How to sleep well for lumbar disc herniation?

Lumbar disc herniation is a very common spinal disease. Lumbar disc herniation is caused by irritation or compression of adjacent spinal nerve roots, resulting in lower back pain. When lumbar disc herniation occurs, people often have difficulty falling asleep. When treating lumbar disc herniation, you should pay attention to your daily sleeping posture.

1: Supine position: It can relax the waist muscles and reduce the pressure on the lumbar spine. It is not only comfortable but also helpful in preventing or treating low back pain.

2: Side-lying position: bend both hips and knees. The ancients said "sleeping like a bow" refers to this sleeping position, which can eliminate the backward extension of the waist and avoid or relieve low back pain.

1: Spinal support: Whether the spine is effectively supported is one of the main factors affecting sleep quality. A good bedding system and a correct sleeping position can relax the muscles, allow the intervertebral discs (cartilage) to absorb water, and enable the spine to function effectively during the day.

2: Local blood circulation: When a part of the body is pressed by the mattress, it will produce some metabolic substances that stimulate the nerves. The body will automatically change sleeping positions before these positions become painful. However, in some patients who need to stay in bed for a long time and are inconvenient to move, local blood circulation problems often lead to bedsores. Therefore, the average person changes sleeping positions about twenty times each night. A mattress that fully supports the body but is not too hard or too soft can help reduce the number of times you change sleeping positions, thereby improving the quality of sleep.

3: How to evaluate your mattress: Since most of the body's weight is concentrated on the hips, this part of the mattress is also subject to the highest wear and tear. Check your mattress for any sagging areas. If so, it will increase the pressure in front of the intervertebral disc when sleeping on your back, or increase the twisting of the waist when sleeping on your side. Some mattresses provide additional support at the pelvic floor, while some mattresses contain temperature-sensitive active particles that distribute the body's weight evenly across the entire mattress area. Finally, a good pillow should be able to support the neck, maintaining the curvature of the cervical spine and a neutral position of the head.

4: Get enough sleep: Sleep changes as you age. For example, the elderly usually sleep for a shorter time and change sleeping positions less frequently. They also have a habitual sleeping position (such as sleeping on the right side by habit, which may be due to the reduced weight of the liver pressing on the stomach and lungs). Sleeping on the stomach is the most rare. Research shows that the average person needs four rapid eye movement (REM) sleep cycles per night to reorganize the brain's memory system. Each cycle is 45 minutes. So some people only need four hours of sleep. But the average person needs six hours of sleep to get adequate rest for their mental and physical functions.

Sleep on a hard bed, keep your waist warm, and try not to catch cold. Avoid catching cold, eating too much raw or cold food, and don't stay in the air conditioner for a long time.