After a long, tedious day, you want to lie down and rest. However, due to your hard-working nature, you put your legs under a lot of pressure, and they are swollen. In addition, you feel dizzy and cannot determine what the problem is. The best medicine is good quality sleep.
Sleep for ages has been known to be the cure for most illnesses. Our bodies are in constant movement, and it is best to give them a break with a night of quality sleep. It is commended to sleep for eight hours straight to provide the body with enough time to regenerate energy for the next day.
A well-rested body has a great immune system. If you rest well, your body organs are bound to improve in their functionality. For instance, the heart can pump blood to the rest of the body parts effectively without straining. Enough sleep equals a healthy body.
The quality of sleep is dependent on various factors. Your sleeping time, the amount of water you drink, the environment you sleep in terms of lighting and noise, among other factors, determine how well your night will be. It is essential to put all these factors into consideration to ensure quality sleep.
There are other recommended factors by the medical specialist that you should consider for quality sleep. For instance, one is advised to sleep with elevated legs that have many benefits to the body. The health professionals can also recommend sleeping in a specific position to help heal what you are ailing from.
Sleeping with elevated legs has been proven scientifically to be beneficial to the body. However, some health experts are against this form of sleeping. The conflict between the two yet strong ideas has left people indecisive on what is right or wrong.
If the patient has swollen legs that can result from various factors such as age or injury, they are recommended to sleep with elevated legs. Swelling can be a result of water retention in the legs. Placing a lot of pillows under the swollen legs allows the backflow of blood, promoting sufficient blood circulation in the whole body to reduce the swell.
In general, elevating the legs during sleep has several advantages and disadvantages. This method has been recognized as one of the most effective ways to reduce swelling. Keep reading to know the pros and cons of sleeping with elevated legs.
The Pros of Sleeping with Elevated Legs
It Increases Blood Circulation
As one progresses in age, the circulation of blood in the body reduces significantly. The reduction of the blood circulation results in one having cold fingers and feet regardless of the weather is hot outside. This can be a clear indication that one may be developing a chronic condition.
With aging, one is subject to developing varicose veins. Not all forms of varicose are dangerous to the body, but some enlarged veins may cause discomfort, unbearable pain, and itching. If this happens, one is recommended to seek medical attention. However, in most cases, the swilling and the cold feet can be reduced at home by elevating the leg when they lie down.
Conversely, some people believe that elevating your swollen legs will result in the blood flowing in the opposite direction hence worsening the condition. It is important to remember that poor circulation can result from blood being stuck in one area. Therefore, depriving the area of blood can be the most effective method to take. This method also reduces pressure from the heart to pump blood into your legs.
It Helps to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis
This is a medical condition where blood clots in the vein legs and its severe, and sometimes leads to death. If a section of the blood clot breaks and finds its way to the lungs, it becomes a life and death situation.
If one has an already existing chronic disease, they are at a higher risk of developing deep vein thrombosis. It is essential to start early to sleep with elevated legs to avoid developing the disease altogether. Prevention is always better than cure.
Helps with Neutral Positioning of the Spine
One of the most key roles played by sleeping with elevated legs is to help with spine alignment. The spine is naturally curved towards the lower back hence elevating the legs with the help of a pillow helps rotate the pelvis upwards, aligning the spine.
A great posture helps to prevent diseases such as arthritis, discus hernia, among others. A good posture also allows one to sleep better and be energetic during the day.
It Helps to Reduce Edema
Leg Edema is the swelling to the legs due to water retention that gets trapped in the limbs. Many factors can lead to leg edema, including standing or sitting for long hours in one position, eating salty foods, and, in some cases, during pregnancy.
Elevating the legs as you sleep helps reduce the retention of fluids as blood flow is increased. To help with leg edema, one should incorporate into their diet food rich in potassium and use diuretic supplements.
It Helps to Reduce Pain in the Legs, Back and Speed up Recovery
Leg pain can result from different factors such as water retention, standing for long hours, among others. The pain can be unbearable, leaving poor sleeping patterns. This may result to also further complications in the body.
Back pain can result from poor sleeping posture where one puts pressure on the lower back. Exercise can also lead to mild back pain that, if not paid attention to in its early stages, the results can be fatal. It is always too important for one to take caution before something worsens.
One is advised to sleep with elevated legs helps to align your posture reducing the pressure on the lower back. It also helps to relieve pain in the legs by promoting enough circulation of blood. It speeds up recovery from injuries such as swelling.
The Cons of Sleeping with Elevated Legs
It May be Uncomfortable
It is human nature to toss and turn on the bed to find the most comfortable position. Sleeping with elevated legs can be uncomfortable as it restricts one from moving to look for a specific position. In addition, elevating the legs with regular pillows can be uncomfortable. The best pillows to use are those specified for elevating the legs.
It Can Cause Skin Irritation
Skin irritation from elevating your legs as you sleep is rare but is a possibility. The pillow you are using does not have an ergonomic shape; it is subject to cause some skin irritation that can lead to a rash.
In conclusion, sleeping with elevated legs has more benefits than disadvantages. In case of leg swelling or pain, you should first consider elevating your legs. If this technique does not work and the legs are still swollen, seek immediate medical attention.
