensure you got a proper night of sleep and to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day? More often than not people turn to prescription medication when searching for ways to treat sleeping difficulty. If you are looking for a more cost-effective, natural, and holistic approach to solving your sleeping difficulty then you may want to consider chiropractic.

Your Colorado Springs chiropractors are highly trained in spinal adjustments. When your C1 is out of proper alignment and putting pressure on your brain stem it is extremely important to have a doctor of chiropractic correct the spinal misalignment before further damages occur. Through very specific and gentle care your doctor can put your vertebrae back in its proper alignment, taking pressure and irritation off your brain stem so that it can function the way it was always meant to.

Scientific American.com, Neurology.com, National Institute of Neurological Disorders, Chiropractic Economics (CE)