How To Improve Circulation in Legs While Sleeping

We understand how scary this can be, which is why you would want to make sure you address the issue right away.

In fact, even if you haven’t been officially diagnosed, having good circulation can be a great preventative measure.

Often, you will hear that the first step to solving this problem is learning how to improve circulation in legs while sleeping.

Thankfully, there are several different ways you can make changes to how you sleep to improve your circulation.

Why Circulation in Your Legs While Sleeping Matters

Whether you spend more time than average lying down or not, you might be wondering why it is so important to take care of your circulation.

What will happen if you don’t?

First, you need to understand that your heart and body have to work harder to pump blood evenly throughout your body while you are lying down.

This can cause your heart to develop long-term problems if you are bedridden or suffering from other medical ailments.

Additionally, many health conditions can cause poor circulation, and poor circulation can cause coexisting problems.

Conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are all particularly dangerous in this regard.

When all of these things come together in the perfect storm, they can lead to many uncomfortable outcomes, including:

• Discomfort
• Swelling
• Cramping
• Pain
• Ulcers in the extremities (hands or feet)
• Higher risk of blood clots
• Higher risk of lesions
• Higher risk of circulation-related issues

By making simple changes to how you sleep or lie down, you can improve your circulation and reduce these risks.

What Causes Poor Circulation While Sleeping?

To solve any problem, you have to know what causes it in the first place.

There are many possible reasons why a person develops poor circulation, including:

• Pressure on specific veins or organs due to sleeping position
• Underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
• Breathing problems

While you can address some of these things by adjusting how you sleep, others require more thorough medical attention.

If you are dealing with the symptoms of poor circulation, talk with your doctor about figuring out why so that you can treat it more effectively.

There are many simple tests that the doctor can do for heart disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, and other common causes of poor circulation.

With these tests, you can discover precisely what is causing your circulation issues and how you might effectively treat those problems.

Can You Reverse Poor Circulation in Legs?

Generally, poor circulation in your legs can be treated, improved, and even reversed with attentive care and a change in your overall lifestyle.

Remember that poor circulation is typically the result of something else going on in your body.

It is essential that you find the root cause of the issue and treat that problem.

While you must improve how you sleep to help nighttime circulation, you also want to treat the larger issue at hand.

Work with your doctor and be attentive.

With a change in your lifestyle, you can permanently reverse the symptoms of poor circulation.

How To Improve Circulation in Legs While Sleeping

There are many different ways you can improve blood flow in your legs while sleeping.

Here are some tried-and-tested techniques you can do right away:

1. Prop Your Feet Up

Elevating your feet a little bit with a foot pillow or a similar sleep aid can help your blood circulation.

By elevating your feet, gravity will be more effective, and your heart won’t need to work as hard to keep the blood moving to your extremities.

This simple change can take some time to get used to.

However, it is a sure-fire way to help improve circulation in your legs.

2. Drink More Water

Make sure you drink water throughout the day. More specifically, drink a glass of water an hour or two before bed.

Hydrating helps your circulatory system function better.

When you are well-hydrated, it is easier for your body to keep your blood flow steady.

Dehydration strains this system and can lead to poor circulation in your limbs while sleeping.

3. Improve Your Diet

Compared to immediate ways to improve blood flow, changing your diet for the better is a long-term commitment.

Even so, no one can deny how important and effective it is.

Check that you are eating a balanced diet that does not have too many fatty foods adding bad cholesterol to your system.

Plaque can build up in your blood, leading to weaker blood flow and clots.

In turn, this will affect your circulation while sleeping.

Choosing to eat a healthier diet that promotes better blood circulation and a healthy heart will improve your sleeping condition.

Not only that, but a diet packed with essential nutrients and minerals will ensure longevity and an overall better mood, too.

4. Increase Physical Activity During the Day

Changes in how you spend your daytime hours will have a significant impact on your blood circulation.

By improving your cardio health and getting in enough physical activity every day, you can help keep your heart pumping the way it should.

Regular exercise will help your blood flow and help you sleep better, even when sleeping in new positions.

What's more, a healthy heart and a strong pair of lungs will contribute to a better you, both physically and mentally.

5. Stop Smoking

If you suffer from the effects of poor circulation and you still smoke cigarettes or take nicotine in another form, it’s time to consider stopping.

Smoking dramatically affects blood circulation, and it does so permanently.

The longer that you smoke, the higher your risks will be.

Stopping smoking sooner rather than later is the best way to prevent tobacco from causing circulation problems for you down the line.

What’s the Best Sleeping Position for Circulation in Your Legs?

When it comes to the best sleeping position for circulation in your legs, many often only suggest elevating your legs.

Is sleeping with your legs elevated beneficial, or is that all a hoax?

Sleeping with your legs elevated has many more benefits than potential drawbacks.

From better circulation to preventing varicose veins from developing, sleeping with your legs up is a great way to improve your health.

The most significant drawbacks are related to discomfort and difficulty falling asleep.

However, as you get used to the new sleeping position, it will get easier.

Usually, other sleep aids, such as more comfortable pillows and earbuds, can help ease you enough to get you to sleep in your new sleeping position.

What’s the Best Sleeping Position for Blood Circulation in Your Body?

The best sleeping position for blood circulation depends on more than just how you position your legs.

Just as elevating them can help your blood flow, you can also help your circulation by adjusting other parts of your body.

For example, sleeping with or without a pillow can affect how your spine is positioned.

Here are some tips to ensure you have the best circulation according to your sleep position:

• Sleep on your left side rather than your right side
• Elevate your legs
• Keep your arms at your sides rather than behind or under your head
• Choose a pillow that cradles your neck and keeps your spine neutrally aligned

By doing these things, you can help get your body into a position that doesn’t compress your lungs or organs in a way that impacts blood flow.

Again, you can use gravity to your advantage to improve blood flow.

How Can I Increase My Blood Flow While Sleeping?

To improve your blood flow while sleeping, you will want to consider all of the information shared earlier as you implement the following tips:

• Get daily exercise to improve your circulatory system.
• Make sure you position your body properly while sleeping.
• Drink more water throughout the day.
• Eat healthy food choices.
• Get regular health screenings to address circulatory problems as needed.
• Stop smoking.
• Check your blood pressure and treat it accordingly.
• Try wearing compression socks during the day.

It is confusing that some of the things you need to do to keep your legs healthy at night must be done during the day.

However, your circulatory system functions all the time.

By making it stronger during the day, it will also remain as strong at night.

Keep that in mind, and make lifestyle changes that will benefit you all the time.

Improving Your Circulation for Good

Learning how to improve circulation in legs while sleeping is just the beginning of making your body healthier and happier.

If you are in a high-risk category, your doctor will work with you to implement these changes.

Don’t let the risks scare you. Instead, focus on how you can make your life better by simply making adjustments to the way you sleep.

You have the power to make those changes that will not only help you to have better circulation while you sleep but all day long.

From there, everything will start to feel more under control.

These changes are guaranteed to affect your life positively, so start making them today.