Sleep is essential to one’s health. Getting a good sleep quality every night is crucial to allow your mind and body to recharge and prepare for the next day. However, getting a good night’s sleep isn’t always easy for everyone. Several factors can affect your sleep quality, and poor circulation is one of them. If you’re experiencing numbness in your feet or hands, stinging body pains, muscle cramps, or lethargy during sleep, it’s probably because of your body’s poor blood circulation. Besides those symptoms that bring uneasiness at night, poor blood circulation will also make it harder for you to get a decent sleep. And so, you wake up each day feeling tired, unenergized, and exhausted. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to help improve your circulation and get better sleep. Don’t let yourself get used to these symptoms every night, and check out these helpful tips below on improving your body’s blood circulation. 1. Get A New Mattress Although other factors can cause poor circulation (e.g., health conditions, obesity, blood clots, etc.), your current mattress may also be a contributing factor. Sleeping on a mattress that’s too firm for you will not let your body contour or sink into the bed. Thus, your body, especially your hips, shoulders, and back, will remain positioned above the mattress while being pushed down to the firm surface. It will cause pressure on your body that restricts blood flow and result in poor blood circulation for the entire night. To promote a more comfortable sleep and improve circulation, consider getting a new mattress that will allow your body to sink on the surface comfortably. One type you can consider is an adjustable electric bed. This bed is a mechanical bed frame that allows you to manipulate and adjust the position of the mattress according to your preferred sleeping position. You can also adjust the lower part of the bed to put your feet in an elevated position and promote better blood flow. 2. Drink More Water When your body is constantly dehydrated, your heart beats faster to compensate for the less water, increasing your heart rate and causing palpitations. Since your body’s prioritizing to get enough blood to flow through your heart, it becomes harder to circulate more blood through the rest of your body, causing poor blood circulation. Thus, make sure you’re drinking enough water during the day. It’s also required to drink a glass of water first thing when you wake up in the morning and two hours before you go to sleep. Bringing more water to your system will help your circulatory system function better and prevent muscle cramps in your feet, which are often common at night. 3. Go For A Quick Stroll Physical exercise can help improve your body’s blood circulation. You don’t necessarily need to engage in strenuous activities to get this benefit. Even as simple as going for a quick stroll can help promote blood flow to the rest of your body. You may go for a light stroll in the morning or two to three hours before bed. Not only will this improve blood flow, but those endorphins you got from the activity can also help you relax and help you fall asleep quicker. 4. Perform Some Stretches If you don’t have enough time to go for a stroll at night, you may perform stretches at home to get your blood flowing. Stretching exercises will help carry oxygen and blood in and around your body. One particular stretching you can incorporate into your bedtime routine is Yoga, as it helps put your mind and body at ease while at the same time promoting blood flow. Other stretches you may also consider are: Squats Leg lifts Ankle rotations Ankle pumps Leg elevation against a wall Find out which stretch you can perform comfortably and ensure to do it every night before sleep. 5. Massage Your Body If you always experience numbness or tingling pain on certain body parts, try to massage your body to help these areas relax and relieve the numbness. You may manually massage yourself using your hands or use a self-messaging device. And either way, massaging your body will help open up your blood flow and improve circulation. 6. Drink Tea Another habit you can add to your bedtime routine is drinking tea. Drinking tea before bed can help promote cardiovascular health and improve your body’s blood flow. This benefit applies to both green tea and black tea. Black tea is known to help keep your blood vessels healthy, while green tea will reduce your risk of contracting cardiovascular health problems. 7. Practice Proper Sleeping Position Even if you have the nicest mattress, if you’re constantly sleeping in an awkward position, you’re bound to experience muscle cramps, numbness, or body pains that will cause poor blood circulation. For instance, putting your arms behind your head or under your back while sleeping will restrict the blood flow in your arms and affect the rest of your body’s blood circulation. So, ensure you practice proper sleeping positions, such as sleeping on your side, keeping your arms at the sides, and using a pillow that helps keeps your spine and neck aligned. Key Takeaway Your body’s blood circulation can directly impact your sleep quality. But by incorporating these tips into your lifestyle habits or bedtime routine, you can improve your blood circulation and achieve a much better sleep every night. Best of all, a healthy blood circulation system can also improve your overall health.
