Whew, it’s hot!  This has been a year of unusual weather, and the winter has been no exception. Especially for us living in the White Mountains of AZ!! Hang in there for just a little longer and we’ll hopefully be getting some cooler temperatures!

With such nice weather it’s easier to focus on all the New Year goals we all set out to achieve. People who set goals, write them down, and revisit them on a regular basis have been shown to reach them with a much higher probability than people who don’t write down their goals. So pull out a blank sheet of paper, and start writing!

As I listen and treat my patients the most common theme is “weight loss” for their New Year goals. I wish it were simpler, but a lot of things can cause you to gain fat. It's not always just a lack of exercise and an overabundance of food. So if you are eating right and exercising, but still having a hard time burning off excess inches, maybe you should take a look at your sleeping patterns.

In a study of 30 Greek women, researchers found that those who slept less had more body fat. In fact, for every one-hour decrease in the number of hours they slept, the women saw an increase of almost three percent more body fat.

If you aren't getting seven or eight hours of sleep each night, this could be the missing link in your fat-loss program. Chiropractic care has a direct correlation with sleeping patterns. In fact, I hear this on a very regular basis “I always sleep better after getting adjusted”.

Over 20 published medical research studies were devoted to studying the effects of sleeping positions on health. It was found that sleeping on one’s back was the WORST sleeping posture for: - sleep apnea, back pain in pregnancy, coughing attacks, irregular or periodic breathing, asthma, health of pregnant women, sleep paralysis and terrifying hallucinations, health of geriatric inpatients, allergies, snoring, chronic respiratory insufficiency, heart failure, and clenching episodes.

There are NO medical publications that found any advantages of sleeping on your back. So, not just for weight loss, getting a good night rest has a huge impact on our health.