The Blog

The Importance of Sleep

Why sleep is important for injury recovery

Sleep is essential for our physical and mental well-being, how much sleep we’re getting is just as important as the quality of sleep. This article explains how to get yourself into healthy sleep habits to improve the quality of your sleep and how it can help injury recovery.

Molly Woollett

16/10/23

The Blog

The Importance of Sleep

Why sleep is important for injury recovery

Sleep is essential for our physical and mental well-being, how much sleep we’re getting is just as important as the quality of sleep. This article explains how to get yourself into healthy sleep habits to improve the quality of your sleep and how it can help injury recovery.

Author Name

16/10/23

Why is sleep important?

While we’re asleep our brain is working

While we’re asleep our brain is working, there are certain repair processes that happen in our body during sleep and when these are disrupted or inconsistent, the body takes longer to heal. It is vital that we get enough sleep so that our body can continue to work and heal. Whether you’re recovering from an accident or have been dealing with consistent muscle or joint pain for a while, the lack of sleep will slow your recovery.

How do we improve our sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is not just how long you sleep but the quality of sleep. Put simply, sleep hygiene refers to your sleep environment and behaviour. It’s all about putting yourself in the best position to sleep well each and every night.

Pre-bed routine and daily routines is part of harnessing habits to make quality sleep feel more automatic, combine this with creating a relaxing and comforting environment will put you in the right frame of mind for quality sleep. The following tips can help you establish healthy routines and habits that can be adapted to fit your own circumstances.

Set your own sleep schedule

All this involves is setting up set times when you go to sleep and wake up. Regardless of whether it’s a weekday or a weekend, waking up and going to sleep at the same time can help you get into the rhythm of consistent sleep.

  • Have a fixed wake-up time.
  • Prioritise sleep.
  • Make gradual adjustments.
  • Don’t overdo it with naps.

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Follow a nightly routine

Preparing for bedtime can determine how easily you fall asleep. Have you ever had one of those nights where no matter how tired you are, you can’t seem to doze off? You might not have been practicing the best pre-bed routine.

  • Add 30 minutes for winding down, whatever puts you in a relaxing state.
  • Avoid electronics for 60-30 minutes before bed. These generate blue light which can decrease melatonin production, which is vital for helping you fall asleep.
  • Keep away from bright lights.

Optimize your bedroom

A big part of sleep hygiene is the environment in which you’re sleeping. What makes this environment inviting and relaxing can vary from person to person but there are a few things that can ensure a calming atmosphere.

  • Block out any bright lights by using heavy curtains or an eye mask.
  • Use fans or radiators to set a cool yet comfortable temperature, our bodies naturally drop to a cooler temperature while we sleep so a cool room may help you fall asleep faster.
  • Comfortable mattress and pillow, arguably the most important part of your sleep environment as this is critical to having comfortable and pain free sleep.

Ideal sleep hygiene habits are different for everybody, so it’s worth testing out a few different methods, and making adjustments along the way to find out what helps you sleep the most.

Getting enough sleep is crucial for injury recovery and sleep hygiene must be a part of it. Not only does sleep allow the body to rest and heal, but it also helps to reduce stress levels and improve mood. If you are recovering from an injury, be sure to get plenty of rest and follow the tips for healthy sleep listed above. Your body will thank you.

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