Sleep and muscle and back pain

If you’re getting out of bed in the morning with muscle or back pain, you need to look into the causes. Whilst a sore back or muscle is not normally indicative of a serious problem, it’s still something that needs sorting out! So, what are the main reasons for morning aches and pains?

An old mattress

For many people, the problem is their mattress. It’s recommended that you buy a new mattress around every 8-15 years (depending on the manufacturer and type of mattress) but many of us don’t replace our mattress that often! Really and truly, there are few things in life so important to our general health and wellbeing than getting a good night’s sleep. And so it makes sense to have a mattress that helps us achieve it.

If your mattress is starting to show its age, then it might be time to think about replacing it. There are lots of choices on the market and it’s increasingly easy to find one that suits your particular sleeping style. Have a look at our mattress-buying guide here for more assistance: https://mattresschooser.co.uk/mattress-buying-guide

Awkward sleeping positions

There’s some research that suggests that sleeping face down can aggravate back and muscle pain. And, of course, if you sleep rigidly in any position that causes you to wake up in pain it’s probably an awkward one! A good way of minimising an awkward position is to start out in a comfortable sleeping position and use pillows to add a little bracing and stop you rolling about so much. If you are prone to sleeping on your front, you could try a knee pillow, which fits between your legs and helps to stop rotation in your spine.

Inflammaging

Unfortunately as we get older, it gets more uncomfortable to get out of bed! This is often due to inflammation spread, which can happen as we age. It’s common even if you’re fit and healthy. But if you’re overweight and have major or long-term stress, you could suffer from chronic inflammation.

Medical conditions

Although far less common, morning muscle and back pain can be caused by medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome or inflammatory back pain.