Those who struggle with foot or leg issues always look for better ways to improve their comfort level when relaxing or sleeping. One of the most challenging times can be when trying to fall asleep at night. This quick guide from KniseWorks will provide information on how to relax better and the benefits of sleeping with elevated legs.
Elevation for Healthier Legs
Putting your feet up is not only relaxing, but it can actually help decrease the symptoms of certain health issues. Raising the legs often allows the blood to flow better and relieves pressure that may be building in the lower extremities. Many people report that elevating the legs also helps to decrease inflammation. This is especially helpful for pregnant women or older individuals. Let’s look at some specific advantages of elevating the legs.
Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis
DVT, or Deep Vein Thrombosis, is a medical condition in which blood clots form in the veins of the legs. This condition can cause serious health problems and, in some cases, even be fatal. This condition can turn deadly if a piece of the blood clot breaks off and enters the lungs or heart.
Elevating your feet can reduce the risks of clotting as it helps improve blood circulation throughout the lower part of the body.
Improves Blood Circulation
Even for those not at risk of clotting or DVT, elevating the legs regularly or sleeping with the legs elevated can improve blood circulation. As people age, blood circulation can decrease, resulting in varicose veins, cold extremities, and other issues. There are lots of ways to promote better blood circulation. Sleeping with your legs elevated is one step you can take.
Improves Edema and Swelling
Edema is the chronic swelling of any body part. This is caused by fluid building up in the body tissues. It is most common in the arms, legs, and feet. This health condition can be caused by sitting or standing too long, eating salty food, bad diet choices, and pregnancy.
You can reduce edema quickly by elevating the feet. This is often recommended for those who suffer from this condition chronically.
Reduce Back Pain
If you suffer from back pain, you know how important it is to find all-natural pain management tricks. In general, sleeping in a neutral position (on your back) is recommended for the spine, but less than 20% of people are true back sleepers. Sleeping on your back is sometimes not recommended for people with various injuries causing back pain, but if you want or need to sleep on your back for whatever reason, you can do so more comfortably by elevating your feet while you sleep or relax. This can relieve pressure on the lower spine.
Severe back pain can often be relieved by raising the legs significantly with a pillow or knee bolster.
Improve the Alignment of the Spine
Today we understand that keeping the spine properly aligned is crucial to many areas of health. Back sleepers may be dealing with misalignment of the spine because sleeping flat on your back can sometimes place additional pressure on the curvature of the spine. However, the spine can be naturally rotated upward by placing pillows under the knees. This helps relieve the spine’s stress and bring it back into a more natural/neutral alignment. Adjustable beds can also help with this.
Help With Injury Recovery
If you have experienced an injury to the legs, hips, feet, or knees, you can help speed up your recovery by elevating the feet often with a bedsheet riser. Elevating your feet will help to reduce swelling in the injured area. Although swelling is the body’s natural response to injury, it can also be problematic if extreme or prolonged. Elevating the feet can ensure that the body is not excessively swelling.
This can also help relieve some of the pain of your injury. Swelling often results in more pain because the swollen tissue presses up against nerves, causing pain. Following an injury, keeping the feet or legs elevated is often beneficial to reduce painful swelling initially after the injury.
Improves Heart Health
Putting your feet up can even help to improve your heart health. When your feet are elevated, the heart does not need to work extra hard to get blood to the extremity. This gives your heart a healthy rest. This is why elevating the feet at the end of the day or while sleeping can help to improve heart health.
Is It Ever Bad to Sleep With Feet Elevated?
No, there are no dangers to sleeping with elevated feet. However, not everyone will find this position comfortable. People with restless leg syndrome often report not enjoying sleeping this way. The important thing is to find a position that works best for you.
Should I Consider Sleeping With Legs Elevated?
There is a lot to be said for sleeping with your legs elevated. The most important reason to do this would be to improve blood flow and reduce swelling. However, another important reason you should consider this sleeping position is that if it increases your comfort, you might get better rest all around.
Better sleep at night can affect your life in many different ways. It can help your mental health improve by stabilizing your mood. It can help you have more energy during the day, which could lead to making more healthy activity choices. It can also improve your mental function, which is important for work, school, relationships, and all areas of life. Anything that helps you rest better at night is a good thing to add to your routine.
Can Bedsheet Risers Help Me Sleep Better?
Yes, bedsheet risers are an innovative device you can put on the foot of your bed to lift tight bedclothes off your feet. Tight bedclothes can make certain health conditions worse or can lead to discomfort. A bedsheet riser can help solve this problem even if you sleep with your feet elevated.
The Cozy Toezy bedsheet riser can be adjusted to various elevations for your differently-sized feet and your very specific needs. Contact us and check out this amazing product.