Gravity and Sleep
Ishta Spinal Touch helps even when supine!
Gravity
We are all aware of the forces of gravity and the affects on the body in
the upright position, but have you considered the effects of gravity when
we are in bed?
In the upright posture, the head, cervical, thoracic, lumbar and
pelvic areas overlap and the pull of gravity is 100% downwards towards
the earth. In the supine position the force of gravity is distributed
throughout the length of the body.
This diagram shows the ideal weight distribution of the body when supine.
When lying on the back, the body needs support to accommodate the curves
as seen in the upright posture. This means having a giving, yet supportive
mattress and a pillow of the correct height to take the weight of the head
and support the neck.
For us to lead healthy, vital lives it is necessary for us to have sufficient
sound sleep, usually around 7-8 hours per night. During sleep, gravity and
body weight leads to pressure being exerted on blood vessels, nerves and
lymph glands. If the mattress and pillow do not provide sufficient support
then the pressure exerted on the more weight bearing areas of the body (mid
and lower back) can result in restrictions to circulation, and stiffness
of the joints.
In order to avoid this unpleasantness people tend to unconsciously turn on
average around 30 times per night.
Lying on the side
Because of the build up in pressure in the mid and lower back, most people
do not sleep on their back for much of the night. We might start the night
on our back but our instincts and reflexes tell our lower back to readjust
to a different position. The majority of people spend most time sleeping
either on their sides or front. This is because most mattresses are unable
to provide sufficient support to the lumbar lordosis.
Sleeping on the side provides better support for the lumbar lordosis. However
the side posture obviously presents different problems when sleeping as we
have a bigger height difference in the neck region and the body weight can
cause the body to bend laterally. Plus shoulder, hip and neck stress can
be uncomfortable when sleeping on the side.
In order to combat the unsettling and uncomfortable affects of gravity on
the body when sleeping it is not only essential to have the correctly supporting
mattress and pillow for the individual, but to also have as physiologically
correct posture as possible.
After all the designers and scientists who develop the numerous sleep systems
available are assuming we all have the anatomically correct posture.
This means that having regular Ishta Spinal Touch alignments will improve
the quality of your rest when sleeping.
If you need a new bed Sealy do a lot of different types and carry out a lot
of research and a very interesting pillow is the Pegasus wing pillow.
Does any one have any more thoughts on this subject?
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