Sleeping with chronic pain, how does it affect us?
The quality of life of people suffering from chronic pain can be affected by it in many ways: emotional and psychological problems, loss of desire to perform some activities, constant discomfort when doing routine tasks such as housework or work…. Even our rest can be affected.
Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience. This sensation, both physically and psychologically, is to blame for the fact that we often find it much more difficult to do seemingly simple and even pleasant things, such as sleeping.
Chronic pain and sleep
Dr. Fernando de la Torre, member of the Spanish Pain Society, comments in this interview this interview that “insomnia is the first consequence of chronic pain to be treated in pain units”. This implies that people suffering from chronic pain are more likely to have sleep disorders such as insomnia, to sleep intermittently and less deeply.
Sleep deprivation or poor sleep, prevents the proper recovery of our body and can worsen allodynia or hyperalgesia that occur in many patients suffering from chronic pain such as fibromyalgia, migraine, chronic pelvic pain, etc.. We must remember that hyperalgesia is the increase of pain sensitivity to a low pain stimulus, which means that those who suffer from this disorder have a decreased pain threshold, while allodynia is an increase of pain sensitivity to a low pain stimulus, which means that those who suffer from this disorder have a decreased pain threshold. perception of pain towards stimuli that are not painful, for example, the pain that occurs with the rubbing of the sheets. Both disorders make it difficult to rest, and a vicious circle is produced that makes pain and insomnia worse.
The relationship is quite evident, and its connotations with clearly negative on several levels. Lack of sleep or poor rest can, among other things:
- Affect our immune system
- Damaging cells of our brain that prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Affect our metabolic system
- Increasing our blood pressure
- Increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Increased risk of depression or anxiety
- Affects our ability to pay attention and learn
This, in addition to what we mentioned above, makes proper rest essential not only for people with chronic pain, but for everyone.
Tips for sleeping better with (and without) chronic pain
To improve our sleep, or make it easier to fall asleep, we can follow these simple tips:
- Avoid screens before going to sleep, whether it is a cell phone, tablet or television. The light emitted by these devices, and the stimuli caused by both sounds and images, can hinder our sleep.
- Do not go to bed late (if and when possible). We know that this can be difficult because there are many factors that can intervene (work, family…), but if we can, it is advisable to go to bed early.
- Do not vary bedtime every day. It is important to maintain a routine to facilitate both going to sleep and waking up.
- Do not overeat at night, neither sweet things that raise our blood glucose nor fatty foods that are difficult to digest.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol prevents deep sleep, and caffeine can hinder our sleep.
- Adapt your room to facilitate sleep. It should be a relaxing environment, free of light and noise, and where you are comfortable.
- Neither hot nor cold. The temperature must be stable and moderate, and although we believe that covering up too much in winter is comfortable, too much heat is not good either.
As we can see, it is important to sleep and rest well for our organism to function properly, and this includes people suffering from chronic pain.