Your Spine Needs Sleep Too!

Just like many important processes in your body, your spine is dependent on your sleep in order to stay in good shape. In order to understand this concept properly, let’s take a look at the importance of the anatomy of the spine. One of the more common reasons why the spine is under much pressure or stress is due to compressive forces throughout the day. It’s something that we can’t entirely avoid because gravity is always at work. You can imagine the stress this has on the joints that connects the spine together, but it’s actually the intervertebral discs that take a lot of the compressive stress within the spine. These discs are required to maintain a certain height to allow enough shock absorption to make sure the spine and the rest of the body doesn’t have to deal with too much compressive force. Additionally, maintaining this height allows proper openings for nerves to travel out of the spine and communicate with the rest of the body.

The discs are soft tissues that lie between each vertebrae, pretty much creating an additional joint between each segment. These discs are made up of mostly three types of cartilage; the nucleus pulposus being the most important part of the disc anatomy. The nucleus is made up of mostly water, and with enough compressive force throughout the day the disc slowly leaks out water. Unlike other parts of the body, the discs are not heavily surrounded by blood vessels to provide nutrients, so it is reliant on the passive flow of nutrients through the movement of water in and out of the disc. With compressive forces throughout the day, the disc naturally loses its normal height, often leaking out enough water to lose up to 25% of its original height.

These discs are supposed to make up a third of the normal height of the spine, but for those who have spinal problems this may not be the case as chronic stress on the spine can lead to chronic loss of disc height. There are a number of reasons why this may happen:

• Direct injury – there are certain injuries that would cause the disc to lose its natural integrity. This is where common terms such as disc herniation or disc bulge are heard. The normal anatomy of the disc loses its natural hold and can often leak out contents, thus not allowing the disc to maintain its normal height or stature. 
• Poor posture – when the spine undergoes repetitive stress due to poor posture, the bony changes in the spine don’t allow for much more room for the discs to regain their normal height. This creates a limitation in the recovery and function of the disc. 
• Arthritis – if the spine undergoes enough stress, not only does it lose its normal disc height, but it can lead to permanent change surrounding the disc. Depending on the stage that the arthritis is at, bone can start to settle around the disc and create even less room for the disc to recover. 
• Poor sleeping habits/cycle – the recommended amount of sleep for an individual is between 6-8 hours (7 being the magic number). This is your body’s opportunity to recovery and regenerate while everything is at rest. Specifically for the spine, your discs use this time to take in the water lost throughout the day and allows it to regain its normal height. If the spine doesn’t have enough time to recover, then it wouldn’t be able to intake water and regain its normal height. 
• Lack of water – water is an essential nutrient for your body and for your spine especially. Because the disc is made up of mostly water, it needs water to regain its normal height and can be dependent on the amount that you take in during the day. You have to be mindful of the amount of water lost from activity and diet, such as exercise or drinking coffee or tea. More water lost means you are required to intake more water to compensate.

Your discs play a crucial role in the function and longevity of your spine. There are physical forces in this world that we cannot avoid, but taking the necessary steps will allow you to prevent ongoing stress and damage to your spine. Take breaks from prolonged postures, drink lots of water and get enough sleep. Your spine is so dependent on a healthy routine in order for it to maintain a healthy alignment. It’s important to make sure you get checked by your Chiropractor on a regular basis to make sure your spine and your discs are healthy and allowing proper function and healing throughout the body. Your Mississauga Chiropractors are here to help keep your spine in tip-top shape. If you’d like to contact us or book an appointment to see us, contact us (905)821-4951.