It’s a known fact that sleep is crucial for muscle repair. But if you’ve been struggling with shoulder pain for awhile, it may feel practically impossible to get a good night’s rest. Fortunately, there are adjustments you can make to prevent yet another restless night. Check out the best sleep solutions for shoulder pain so you can fall and stay asleep!
Shoulder Pain Causes
Before you work to solve your shoulder pain problem, it’s important to discover the cause. It’s not uncommon for shoulder disorders to be the source of the pain. The most common causes, though, are from elements in our everyday lives that often go unnoticed. Especially in sleep, there are many factors that can contribute to shoulder pain, including:
- Your mattress
- The sleeping position you choose
- Being still at night
- Unrelieved stress from the day
Issues Associated With Shoulder Pain
When shoulder pain directly affects your sleep, there can be several consequences. After all, getting a poor night of sleep on a consistent basis can be detrimental to your health, making the initial sleep-disrupting problem crucial to solve. These unintended consequences can include:
- Low energy
- Mood disorders
- Increased sensitivity to pain
Choosing the Right Mattress
Whether you notice it or not, the mattress you sleep on directly affects your body and how you feel. So, choosing the right type of mattress is crucial for making you as comfortable as possible when you have shoulder pain.
Among the many types of mattresses out there, latex mattresses stand out when it comes to support. These mattresses are known for their ability to promote natural spinal alignment, giving you the support you need to ease your joints.
While latex mattresses may help ease shoulder pain, there are many other options that could be your perfect fit. It’s important to find the perfect mattress that will provide you with the relief you’re craving.
Switch Up Positions
While most people sleep in different positions throughout the night, changing up the way you rest may be the key to relieving your shoulder pain. Namely, consistent sleep positions can cause cramping in certain areas of the body. So, if you’ve been sleeping in one position for a long period of time, it might be time for a change. Try switching up your sleeping position to test the waters and see if the change helps.
Avoid Sleeping On Your Front
Switching up your sleeping position may be extremely beneficial to ease your pain, but it’s crucial you avoid switching to resting on your front.
While it may be tempting, sleeping on your front harms your sore shoulders rather than helps it. When you sleep on your stomach, it’s easy to pull your shoulders uncomfortably. As a result, you’re unable to consistently keep a stable position, meaning more tossing, turning, and muscle straining. To avoid this scenario, sleep on your back to keep your shoulders in their proper alignment.
Choose the Right Pillow
Believe it or not, the pillow you sleep on can directly contribute to the state of your shoulders. Sleeping on a comfortable, supportive pillow helps align your upper body, in turn keeping your shoulders as comfortable as possible. If you’ve slept on the same pillow for quite some time, it might be a good idea to switch it out for a fresh one to ensure it’s supportive.
Stretch It Out
When you feel pain in your shoulder, it’s often caused by bad blood flow to that specific area. To combat this issue, it’s a good idea to exercise each day. This way, your body is completely relaxed when it’s time for bed. The exercise doesn’t have to be vigorous; light exercise each day is enough to help reduce tension in your shoulder.
Consult Your Doctor
If all of these solutions don’t help your sleeping shoulder pain, you might need to seek professional help. Overall, it might not be just poor sleep that’s contributing to your shoulder pain, which is why having a doctor investigate is an important step to recovery.
Shoulder pain while sleeping is a lot more common than you may think, which also means that there are many solutions for this problem. Altering your nighttime routine with these simple steps may be the key to help you get the sleep of your dreams! Start by tracking your sleep and try to find any recurring issues that are present during the nights you sleep the fewest hours.
