Can standing all day on your feet affect cause burnout and your sleeping?
When your feet hurts everything hurts!
In a 24 hour period we are standing on our feet for a major part of each day, taking thousands of steps. When your feet hit the ground everything can change. We have approximately 52 bones in our feet which is about half the bones in our body found below the ankle. Wearing uncomfortable shoes or high heels over the coarse of a long day can add up to a tremendous amount of misery causing our feet to be unhappy. So, when your feet hurt everything can hurt, fatigue will set in, your muscles will get sore and eventually burnout occurs. The only time we have to recharge our batteries is when we are sleeping. If our bodies are not supported properly while we are standing or sleeping it could lead to chronic fatigue as well as foot, leg and low back pain. Being supported and comfortable so our body does not break down and develop chronic physical problems is extremely important.
Sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress and using the wrong pillows are contributing factors in developing neck, shoulder, upper and lower back pain. Since you spend thousands of hours on a mattress in a life time if your back is not properly supported the muscles in the upper and lower back can go into spasm causing chronic pain, numbness and tingling in your extremities. If you are one of the many thousands who suffer from back pain or have had back surgery finding the right mattress to sleep on is imperative and often challenging.
The floor surfaces we stand on and the shoes we wear daily can definitely impact one’s life and wear you down. The surfaces we walk or stand on is unchangeable however the footwear we wear is. If you are an executive or a sales person the shoes you wear play a role in your overall health. Standing on a concrete or tile floors at trade shows or work for 8 -10 hours a day in uncomfortable high heels or flats without the proper arch support will create a tremendous amount of stress in your entire body. It will impact your legs, feet and low back. Those types of floor surfaces are unforgiving and will fatigue the muscles in your feet, legs and low back over the coarse of a day. The combination of long hours on your feet, hard floors and bad shoes can trigger any type of lower extremity or low back problems as well as affect your sleep. Calf spasms and arch cramps are commonly experienced while sleeping. While you are active all day your muscles are firing trying to keep you upright and active and when you finally lay down to fall asleep those same muscles can then go into spasm. Sometimes simply by pointing your foot or flexing your leg.
Some of the more common foot problems related to wearing high heels and standing for long periods of time on concrete floors are arch pain, plantar fasciitis, heel pain, muscle cramping and spasms as well as low back pain.
Fixing these problems is easy.
Stretching exercises are important for you to do daily and should even be done before you go to sleep. It is always a good idea to stretch the muscles in your calves, legs, thighs and low back for 5–10 minutes before you go to sleep as it will relax those muscles and help prevent night cramps.
The one that is the easiest to fix is footwear. Over the counter arch supports, cushioned insoles or custom orthotics will support and cushion your feet from standing for prolonged periods of time on any floor surface when wearing your favorite footwear. Finding arch supports for your high heels may be a challenge because of the pitch of the shoe. It is hard to find ones that can fit properly; they can be big and bulky. Look for ones that fit in the arch of the shoe and do not take up much room. Google key words such as arch support, orthotics, instant arch support, arch support sandals for those who wear backless sandals to work.
Standing and sleeping are daily things we take for granted! What we do not always think about is how uncomfortable we are doing them. By supporting your feet you will walk happily ever after and sleep better too.
