03/13/2026
Happy World Sleep Day! If you normally skip our posts, don’t sleep on this one!
The CDC recognizes poor sleep as a major public health problem, but getting enough sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health. Unfortunately 39% of Floridians are getting less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep each night.
Why is sleep important? You probably don’t need us to tell you why- we all intuitively know that sleep is important, but here’s a fact about sleep you might not know about: getting enough sleep can decrease risk of health conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, falls, dementia, and chronic pain.
Chronic pain you say? Yes- pain and sleep are linked. Less sleep leads to greater pain sensitivity. And it’s a two way street- more pain leads to less sleep. It’s a tough cycle.
Here are some ways PT can help:
1 Addressing pain that keeps you awake and teaching comfortable sleep positions.
2 Teaching relaxation techniques like stretching, deep breathing, and Tai Chi, and progressive relaxation training.
3 Designing personalized exercise programs, which are proven to improve sleep quality.
4 Educating you on better sleep habits (see our last post!)
Sleep affects nearly every system in your body, so improving it can make a big difference in how you feel and function every day. So get to work! (or not in this case!)
