Chronic Pain Makes It Hard To Fall And Stay Asleep

Chronic pain makes it hard for patients to fall and stay asleep, and studies show pain sufferers are getting almost an hour less of sleep each night because of their discomfort.

According to the “2015 Sleep in America” poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, chronic pain plays a big role in how much and the quality of sleep people get. According to the study:

  • Chronic pain caused 57 percent of Americans a “significant loss of sleep.”
  • People with chronic pain said they got 42 fewer minutes of sleep than they needed each night.
  • People with chronic pain were more likely to blame their difficulty on other sleeping factors, like noise, light, temperature and mattress problems.

The biggest issue facing people with chronic pain was that it’s a cyclical battle. Pain makes it harder to fall and stay of sleep, and lack of sleep exacerbates chronic pain symptoms.

Chronic Pain Sleep

Tips For Falling Asleep With Chronic Pain

Falling asleep with chronic pain is no easy task, but there are some steps you can take to improve your chances of falling and staying asleep. Here are some steps to consider:

  • Stick to a Routine – Going to bed at 8:30 one night, 10:00 the next night and 11:45 on the weekend is a good way to throw your sleep rhythm out of whack. We know you might stay up later on the weekend, by strive for consistency during the work week.
  • Remove Distractions – The bedroom should be a place for sleeping, not a place you go to watch Netflix and read your Kindle for an hour before bed. Do those activities in another room so your body gets used to falling asleep faster when you’re in bed.
  • Keep it Dark – Similar to the above point, iPads, Kindles and televisions are bright objects that signal to your brain that you’re not yet ready to fall asleep for the night. Remove those electronics, close shades and turn off all lights, because it’s easier to stay asleep and fall back asleep in a dark environment.

Pain Making it Hard To Sleep? We Can Help

Sleep PainPain often causes sleep problems. In patients with chronic pain, sleep problems occur in over 50 percent of patients. Problems with sleep can worsen pain and affect your whole life. Patients will often feel rundown, tired, depressed and very stressed. Relationships with your family, your spouse, and at work may be affected. Solving the issue if a complex process, and it won’t happen overnight.

4 Pain-Related Sleep Problems

Sleep problems can be divided into four categories:

  • Pain making it difficult to fall asleep
  • Chronic pain causing frequent awakening during the night
  • Pain may prevent restorative deep sleep
  • Waking up too early each morning because pain makes it impossible to fall back asleep

Each type of problem may need a different solution, and patients often experience more than one of the above conditions. The first step in treating the issue is by practicing good sleep hygiene. Activities that cause problems prior to sleeping include drinking caffeinated beverages and alcohol. Alcohol may initially cause tiredness but later in the night often disrupts sleep cycles.

Exercising late at night is another no-no. Exercise will help keep you awake, and napping during the day may also lead to decreased tiredness. The bedroom should be considered place only for sleeping and not for watching TV or doing work-related activities. The bedroom should be considered a calming and relaxing place.

Physician Treatment

When the simple things and conservative treatment does not help improve sleep, working with your physician for a more comprehensive treatment strategy is beneficial. A sleep study is often especially helpful in determining the issues that are preventing good sleep, and they can help formulate a plan to combat the problem. Multiple medications are available to help with sleep, but many can actually interfere with parts of this sleep cycle. Narcotic medications and older antidepressants may help with pain at night but often interfere with portions of the deep sleep cycle. Newer medications like Ambien and Lunesta are helpful in allowing the patient to fall asleep, but may not be helpful to keep a person asleep. Recently, melatonin at doses of 5-10 mg has been found to be helpful in maintaining good sleep cycles and reducing pain. Sleep studies can also be helpful to determine other medical problems that need to be treated to improve sleep.

Chronic pain often interferes with sleep, and poor sleep can lead to worsening pain. Improving sleep at night can often greatly improve the quality of life. Sleep problems can be simple, but often with chronic pain they are complex. A sleep study is sometimes needed to determine all problems associated with the lack of sleep. The solution to a good night sleep may require multiple changes and routines. The help of a pain specialist or a sleep expert may be necessary to find the right solution.