March 2019 Newsletter

DON’T SLACK ON YOUR SLEEP!

Are you out there working hard at your career, taking care of the family, your startup business, your music and art, your body and fitness, and your hobbies and passions? Whatever you put your time and heart into, if you want to be your BEST, you need to get your REST!
Sleep is critical to maintaining our physical and mental health. Studies show that getting enough sleep helps with everything from having a good mood, to preventing diabetes, yet today in the United States, we are more sleep deprived than ever before.

Here are the facts:

• 35% of Americans don’t get the recommended 7 hours each night
• About 20% of Americans have a sleep disorder preventing them from a good nights rest.
• Americans currently average 6.8 hours of sleep a night.
• 97% of teens do not sleep enough, averaging 6.5 hours on a weeknight

​It is easy to get caught up working late or binging Netflix late into the night, but there are numerous benefits to choosing to get enough rest! These are a few good reasons to develop better sleeping habits:

FITNESS/EXERCISE: Been lifting weights or working on that cardio? Not getting enough sleep will only undermine your workout! Your body needs that time to give your body time to recover, conserve energy, and repair the muscles used during exercise. Also, studies show that working out allows you to get a BETTER NIGHTS REST. It’s a win/win.

BETTER FOCUS/MEMORY: Many of us have been there in college, cramming in last minute for a test, pulling the all-nighter from time to time. However, sleeping and dreaming are essential for processing and storing memory! Without a good nights rest, it is tougher to recall information and more difficult to learn new concepts! Beyond that, getting good sleep keeps you more alert and sharp, so you can use your time more efficiently when you work!

GOOD MOOD: When we rest, our brains process our emotions! Give your mind a break, and allow your mind to collect itself. Dealing with a hard, emotionally taxing day?  Get to sleep and wake up feeling mentally fresh and collected morning.

MENTAL HEALTH: In 2019, we are statistically the most ANXIOUS and DEPRESSED we have ever been. Chronic lack of sleep is not helping, as it increases the chances of developing anxiety and stress. If you struggle with insomnia, you are FIVE TIMES more likely to develop depression. Keep your mind healthy and relaxed; sleep produces chemicals that counteract and negate stress hormones.

HEALTHY HEART: Sleeping keeps our blood pressure in check! When we go to bed, our relaxed parasympathetic nervous system is operating (turning off our active/alert sympathetic nervous system). Our heart rate slows down, and blood vessels are given a break as our blood pressure is reduced. Getting that rest is one way to help prevent heart disease and strokes!

SLEEP AND CHIROPRACTIC:  Since our bodies repair during times of rest, sleep allows you to hold your chiropractic adjustments and strengthen proper alignment! Less stress from more sleep also means a physically relaxed body, preventing the muscle tension that can cause headaches, neck pain, and misalignment! Finally, receiving chiropractic care straightens the spine and heals painful symptoms that wake people up in the night, such as headaches and back pain

We can’t solve everything in a day, and no one can keep on going forever without burning out! Balance your days and nights by intentionally getting the sleep you need so you can live a healthier, happier, restful life!

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EMOTIONAL STRESS
​ON YOUR SPINE!

One of the most stressful seasons is almost over: Tax season. It’s a scramble to organize finances, dig up old work receipts, worry about how much is still owed and hoping for that refund! Every day, stress affects us all, whether financial struggles, working through relationships, or coping with a career!  While SOME stress is healthy and beneficial for our day to day lives, too much has serious mental, emotional AND physical side effects.

Physical health and mental health are intertwined.  As you receive care at the Alpha Spine Center, it is essential to be aware of how stress and emotional/mental struggles affect your body and alignment! It starts with the stress chemical Cortisol:

Cortisol, the Stress Hormone:

The Good: At normal levels of daily stress, cortisol helps us with rapid energy by regulating nutrients to be used immediately. It helps our body wake up in the morning, get in the zone for exercising, and react with fight or flight responses in times of danger.

The Bad: We live in a time where our lives are ever stressed, fast-paced, constantly stimulated and connected. We are the most stressed and anxious generation to have walked this earth. This constant state of stress leads keeps our bodies at a consistently high level of cortisol.
Chronically high levels of cortisol creates high blood pressure (increasing chances for type 2 diabetes), elevates weight gain, weakens the immune system with its effects on inflammation, digestion issues since our digestive system operates in a relaxed state, can lead to depression, and aggravates fertility problems from erectile dysfunction to an imbalance in women’s monthly cycles.

Affect on the Spine: From a chiropractic lens, stress keeps the body in a state of physical tension. Shoulders, neck and back muscles are tightly bound and causing inflexibility, leading to increased chance of injury, headaches, and general muscle pain. This tension increases your likelihood of losing your chiropractic alignment. As adjustments shift the spine into proper spinal positioning, muscles surrounding the neck and spine will have points of weakness as they adjust to the new alignment. Muscle tension caused by ongoing elevated stress pulls against these weaker muscles, stretching the neck and spine back into misalignment.

But don’t Stress about it! Here are some habits and treatments that can help you balance your daily stress and prevent stress-induced spinal misalignment.

SLEEP: Allow yourself to get adequate rest. The chemicals pumped during good sleep stop the production of stress hormones. Receiving chiropractic care helps align your body to be tension free, and reduces painful symptoms and headaches, allowing for BETTER sleep!

PRAYER & QUIET TIME:  It is impossible to keep on going going going. You need quiet space to rest your body, reflect on what you’ve neglected or would like to be doing, and connect with God as a source of peace and direction. Release all that mental clutter by taking 10-15 minutes each day to exercise quiet time and prayer time.

EXERCISE: Working out produces endorphins: also known as “happy” chemicals promoting better moods! Physical activity also promotes self-confidence and a better nights rest. At the Alpha Spine Center, we have spinal alignment-specific exercises that can help strengthen the neck and back to prevent injury and misalignment caused by daily stress!
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BE SOCIAL and SMILE: Balance your work life by engaging in fun social activities and doing hobbies you enjoy! We are social beings that need time to enjoy other people. Taking time for yourself provides a healthy work-life balance. Also, practice the art of smiling more. The physical act of smiling triggers endorphin production, making you feel happier and stress- free!

At the Alpha Spine Center, we want you to experience a healthy, balanced lifestyle that reaches beyond your physical health! Experience the full benefits of NUCCA care by following these tips on managing your emotional health and stress!

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