Here are a few tips to help you adjust yourself to get a good night’s sleep: Adjust Your Sleep Posture — The position in which you sleep is one of the more important factors when trying to get a good night’s rest with back pain. You want to keep your spine in a neutral position and be conscious of your spine’s position during your resting state. The best sleeping positions for your lower back are flat on your back and on your side. Sleeping on the back: This is the best sleeping posture because it helps to evenly distribute weight across the body, reduces the number of pressure points that you might experience from side sleeping, and keeps the alignment of your internal organs in check. Sleeping on the side: It’s fairly easy to get your mid-neck aligned with your pelvis and shoulders, so this position is excellent for your lower back. It’s best to use a pillow that is thick enough to allow your head and neck to be positioned in the middle of your shoulders. If you sleep on your stomach: This position places additional stress on the muscles of your neck, so it’s best to avoid it altogether. Try to either use a very thin pillow or skip using a pillow altogether, if you cannot avoid this position. Be Mindful of How You Get in and Out of Bed — Climbing into bed too quickly or getting up too fast can exacerbate lower back pain, so make sure you’re careful. First sit down on the bed near the place where you want to sleep. Bend your knees and slowly lie down on your side while using your hands as support. Take care to keep your torso straight. You basically want to do the opposite getting out of bed as you would climbing into bed. Roll onto your side towards the edge of the bed and use your arms to help push yourself up while swinging your legs over the side of the bed. This will help you keep from engaging your back by bending at your waist. Use Hot or Cold Therapy Before Bed — Using a hot or cold compress on your back can help sooth your pain. This could include taking a warm shower or hot bath, using a cold gel pack applied to your back, or using a heating pad on the affected area for 15-20 minutes. Hot or cold therapy can promote relief and help reduce inflammation caused by lower back pain. Generally, ice is better in the first 72 hours while heat is better for longer chronic back pain. Find the Best Mattress and Pillows for Your Back — There is not one true type of mattress or pillow that will work for everyone with lower back pain, much like sleeping positions. Some people have great results from a firmer mattress while others need something a little softer to alleviate pain. Middle-of-the-road firmness seems to work best, although research on firm versus soft mattresses is inconclusive. If you are experiencing back pain or can feel the tension in your spine, then spinal decompression therapy could be the answer for your ailments! At Harborside Sport & Spine, we have back pain experts to help you alleviate your pain! Contact our office today to get in touch with a specialist. To book an appointment, call us or visit us online! We serve patients from Jersey City NJ, Hoboken NJ, Weehawken NJ, West New York NJ, Guttenberg NJ, Secaucus NJ, Harrison NJ, Kearny NJ, Newark NJ, Belleville NJ, Lyndhurst NJ, East Orange NJ, and Elizabeth NJ.