pain impacts sleep is important –
when you know what the problem
is, you can do your best to find a
solution.
1. Pain Makes it
Hard to Fall Asleep
Because pain and lack of sleep
are inversely related, it is difficult
for individuals suffering from
acute or chronic pain to fall
asleep. That’s because to sleep
the body must be relaxed but discomfort
from pain prevents your
body from relaxing.
2. Pain Increases as
Sleep Decreases
Pain makes it difficult to fall
asleep, sure, but did you know
that the less sleep you get, the
achier you begin to feel? It’s a
cruel cycle. If you aren’t sleeping,
you are most likely moving
around and putting your muscles
to work when they should be resting.
This can increase fatigue,
soreness and feelings of achiness.
During sleep our muscles assume
a more neutral position. Lying
rather than standing puts significantly
less pressure on the disks
in the spine as well as the muscles.
A failure to let your muscles
relax only increases inflammation,
making your pain worse.
3. Pain Influences
Sleep Quality
Sixty-five percent of people who
don’t experience pain on a regular
basis reported good or very good
sleep quality. However, only 45%
of people who suffer from acute
pain and 37% of people with
chronic pain did the same. Of
those people who reported poor
sleep quality caused by their pain,
half reported that their lack of
sleep interfered with their work
the next day. We need solid, uninterrupted
sleep to wake up rested
and ready to face the day. However,
it’s likely our pain is standing
in the way of that.
4. Pain Reduces
Sleep Length
Those who suffer from chronic
pain regularly rack up 42 minutes
of sleep debt on average, and
those with acute pain miss out on
14 minutes of sleep on average.
Sometimes we can fall asleep
with pain and even stay asleep,
but only until the pain medication
wears off. That means that we
might get three or four hours of
sleep before we’re awake again,
which can lead to sleep deprivation.
5. Pain Increases
Stress
Pain levels have also been correlated
to increased stress levels.
And stress, like pain, is a common
culprit of robbing your quality
hours of shut eye each night.
Tips for
lowering pain
so you can sleep
Take a look at your
sleep structure
First of all, make sure you have a
supportive mattress that is not
contributing to your pain problem.
Without the proper sleep
structure, one that evenly distributes
body weight, doesn’t put
more stress on your joints, and
keeps your spine in neutral alignment,
your sleep quality will continue
to suffer. The materials and
firmness of your mattress play a
huge role in pain management.
Memory foam tends to be the best
type of mattress to help cradle
(Connued on page 14)
iPain Living Magazine — 13