Sleeping Better With Joint Pain - Success Stories From The Community

Have trouble sleeping at night because of the pain?

Then today’s article might be helpful to you...

Today, we’ve assembled some of the methods that have worked for others who have solved their sleep problems.

Some of these tips include:

- A sleep mask is good enough for “keeping things dark,” right? WRONG. There’s a reason why even low levels of light on anywhere on your body can disrupt your sleep at night

- Take this essential mineral during the day to have more energy and help you stay active. This lets you sleep better at night too!

- Why a rolled up towel can help you sleep better at night

- How going to bed wearing socks can improve your sleep quality

- Do your knees hurt? You might be surprised to hear, even if you have pain in your knees… The root problem might come from somewhere OTHER than your knees!

Note, some of these methods are anecdotal. If you’re not sure if these methods will be right for you, please make sure to consult with your doctor first.

1. Black Out Curtains - Better Than Sleep Masks?

One user reports that light was the culprit that made their sleep worse.

They also point out that sleep masks aren’t enough.

Here’s why:

“The only intervention that seemed to have worked for me was blackout curtains (or otherwise making the room as dark as possible). It appears that light hitting your skin anywhere (not just your eyes) can reset your sleep cycle.”

There is validity to this point, as several studies show that even low levels of light can affect your circadian rhythm(1).

This then affects your melatonin, which is responsible for supporting consistent, high-quality sleep (2). 

When your circadian rhythm is out of balance, this can make you sleepy during the day - while also making you wakeful at night.

That’s why using black out curtains can help you sleep better, even when you have joint pain or flare ups.

2. Take magnesium during the day and 5-HTP at night

One user reported that using certain supplements has helped them get better sleep at night.

“I take a 5-HTP tablet an hour before bed as does my son and magnesium during the day. This helps with a better sleep especially if you have restless leg syndrome. I have also found tai chi, sports massages and occasional visits to chiropractor helps.”

Magnesium - is an essential mineral, and plays several roles in the body. It helps support muscle and nerve function, as well as energy production. This can help you stay active during the day, so you can get better sleep at night.

5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) also known as oxitriptan, is a naturally occurring amino acid. The reason it can help you sleep better at night is because it promotes serotonin - which then gets converted to melatonin in your body. It may also improve symptoms of fibromyalgia, as low levels of serotonin is often correlated with the condition(3).

Both can be found in supermarkets.

3. Sleep With A Thin Pillow

If you can’t sleep because you have neck pain, switching out your pillow can help.

After trying many changes to improve her sleep, Nancy B. says the only thing that truly helped is a flat pillow.

“I’ve had to change a lot of things since my diagnosis, but the flat pillow has stayed. People think I’m weird when they see my sad little pillow — it’s actually a pillow designed for backpacking — but it’s the only way I can sleep without my neck hurting.”

This is good advice if you sleep on your back.

Although for side sleepers, you may want a medium-height pillow instead. Otherwise, a low pillow used to sleep on your side can cause shoulder problems.

4. If A Thin Pillow Doesn’t Work, Try Using A Neck Roll Or Towel Instead

Another way you can try align your neck in a neutral position for better sleep, is to roll up a towel and use it to support your neck.

“The trick is to keep my neck as straight as possible while I sleep so it doesn’t tense up.”

You can use a small foam neck roll or a rolled up towel.

Again, this is best for back sleepers, as it can help put your neck in a neutral position.

5. Sleep While Wearing Compression Gloves Or Socks

Sometimes, soreness in your hands and feet can disturb your sleep.

So one tip a user recommends is to wear compression gloves or socks before bed.

“Sleeping in these gloves makes all the difference. They reduce the throbbing pain and keep my fingers flexible and supported through the night.”

Compression gloves and socks work by stimulating more blood flow and oxygen to your hands and feet.

When this happens, it provides essential nutrients needed to heal the problem areas - and also helps relieve pain.

If you need a pair of high quality compression socks, try these.

6. Ditch The 8 Hour Sleep Rule, Get More If You Can

If some of the tips above are helpful in getting you more sleep…

Don’t stop at 8 hours, get more if you can!

One user says that when he was diagnosed with arthritis, he would do everything he could to get as much as 12 to 14 hours of sleep.

“I’ve learned that when you have an autoimmune illness you need way more sleep than a normal person. During flare-ups I really need 12 to 14 hours of sleep per night so I actually put my early bedtime into my calendar. I treat it like an appointment, non-negotiable.”

Schedule in more sleep when you can get it!

7. Even If Your Knees Hurt - It Might Not Actually Be Your Knees… It Might Be A Problem Caused By Something Else

One user who had pain in his knees, said that he could barely exercise or stay active because of it.

But it turns out, even though the pain was in his knees…

The root cause of the problem actually stemmed from somewhere else!

“My quads were pulling my patella out of alignment. Went to physio, had a number of obscenely painful massages, did the recommended exercises and used a foam roller many times (that was a special kind of torture). Fixed up my squat technique to make sure I was activating my glutes. All better now.”

After working on his quads and glutes, he was able to workout again - including doing squats.

This time, he made sure to keep proper form so that the weight wouldn’t overcompensate and place pressure on his knees.

And just to show how important it is to stay active even when your joints hurt…

Here’s another anecdote from a user who had severe joint pain:

“A few months ago it was a good day if I could get out of bed, but I started weightlifting and reintroduced exercise to try and help ease the pain in my joints and couples with a better diet really helps alleviate some of my worse symptoms and also gives me more motivation to exist. A bunch of people told me to swim but it actually made my shoulder flares worse so I started weight lifting and I find the results are great if I do not break form.”

“I don't have any credentials but this is what works for me as someone who deals with joint pain daily, when I weight lift I go slow and steady and I find my joints are happy with it:) good luck!”

“Oh also when I first started getting back into fitness workouts would really knock me out and at first I thought it was just making my symptoms worse, but this changed the more I kept at it.”

So why not try some of these tips today?

Who knows, one might be the right fit for you and help you get better sleep tonight!

P.S. I’m sure you’ve realized by now… 

Getting better sleep at night often means staying more active during the day.

For example, that’s why taking magnesium during the day can actually help you get better sleep at night (since you have more energy to keep moving during daylight).

But if your knees are in TOO much pain, it can be too difficult to stay active.

That’s where the Ultra Knee Elite helps you.

The compression technology and knee stabilization helps relieve the pain, while taking some pressure off your knee joints.

And that’s how it gives extremely fast relief.

It also comes with a 90-day satisfaction guarantee - so you can try it out for 90 days before you make a “let’s keep it” decision.

Why not check out the Ultra Knee Elite here and see why 90,000 customers are raving about it?

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30311830/

2. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/melatonin

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2193835/