Washington Park Chiropractic

There are valid reasons for putting your kids to bed at a reasonable hour, not the least of which is that it guarantees them adequate sleep.

It also conditions them to stick to a schedule and gives you a little much-needed time for yourself after tending to their needs all day.

 Here’s another important reason to get the kids off to bed: Too little sleep can lead to a bad habit: overeating. According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reduced sleep time (less than six hours compared with more than eight) is associated with an increase in energy consumption – often in the form of snacks – without any increase in energy expenditure. In other words, if kids sleep less, they tend to eat more, but don’t expend energy during the extra time they’re awake.

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Great Way to Bond with Your New Addition

By Amanda Miller

I first became interested in Infant Massage while I was still in school.  I really enjoyed working with my expectant clients, and wanted to find a way to stay connected and continue care after they delivered.  My prenatal instructor told me about Infant Massage. This was the missing puzzle piece to well-rounded care.  I studied Infant Massage in the U.S., but really became passionate about teaching others after I traveled to Asia.  During my study of different Eastern healing arts, one thing really stood out to me: massage was done in the home between family members.  It was done from parent to infant.  Once the children were older, they naturally started massaging their parents, and the rolls reversed as the parents began to age.  After seeing that kind of compassion and bonding, I wondered why we don’t tend to see that in the West as well.  It seemed like the most natural thing to do, yet was something I felt was missing or foreign to our culture. 

Massage is a natural way to relieve stress for both caregiver and child.  It enhances your intimacy, understanding, and ability to nurture your child.  It improves communication by increasing your confidence and sensitivity to your baby’s cues, and stimulates healthy development of your baby’s mind, body, and spirit. Read the rest of this entry →

Sleep has always given me trouble. I was diagnosed with insomnia in my early teens and the more medication the doctors put me on, the harder it became to crash during the night. My obsession with clocks and making sure I was getting an ample amount of sleep for the following day made me anxious. Too anxious to sleep. I would find myself awake standing over the clock, with only moments since I had last checked the time. When I left for college my sleep problems doubled. Sharing a room with a stranger does not lead to a restful night of sleeping. Today I use melatonin every night, and the best part? It’s all natural! After so many years of dead ends I decided to dive into why melatonin is so affective.

The article stresses the importance of good ’sleep hygiene’. Sleep hygiene refers to following good practices around sleep to help to eliminate problems. For example, not having caffeine after mid-day, getting exercise, not watching TV in bed, doing low stimulus activities prior to sleep (i.e. reading) etc. Sleep hygiene can make a difference, but often it’s not enough to help everyone.

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By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

Over and over again when I am around a child who is lets say “cranky” I casually ask their parents when they go to sleep.  The answer is generally after 8pm and then the crankiness makes sense.  The time a child goes to sleep is just the beginning of healthy sleep habits.  Also important are the duration of sleep and the sleep quality.

Sleeping Toddler

As the mother of a 2 1/2 year old and another one on the way, sleep has become a hot topic at home and in my practice.  There are many ways to teach good sleep habits and I will suggest a few here, but the most important things to accomplish are:

1. Sleep at an early time – even 6:30!

2. Plenty of sleep – 12+ hours and never waking before 7am!

3. Restful sleep

Healthy sleep habits will lead to a child with better concentration, better mood and better temperament.  Infants and children need between 12-16  hours of sleep per day!  There are so many opinions about sleep and how to encourage it, but the method I used was absolutely, hands-down so easy and effective.  I strongly recommend that parents of infants and toddlers who need help with sleep refer to the full resource: http://www.sleepsense.net/ but I have included a few nuggets below.  Keep Reading: Read the rest of this entry →

I hear this nearly daily from patients.  Yes, for some reason stomach sleeping is oh-so-tempting.  But if you really examine full night of sleep you would likely find that falling asleep on your stomach does not equal a restful night’s sleep.  For Dr. Jake and myself, one of the most challenging aspects of patient communication is the ‘sleep talk’.  Sleep Posture is very important so here are a few quick tips on how and why to change or modify the way you sleep.

Perfecting your sleep posture will accomplish three things: 1. Create more restful sleep  2. Reduce or eliminate back pain  3. Prevent deterioration of spinal joints and muscles.  Oh, and one added benefit can be seen in your wallet – fewer trips to the chiropractor!  So what is the perfect sleep posture? 

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