Pain Picks on Sleep-The Why’s and How’s are Discussed

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding pain with sleep.

A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about pain with sleep.

Twenty percent of Americans report that some kind of pain or discomfort disrupts their sleep a few nights per week or more.

This sleep disruption in turn causes deprivation of mood, behavior, energy level, and safety.

It was reported in the NSF’s Survey on Sleeplessness, Pain and the Workplace, that back pain and other body aches or joint pain were the leading kinds of pain conditions experienced at night.

The Consequences Of Pain With Sleep

Difficulty maintaining alertness, lack of energy, impaired mood, and trouble handling stress are the consequences of pain with sleep. A lack of sleep puts a person at a higher risk for injury, poor health, and accidents.

Sleep studies in patients with acute pain, such as postoperative patients, and chronic pain, such as neuropathic & rheumatologic conditions, show frequent arousals, a hard time going back to sleep, and decreased time in REM sleep.

Causes Of Sleep Loss Due To Pain

Back pain, headaches, facial pain caused by temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome, which is characterized by pain in and around the ears and soreness of the jaw muscles are the major causes of sleep loss due to pain.

Another cause for poor speed are musculoskeletal pain, which includes arthritis and fibromyalgia, can lead to poor sleep. Women report problems with intuitive and abdominal pain as well as premenstrual cramping.

It’s vital to note that on the whole impact of visceral and abdominal pain in women is misunderstood. We need more studies in this area. Pain from cancer, the disease itself and its treatment, is also a major offender in causing poor sleep.

The International Association for the Study of Pain delineates 3 major types of pain:

1. acute pain, such as that resulting from an injury;
2. cancer-related pain; and
3. chronic nonmalignant pain.

Chronic nonmalignant pain, which may be a result of injury or of unknown causes, is the type of pain most frequently associated with alteration of sleep.

Pain is the major cause of insomnia. Sixty-five percent of pains with sleep sufferers reported being awakened during the night by pain and waking up feeling un-refreshed.

Pain and sleep correlate on so many levels. Chronic pain sufferers experience less deep sleep, more arousals and disturbances, and less effective sleep. A poor quality of sleep mixed with waking pain creates a vicious cycle that affects mood, behavior, energy, and safety

Pain with sleep sufferers are hardly ever at the top of their game. A full night’s sleep leaves a person’s mood, energy, and behavior at their highest potential. Knowledge can give you a real advantage.

Back Pain

The most common type of pain-related sleeplessness is back pain. Eighty percent of Americans at some point report having been affected by back pain. One in fifty American workers suffers a back injury and low back pain.

Back pain disables some 5.4 million Americans every year. The more severe the pain the more sleep disruption occurs. Sleep disruption seems to make the pain feel worse. So what can be done to stop the madness?

Head Aches

The second most common type of pain is headaches. Migraines can occur following a period of sleep deprivation or too much sleep.

Headaches are also connected with sleep apnea which is defined as frequent pauses in breathing along with loud snoring during sleep. Cluster headaches are even worse and can impair a good night’s sleep as well.

Arthritis

Rheumatic and arthritic disorders also associate with sleep problems. Rheumatoid arthritis patients have disturbed sleep with stiffness in the morning as well as a decrease in energy, weakness, and function.

Osteoarthritis, which affects the hips and knees, causes patients to sleep lighter and have restless sleep.

Fibromyalgia

Flare-ups can lead to arousal of sleep. Fibromyalgia causes aches and pains throughout the entire body. It leaves patients feeling exhausted and unable to feel refreshed.

These patients experience light, daytime fatigue, un-refreshing sleep, and problems with thinking and mood. This poor sleep pattern seems to worsen symptoms. Fibromyalgia can also cause chronic headaches, jaw pain, tingling legs, irritable bowel syndrome, and sleep apnea.

The poor sleep quality can be attributed to unrelenting muscle pain, tenderness, and low energy. Sleep apnea tears the sleep cycle into bits and pieces, thus reducing slow wave sleep. One study showed the occurrence of sleep apnea in 80% of fibromyalgia patients.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about pain with sleep.