Enjoy a guest blog post from Dr. Kim Fletcher of Fletcher Chiropractic in Oshkosh, WI.
Ahhhh… Sleep.
That all-important aspect of our health that can be so elusive especially with young children and infants. We have established firmly in the science that our brains experience different cycles of sleep during the night to re-organize, reprioritize, heal and reset for the next day’s activities.
Chiropractic adjustments are often associated with easing pain throughout the body, but one of the lesser-known benefits is the affect chiropractic has on activating our nervous system as a whole which can improve the quality of our sleep!
How does it work? I thought you’d never ask!
Our central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is encased in bone. The spinal cord is housed by 31 moving bony segments that stack on top of each other. In between each segment is a disc made out of tough cartilage with a jelly center and a pair of spinal nerve roots exit from little holes made where two joints come together.
The movement of those joints feeds the exiting nerve information. Those nerves control everything in our entire body: every muscle, every gland, every sense, our eyes, our heart, everything.
When a joint becomes compromised, the messaging along the nerve becomes obscured leaving the brain to fill in the gaps of what might be missing in that communication. Adjustments delivered to those dysfunctional joints improves the motion of the joint and the correctness of the communication along that nerve to the brain. Happy joints = happy nerves = happy brain = happy mind.
The most common nerve to be affected in sleep disorders is the Vagus Nerve, or the 10th Cranial Nerve. It is the longest cranial nerve stemming from the brain stem (the medulla oblongata) and travels all the way down through the neck, the upper body and down into the abdomen. It transmits roughly 75% of our parasympathetic nervous system information which is responsible for calming our bodies from stressful situations.
Because we know that chiropractic adjustments have a direct effect on the surrounding nerves, getting adjusted where there is access to the Vagus Nerve can indeed improve sleep in all age groups!
Fletcher Chiropractic has been a Oshkosh staple over thirty years. It was originally founded in 1986 by Doctor Michael Fletcher, who moved to Oshkosh to start a family. In 2012, he proudly welcomed his son Doctor Brandon Fletcher and daughter-in-law Doctor Kimberly Fletcher to the practice, cementing its reputation as a true family practice. The doctors are proud to work alongside Doctor Brittany Bartel as a team of established practitioners that work together to provide high quality care for our community members.
Find out more about our patient care philosophy by contacting our team at (920) 230-2800 today! We look forward to meeting with you and answering all of your questions and concerns. Fletcher Chiropractic is here to help!
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