Here’s a typical insomnia scenario. You crawl into bed and lie there waiting to sleep while your mind races. Is that twinge in your neck a cancerous tumor? Is your heart beating too fast? Are you going to have enough money to make the rent? On some level, insomnia may seem trivial. So you can’t sleep. Big deal. But I have found it can be frightening when it’s happening. In this space, I’ve written about CBD for insomnia and float pod for insomnia. If you’re troubled by sleeplessness, I urge you to check out those posts. But this week I want to look at cryotherapy for insomnia.
Sleep for Healthier Immunity
First of all, note that insomnia is a higher-risk problem this week than it was last week. One of the costs of insomnia is a weakened immune system. And the gathering storm of Covid-19 doesn’t leave much margin these days for a weakened immune system. If you have insomnia, you had better deal with it.
Second, note that the best way to fight insomnia is to eliminate the influences that make it easier to stay awake. Things that make it easier to stay awake include irregular sleep patterns, use of caffeine or nicotine late in the day, exercising too soon before bedtime, eating a heavy meal before bedtime, or using a screen (phone, pad, computer, or television) right before bed. In addition, you don’t want your sleeping place to be too warm or too brightly lit. Like a good bike tire, you need to be stored in a cool, dark place.
Whole-Body Cryotherapy for Insomnia
Sometimes, you follow good sleep hygiene and you still have insomnia. If you’re kept awake because of muscle soreness due to intense exercise, that’s right in cryotherapy’s wheelhouse. A 2014 study put athletes through an exercise program and then compared the group that got whole-body cryotherapy against those who got room-temperature exposure. The chemical markers for muscle soreness were significantly lower in the cryotherapy athletes.
You might have other aches and pains that keep you awake. If that’s the case, you should know that whole-body cryotherapy is helpful for both specific and nonspecific types of pain. A 2014 review of whole-body cryotherapy found a battery of both pain relieving and healing effects, including analgesic effects, increased blood flow, relaxation, and increased flow of endorphins.
You might be unable to sleep because of depression or anxiety. There is research that shows whole-body cryotherapy improves the symptoms of depression and anxiety. A 2008 study found regular cryotherapy sessions significantly reduced depression and anxiety symptoms in half the patients who received it.
If you are in the approximately 10% of the U.S. population who suffer from Restless Legs Syndrome, you probably recognize that as the source of your insomnia. You may be interested to know that preliminary research in 2016 demonstrated cryotherapy’s effectiveness against it.
Peak Can Help
According to the CDC, “Adults who were short sleepers (less than 7 hours per 24-hour period) were more likely to report 10 chronic health conditions compared to those who got enough sleep (7 or more hours per 24-hour period).” Those 10 health conditions include heart attack, coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, COPD, cancer, arthritis, depression, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. The bottom line: if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re gambling with your health.
So if you’re troubled by insomnia, give us a call at 603-402-4564. We have several possible ways to help you, including whole-body cryotherapy, which takes only three minutes.
