Picture this. 6:36 am, you’ve snoozed your alarm 4 times, you finally step foot out of bed and literally everything hurts. Aches in the feet, knees, hips, back and a crick in the neck. I’m only 35, what is this fresh hell?!
Do you remember when we were kids and we just couldn’t wait to grow up and be adults? I’d like to re-enter that phase of my life and let my former self know all the shit that comes with being an adult. Working. Same shit, different day. Bills. Where did all my money go? Have kids? Kiss your privacy goodbye. Responsibilities. Aches and pains. All the aches and pains! I'm currently going on hour 10 of a headache, simply just from sleeping on the wrong pillow. Makes me miss my college days when I could pass out on the floor with a sweatshirt as a pillow and be ready to go again at 8:00 am the next day.
Mornings are hard, in more ways than one (nope, not what I mean). I'm always so envious of the people that can just wake up feeling restful when their alarm goes on. Like, how?! But more so, I'm envious of the people that can wake up, set foot on the ground, and not feel like they aged 20 years overnight. I have a ton of patients that are active and feel good during the day, but struggle with pain and discomfort at night. We say this silly thing in PT: motion is lotion. Essentially what this means is that your body wants to be moved! When we move our body, we are creating lubrication within our muscles and joints. Lubrication is good, in more ways than one. (yep, that one 😉)
When we sleep, though, we are *relatively* still. (Unless you're my husband flopping around like a dead fish because he's too hot and/or he's trying to disrupt my sleep so I stop snoring) Our muscles and joints imbibe (not to be confused with imbibing alcohol) all of the excess fluid in our body from the day, and it's basically as if they've overeaten and become cranky and lethargic. When you wake up and start moving those muscles and joints, they have to rid all of that extra fluid and inflammation, manifesting as morning pain/stiffness.
While I don't recommend waking yourself up every couple of hours in the middle of the night just to move, there are a few things you can try to decrease morning pain/stiffness.
Check your mattress. Is your mattress older than you? Time to get a new one. I never understood the importance of a good mattress until I reached the ripe ol' age of 30. Newer mattress? Maybe try a mattress topper to change it up/soften it up a bit. Those old bones need a softer mattress than your younger bones.
Garlic. Turmeric. Cherry. Green tea. Berries. Incorporate foods that have proven anti-inflammatory properties into your diet. I'd definitely go for the whole clove of garlic before bed route ;)
Exercise. Exercise. Exercise. But not within an hour of bedtime - sometimes this can actually increase your inflammatory properties during sleep!
These exercises before even getting out of bed: bending knees and rocking them side to side, hugging your knees to chest, rocking your pelvis forward and backward, squeeze your butt cheeks together a few times, ankle rolls.
Sleep. Healthy sleep habits are SO important.
Don't dread your mornings, improve them!
You can't fill from any empty cup, mamas!
