How Can Pain Affect Sleep?

Although pain often causes insomnia, studies indicate that the opposite can happen–insufficient sleep can lead to additional pain. Some scientists are in reality now convinced that rest for a nice night can be a strong reliever to pain.

It seems that there is a correlation between how well we sleep at night and how vulnerable we are to the pain of the next day. Consider a survey that discovered that insomniacs are more probable than people without any sleep problem to pull their hands out of an ice-cold water bucket, which indicates an enhanced pain sensitivity. The less sleep, the faster you pulled out your hands. The most striking conclusion was that insomnia and chronic pain were more than twice as susceptible to the cold waters being thrown out soon. For such chronic pain, make your appointment to our pain management doctors in OKC soon.

It is nice to understand that improving sleep can help decrease pain, but what if the pain is what prevents you first of all from sleeping? At our Pain Management Center in OKC, we attempt a number of methods, including unique lessons on sleep, where we look at prevalent sleep errors and how best to correct them. Like a physical therapist, a motion expert can occasionally assist to position sleep or operate on areas of the body which appear to become most active in attempting to sleep.

A fresh research released in The Journal of Neuroscience by the University of California, Berkeley, illustrates why.

It proves that sleep deprivation has a direct impact on how our brains process pain, which causes more pain the next day. The research shows chronic pain and sleep can be perpetuated as a vicious cycle.

The scientists were able to collect pain data on the basis of the temperature applied to the skin by using a heated electrode to the left knee.

The pupils were noted for the entire overnight period, ensuring either a good sleep period or no sleep period.

During the experiment, patients had a lower pain threshold when they were deprived of sleep, so patients felt pain at lower levels than when well-rested.

A better knowledge of the role of sleep deprivation in exacerbating or relieving pain is a significant step forward, especially for those suffering from chronic pain. Chronic sleep and pain are prevalent complications.

Sleep disturbances can often be neglected during therapy, however, even if sleep disturbances can enhance pain results simultaneously.

It is painful chicken-and-egg scenario that may disturb sleep with chronic pain and lead to more pain the following day for restless evenings.

But this is a practical, popular sense approach: to have a nice rest for the night is a good advice for chronic pain sufferers and also for the public.

Contact pain management doctors in OKC at Oklahoma Pain Treatment.

**Disclaimer: This blog post does not establish terms of a doctor-patient relationship and is not intended to be taken as a doctor's advice.