Proper Sleep Relieves the Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

World Cerebral Palsy Day is hosted by an organization made up of people with cerebral palsy, their families, and other organizations in more than 65 countries that foster their advocacy. Along with them, we aspire to see both the young and adult people with cerebral palsy having and enjoying the same rights, access, and opportunities as the average person does. This can be accomplished only if we are united on this day, the 6th of October.

About Cerebral Palsy

All over the world, 17 million people have cerebral palsy while 350 million more are closely associated in one way or another with a child or adult with the condition. Most commonly, cerebral palsy appears early in childhood. It is a physical disability that is permanent and that affects movement. The extent to which it affects the body can range from a weakness in one hand to almost a total lack of voluntary movement. This disability can be compounded with other disorders: 1 in 4 children with CP cannot talk, 1 in 3 cannot walk, 1 in 2 have an intellectual disability, 1 in 4 have epilepsy, 1 in 5 have a sleep disorder, 3 in 4 experience pain. A person will have cerebral palsy for the rest of his or her life, as there is no known cure.

Download the What is Cerebral Palsy? and the Cerebral Palsy: Diagnosis and Treatment infographic posters for more information about the disease.

Change My World in 1 Minute

World Cerebral Palsy Day has observed a special campaign from 2012 to 2014 that is called Change My World in 1 Minute. This campaign was a search for creative and inventive concepts for products and services that should be made for people with cerebral palsy. The campaign included a competition among designers and engineers that required them to make a model for their invention or idea in order to win a prize.

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination. Because people with cerebral palsy develop problems with balance and posture and lack of control over their fine motor movements, they end up suffering from bruises and injuries when they accidentally bump into furniture, walls, or take a fall. So, through a contest in 2015, architects and designers coming from across the globe were able to develop a bump-proof house they called a Sponge House made specially for people with cerebral palsy. The idea was sourced from a 6-year-old girl with CP cerebral palsy living in England, Sally Garster. Looking beyond wheelchair accessibility standards, the architects and designers were asked to conceive and construct a living space, furniture and furnishings, fixtures and fittings, appliances and lighting that would satisfy the needs of many persons with cerebral palsy who are still able to move around, including those who need mobility aids.

For this year, even people who are not designers, architects, and engineers are also being invited to join others in order to make living better for persons with cerebral palsy.

Get Involved

There are many ways where your help is needed. Support the activities which recognize the lives and achievements of people with cerebral palsy, including the people and communities that support them. Stand up for people with cerebral palsy by bringing energy and awareness to the advocacies about the disease and by promoting educational campaigns that challenge people to come up with solutions. Let more people know about cerebral palsy and the difficulties that come along with the disability. Extend your reach to the local, national, and up to the international level in order to increase the involvement of more societies.

Providing a way for people with cerebral palsy to have better sleep is also a precious gift for them. Finding the best possible sleeping position is key to less body strain and ultimately less pain, and its effects. Most symptoms can be minimized just from a good night’s rest. We usually regard physical movements such as standing, holding our heads up, and moving around as normal, but to persons with cerebral palsy, these actions can be quite stressful. A poor sleeping position can worsen the pain and strain they already feel. Sleeping in a poor position can increase the stress on the body all through the night, which results in the body not being able to rest well. The present stress does not allow the body to relax, and instead makes it continue to work, creating a progressive weakness in the body every single day. This brings about pain which is an indication that the body is fatigued from all the exertion and that it needs to rest.

The ultimate purpose for the design of the 3D Bamboo Memory Foam Pillow is to stimulate better rest for the body. Because it yields to the shape of the body, it allows better support for the head, neck, and shoulders. The body part that is particularly heavy is the head, and it needs a surface that can properly support its weight. The weight of the head exerts a great amount of pressure on the surface it rests on, and as the surface pushes back with the pressure of its weight, it causes pain. The composition of the memory foam pillow provides much needed support for the head, but does not push back, therefore causing no pain.

The body part that carries the weight of the head all day is the neck. The head is different from the legs, arms, and torso in that these body parts can rest on other surfaces. The head that can only be supported by the neck. Although known to be strong, the neck needs to rest also. Neck pain is not usually felt as a result of the neck being tired. However, the strain is passed on to the shoulders and they become stiff.

The 3D pillow is made to fit to the contours of the head, neck, and shoulders, making it the best cushion when you sleep. The material equally supports the head and neck, together with the shoulders, which allows the body to relax and rest in a comfortable position in order to gain strength for the next day. In addition, while the neck is resting properly, the spine is being realigned to its proper position. The bones in the spine are moved in many different ways as the body engages in physical activities. If they are not allowed to get back into place, it can cause pain.

There is also the Cooling Memory Foam Bamboo Mattress Topper, which can provide the same resting results for the body, together with a cooling effect that encourages sounder sleep. According to research, lower temperatures during sleep makes for better sleep. What helps bring the body to a temperature level that allows undisturbed sleep is the layer of cooling gel found within the mattress. As a whole, the memory foam and the cooling gel layer both greatly improve sleep and promote a really good night’s rest that can relieve pain. In the end, the body gets well rested when it has achieved quality sleep with less pain.