If you feel like your recovery isn’t going as well as you expected, there is one rehab tool that might be missing from your treatment plan….SLEEP!
Whether you are recovering from concussion, chronic pain, a pulled muscle, a fracture, or vertigo…your body needs sleep to support the healing process!
How does sleep actually impact healing?
1. Tissue Regeneration and Repair
- Deep sleep is important for the release of growth hormones and activation of pathways that support protein synthesis – this is VERY important when it comes to tissue regeneration and repair!
- When we aren’t getting enough sleep, our system shifts towards protein breakdown and can actually slow the recovery of muscle damage – whether this is from performance, injury, or surgery.
- Studies show that something like shift work or travel, where our sleep cycles are routinely disrupted, can impair out body’s repair processes in muscle, bone and skin. 2. Performance
- Performance includes strength, power, endurance, and even cognitive performance. Reduced sleep even in small amounts can result in decreased maximal strength and power and reduced endurance capacity.
- In addition, we can see decreased performance when it comes to fine motor control, coordination, reaction time, and attention – these are important for return to sport, but also in day to day tasks at home or the workplace. 3. Immunity and Inflammation
- Sleep is very important when it comes to immune function – our immune system is involved in our healing process too!
- Getting enough sleep leads to adequate activation of anti-inflammatory pathways. When it comes to healing, this is important for us to move from the inflammatory phase early after injury to the regenerative phase – where our tissues start to rebuild.
- When we don’t get enough sleep, we actually see an uptick in inflammatory signalling, which means we get stuck in the inflammatory stage of healing and recovery is delayed. 4. Hormones
- When we are sleep deprived, we can get stuck with elevated levels of cortisol – which can have negative effects throughout the body.
- This is one of many mechanisms that can contribute to chronic pain, prolong concussion recovery, impede immune function, and delay tissue healing.
What can you do about your sleep?
If you haven’t already, start with sleep hygiene! It sounds obvious, but so many of us have poor evening habits that can impact our sleep. This includes:
- Decreasing screens before bed
- Maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule
- Limiting naps to <20 minutes earlier in the day
- Being mindful of eating/exercising before bed
Research shows that sleep extension – either through extending nighttime sleep or adding intentional napping – can improve mood, energy, and performance. So thinking about allowing more time for sleep at night or through the day can also be impactful.
Teaching your brain it is time to wind down for sleep can also help – this means incorporating a bedtime routine that is consistent every night. This might include breathing exercises, gentle mobility exercises, reading, taking a hot shower….anything that you can include to teach your brain that it is now time to sleep.
If these tips aren’t working, you can always consider talking to your doctor to investigate if something else is driving your sleep issues. This could include bloodwork, a sleep study, or a referral to cognitive behavioural therapy to help diagnose and treat sleep disorders.
Sources:
J Clin Med. 2025 Oct 27;14(21):7606. doi: 10.3390/jcm14217606