A major sleep difficulty is getting comfortable. This can be cause by inadequate bedding but can also be commonly associated with sore or painful joints. Inflammation plays a large part in this so knowing a little about the inflammatory process can help.

Inflammation – the body’s protection infection, illness and injury.

As a generic response, Inflammation can affect us both in good and bad ways. Acute inflammation can usually be considered the ‘good’ type and is the body’s normal response to infection (bacteria, viruses, etc.), tissue damage or metabolic stress. Chronic is bad as it’s not, purely defensive.

Inflammation is an important part of the body’s healthy response to injury and infection but research strongly suggests that it may also be the basis of many health conditions. Indeed, most disease carries an inflammatory component.

More obvious examples include Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Atherosclerosis to name but a few. See Harvard’s review.

While I was tin Boston I worked within a sleep department (Harvard Children’s) – Obstructive Sleep Apnea is known to be associated with inflammatory markers in the blood.

Is inflammation good?

Inflammation is part of the body’s healthy response to infection and tissue damage, and it is therefore vital to the healing process. Its  protective reaction involves immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular chemical mediators, used to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and commence tissue repair.

It performs this following a “cascade reaction” of chemical processes which in part act a s a “fail-safe” device.

There are two types of inflammation – acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is an immediate response. If you stand on something sharp, you’d jump away, that’s an acute response – protective.  

So acute inflammation that fends off foreign invaders and heals injuries is good. If an inflammatory response occurs (after a disease or injury) then dies down, its doing its job – that’s good – there’s nothing to worry about.

When is inflammation bad?

When inflammation is prolonged it is considered to be chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can cause problems of its own making. It has been implicated in the muscle loss that occurs with aging. Also, inflammation plays a large role in obesity.

This is why in my opinion antioxidant supplementing a healthy dies should be used to clear toxic (radical) chemicals and thereby helping prevent chronic inflammation. Such stabilization is a good and necessary thing. This is why I support supplementation.

Treatments to prevent acute inflammation have their place but only as an “acute” response to deal with immediate pain. Most should therefore be avoided if possible.

Chronic inflammation may result when:

The body is unable to eliminate an agent causing acute inflammation, such as a food sensitivity. This sometimes requires exclusion of the offending items but even if tested is not easy. Following a prescribed “Diet” may be a simple and less expensive way forward. Remember too, during life your body’s responses to certain things change too – not just loud music.

Exposure to low levels of a particular irritant

Exposure to low levels of a particular irritant or irritants cannot be eliminated, such as toxic elements or environmental pollutants. Again the determination of these is like playing detective but look to the obvious ones like laundry detergents, paints, solvents, molds, etc.

Autoimmune disorder

An autoimmune disorder is present – this is a common cause – often in the form of arthritis (- diseases ending in “itis” indicate a largely inflammatory component. Unfortunately most healthcare systems “tolerate” chronic inflammation either by prescription or by ignoring them as time to is often required unravel them – oftentimes healthcare systems don’t allow such time. Some do.

Does Chronic Stress cause or worsen Chronic Inflammation?

Yes – so is Chronic Stress is present for you? Stress, like inflammation, is a generic response. It too can be good or bad in its effects. Stress can be good (Eustress) or bad (Distress) and the body’s response (Strain) is the crucial factor in outcome.

Identifying the cause of your chronic inflammation is the first step in determining the path to a healthier and more enjoyable life.

As an overall “catch all” antioxidant supplements work because Antioxidants help to protect cells from damage which is caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and therefore free radicals.

These are unstable molecules which cause damage to cell structures. Inflammation within the body can lead to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) which damage, kill or mutate the surrounding living tissues.

Antioxidants in chronic disease care.

Supplementing a healthy diet makes sense in my opinion given the never ending production of ROS 24 hours a day. They are a by-product of life and their stabilization and elimination therefore part of protection agains diseases or premature aging.

Since Obstructive Sleep Apnea is such a common sleep disorder and one that is accompanies chronic inflammation, ROS and free radical production. as well as a strong associations with inflammatory diseases, antioxidant supplementation along with OSA management clearly carries benefits beyond either done separately.

Sleeping can be affected by comfort. Pain affects sleep detrimentally in both falling asleep and staying asleep. Poor sleep also affects your pain threshold. This becomes a vicious cycle which starts to take on a life of its own – especially in the middle of the night as anyone who experiences poor sleep, insomnia or pain and or discomfort in sleeping in bed.

If you experience these – seek assistance, we will be adding more on these subjects here due their importance and the great number of people suffering every night.

Further interesting reference articles – click below;