Q: After a period of interrupted sleep and needing to get up to nurse my daughter for the past six months, I now find it hard to get to sleep at night. I don’t want to take sleeping pills. Any suggestions as to how osteopathy may help?
You are very brave, ‘a period of interrupted sleep’ is an understatement! Most new mums tell me of exhaustion both pre and post natal. Often they present with a variety of symptoms of dis-ease because of it. Mothers are not alone in their quest for sleep - on average 50% of all my patients from time to time experience disrupted sleep that leads to exhaustion. In most clinical cases osteopathy is very helpful in achieving a restful state that allows good quality of sleep.
Often part of osteopathic treatment is to calm and integrate your nervous systems, the central (brain and spinal cord) as well as the autonomic; sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic. As a result, patients often, during treatment, fall into a shallow sleep phase - relaxed.
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) - known as ‘fear, flight and fright’ response, is driven by adrenalin. During your labor, adrenalin is released along with other hormones to propel the survival of both mother and child; it is a primal state. Added to this, post birth, the depth of your sleep is shallow due to you keeping an ‘ear’ out for any squeak from baby, this alert state keeps your adrenals pumping high. A myriad of other ‘family life’ realities have a continuing effect on your body’s ability to ‘reset’ your nervous system.
The SNS is located along both sides of your spine where your ribs connect, so you can imagine how important it is to have healthy function here. With hands-on treatment, osteopaths calm down and rebalance this area. I highly recommend this treatment for you.
In osteopathy we access and treat the ‘whole’ you, as opposed to just bones and muscles. Below I am offering a few holistic relaxation techniques. This will enable your adrenals and other hormones to naturally reset, and assist yours and baby’s peaceful and happy life.
• Calm your mind and keep to schedules so you and baby are attuned. Then when sleep opportunities are available they can be fully utilised.
• Power naps - Heads of State and CEOs do it and so should you!
• When we have more rest, your frontal lobe, responsible for executive function, will respond better to stressful situations.
• Include exercise earlier in the day, so that your body has time to wind down, maybe add in some stretching (we can show you special stretches for post-birth recovery). Try sitting on the floor for certain chores. If possible take a moment to think about the various everyday routines that you perform that could potentially do sitting on the floor. If there is time, I highly recommend a relaxing yoga practice.
• There are many meditation apps available; personally I like and recommend, Headspace.com.
• If you are breast-feeding through the night, have you started to consider introducing your child to solid foods such as poached pear or apple? This helps to reduce the stress on your body with its associated ‘draining’ nature of maintaining a milk supply.
• I often show patients this deep rhythmical breathing technique: lying on your back, on a flat surface, a pillow under your head and under knees. Stay warm, use a soft blanket. Breath in slowly, in and out through your nose. Pause for a couple of seconds between the breaths both in and out. Follow the breath into your lower belly. Try counting to 10, if you lose count, it doesn’t matter, start at one again. Feel your body become heavier. This style of breathing helps to lower your heart rate and ease muscle tension. Practise 10 to 15 minutes duration.
• If you find during deep relaxation breathing or at sleep-time you have a number of thoughts, write them down in a list and promise to deal with them the next day. Let them ‘go’ and relax.
• Review your diet, caffeine and alcohol intake, chocolate, water consumption - planning all of this through the day does mean that it can be included but earlier in the day. Increasing those sleep-provoking teas and magnesium supplements are all part of supporting you into a better night’s sleep. (SARAH-JANE ATTIAS)
Disclaimer - This article is for general information purposes only. If you have a specific health problem you should seek advice from an appropriate registered health care provider. Living Osteopathy is a Primary Health Care Provider registered with ACC and the OCNZ. Living Osteopathy does not accept any liability other than to its clients.
LIVING OSTEOPATHY, 29 Scanlan Street, T: 09 361 1147, www.livingosteopathy.co.nz