Here are some best practices for a good night’s sleep:

• Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends. This will help to regulate your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.
• Create a relaxing bedtime routine. This could include taking a warm bath, reading a book, or listening to calming music. Avoid watching TV or using electronic devices in the hour before bed, as the blue light emitted from these devices can interfere with sleep.
• Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool. Darkness helps to promote the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep. Noise and light can disrupt sleep, so make sure your bedroom is as quiet and dark as possible. A cool temperature (around 18 degrees celsius) is also ideal for sleep.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed. Caffeine and alcohol can both interfere with sleep. Caffeine is a stimulant that can make it difficult to fall asleep, while alcohol can disrupt sleep later in the night.
• Get regular exercise. Exercise can help to improve sleep quality, but it’s important to avoid exercising too close to bedtime. Aim to finish your workout at least 3 hours before bed.
• See a health professional. If you’ve tried the above tips and you’re still having trouble sleeping, talk to your health professional. There may be an underlying condition that’s interfering with your sleep.

Here are some additional tips that may help you get a good night’s sleep:

• Nap during the day if you need to, but keep it short (30 minutes or less).
• Avoid napping too late in the day, as this can make it harder to fall asleep at night. Napping can reduce the build up of adenosine, which is responsible for helping us sleep.
• Avoid eating large meals or sugary foods before bed. This can make it difficult to fall asleep.
• If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel tired. This will help to prevent you from associating your bed with frustration and wakefulness.
• If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, try some relaxation techniques before bed. Aiming to calm your central nervous system, this could include deep breathing, meditation, or yoga.

Following these tips can help you get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and energized.

Do you ever notice that when you’re under significant stress, whether that be with work, family or any other potential stressor for that matter, that your clenching or grinding becomes more noticeable?

If this is you, chances are you have an underlying nervous system cause of your clenching or grinding.

You don’t know what you don’t know, better understanding your triggers, traits or behaviours when exposed to certain stressors in a good start in managing this long term.

By managing, I don’t mean trying to control every single stress that gets thrown our way because that never really ends well. Instead, learning to better manage how we respond and ultimately allow these stresses manifest is far more realistic.

Mindfulness-based, non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) strategies have shown to promote a calming and pacifying effect on our central nervous system.

Watch the video to see what our Geelong TMJ chiropractors recommend for improving jaw and muscle awareness.

In this video, our Geelong TMJ chiropractors discuss an easy-to-implement exercise to promote better joint and muscle function.

Regular movement of the spine is essential in ensuring proper function of the spine, but in the long-term, is vital for spinal health and overall health.

Starting, maintaining & thriving with a regular exercise routine, often a key pillar our Geelong chiropractors educate our clients on.

Once our clients have maintained a regular exercise regime, we may then suggest exposing the body to different movements, exercises or activities to broadened the body and nervous system’s adaptability.

Aiming to promote better muscle, joint and nerve function.

Ensuring your moving and exercising regularly is one thing, prioritising your sleep and recovery is another.

Sleep not only plays a role in our ability to recover stronger, more resilient & robust from exercise, but allows us to be manage, mitigate and buffer the stressors in our lives.

Establishing a regular nightly sleep routine, and ideally, waking up in the morning feeling refreshed is a good sign of quality sleep.

Now that we know sleep can buffer and mitigate the detrimental effects of sleep, there are other strategies you can employ to reduce the negative impact stress can have on your spine health and health overall.

Increased, sustained levels of stress can increase central nervous system sensitivity, elevate muscle tension and much more, ideally something we want to be able to manage well over our life times.

Regular mediation (look into NSDR or non-sleep, deep rest techniques), engaging in regular social and/or joyous activities, meaningful & purposeful work, formal exercise & physical activity regime, and of course, sleep, are all proven ways to better manage our stress levels.