sleeping advice please?

[hangingbasket]

I dont need advice on how to sleep... I'm actually very good at it :)

What I was wondering.. is if anyone has any tips or advice on how to relax your muscles in your sleep?

I find myself waking up very stiff and uncomfortable and am plagued by a pain in my ribs throughout the day.. which my doctor seems to think is muscular. I do notice that my muscles are constantly tense throughout the day, and I'm practicing progressive muscle relaxation daily to help this. I am now able to relax my muscles a lot easier during the daytime.

But how do you do this when you're asleep? I sleep on my front with my arms under the pillow so I'm lying on them, and obviously I'm very tense throughout the night, but I cant control what I do when I'm asleep.

Does anyone have a solution for this?

[LunaLiuna]

Try a warm water bottle, or maybe even some self massage :)

[Fishmanpa]

While there's no way of doing something like that while you sleep (you're asleep after all ;)), there are things you can do beforehand. Stretching, a hot shower or bath etc. does wonders for stiff muscles. If you have a partner, a massage or sex always helps in my book ;)

The best thing for sore muscles and stiff joints is a good mattress. There are things you can skimp on but a mattress shouldn't be one of them. A bad mattress will cause you more aches and pains than you can even imagine. If you can't spring for a really good mattress, a memory foam mattress topper does wonders. We have a very good mattress and added the topper. I LOVE our bed :) I look forward to getting into it every night as it's that comfortable.

Positive thoughts and restful sleep :)

[hangingbasket]

Stretching before bed is a pretty good idea really! I tend to just drop into bed after an hour of lazing round on the sofa so stretching and a hot bath could be a positive step!!

I'm dying to try professional massage... I'm super nervous about it though as I've never had one before and not sure what to expect!

Pretty sure hubby would get fed up of massages EVERY night... and sex? I'm sooooo not showing him this thread! I dont think he needs to know I've been advised to have sex EVERY night before sleeping!!

Thanks for the suggestions guys.. some ideas to try :)

---------- Post added at 21:59 ---------- Previous post was at 21:58 ----------

oh... and I'd love a memory foam mattress... maybe I will show him this thread afterall and say I NEED one!!!

[Worriedwellornot]

Lol ! :D