Trick question! The real answer is everyone needs sleep, from infants to elderly people, the benefits of sleep are endless. This topic has been broached before and many helpful tips have been given to help get restful and rejuvenating sleep. At this point, everyone knows they need sleep. Some of you may feel the benefits and know why you as an individual need sleep. Others may not really know why sleep is so important causing them to keep their hectic sleep routine because that is how they’ve always functioned.

Let’s break down why sleep is so important by using a comparison that everyone may understand. Imagine your body is the Kennedy Expressway, loads of work needs to be done but at the same time the amount of traffic that hits that highway daily makes it difficult to do so. However, at night when traffic subsides, more productive work is able to take place because there isn’t nearly as much chaos surrounding the construction crew. The human body is very similar. During the day, we rely on our bodies to complete very complex and demanding tasks. All of our energy is put towards getting through the day and not as much on healing. When we lay our heads on our pillows, our body’s innate ability to heal takes over and all of the energy that our body was using to get through the day is now allowed to be put towards repairing ourselves.

Certain adjustments you receive in the office will help the body rest at night. You may recall hearing Dr. McKinley talk to you about adjusting your C1 and how it can help with sleep. The reason behind that is because the cervical spine (your neck) houses the sympathetic nervous system. Your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for things like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion, which are all functions that could make it difficult to relax and decompress at the end of the day. When that area is adjusted and allowed to operate properly, it makes it easier for you to get restful sleep at night. Mat Fraser, a world champion cross-fitter, believes that if sleep wasn’t something that everyone did on a daily basis, it would be considered a performance enhancing drug because of the benefits it provides when done well.

So remember, there isn’t one group of people who will benefit more from sleep, sleep is universal as are the benefits. As always, if you have any questions feel free to ask one of the doctors the next time you’re in the office.