Pain, no matter the cause, can be a real nuisance when it comes to sleep. At night, our bodies and minds should be in a relaxed state to allow sleep to gently take over. But that can become very difficult when you’re suffering from pain. In fact, 50% to 90% of people with chronic pain report sleep disturbance. Let’s explore why pain disrupts sleep so seriously and a few helpful ways to get pain relief.
Pain Interrupts Your Sleep Cycles
When we sleep, our brains go through cycles in which we fluctuate between deep and light sleep. Every 90 minutes, adults go through a complete cycle of light sleep, deep sleep, and back to light sleep. If there is something disrupting your sleep, it can prevent you from reaching deeper stages and thus cause multiple awakenings throughout the night, robbing you of the good night’s sleep you need. Pain can be one of those disrupters, making it hard to fall and stay asleep.Pain can also cause microarousals as you sleep. These are brief interruptions during which your brain wakes up for just a few seconds before going back to sleep -- without you even knowing it the next morning. This pattern can slowly sap the refreshing nature of your sleep, leaving you tired and irritable the next day. Even worse, sleeping poorly may change your brain’s chemistry and increase your body’s inflammation, exacerbating your pain by making it feel even more painful.
4 Tips for Managing Your Pain While Sleeping
Are you wondering how to sleep with back pain, neck pain, or any other pain?
Make sure your mattress and pillows aren’t part of the problem
Let’s look at two common sleeping pain issues: back pain and neck pain. If you have lower back pain while sleeping, you may need to use a firmer mattress to help keep your back aligned along its natural curve and in a neutral position. Orthopedic pillows and memory foam pillows that can conform to the shape of your neck and head can provide necessary support. Be wary of stomach sleeping however, as stomach sleepers can experience more muscle strain and pressure on the upper back and neck in most situations.
Adopt the right sleep position
For both neck and low back pain, sleeping position, or sleep posture, is also important. The best position isn’t an absolute, but varies based on the individual. For example, sleeping on your side with knees bent (fetal position) and a pillow or rolled-up towel between the knees can take strain off your back and reduce spinal tension by opening up space between your vertebrae. For back sleepers, sleeping on your back in a reclined position with a small pillow under your knees in addition to one pillow under your neck for additional support can help with spinal alignment. Similarly, sleeping on your side and back is the best sleeping position for neck pain.
Make sure your pain medication isn’t negatively affecting your sleep
Some of the stronger pain reliever medications can make problems like sleep apnea worse. Many common sleep aids also have the same issue. Make sure to talk with your doctor about the ways in which your medications may be hurting your sleep.
Try your best to practice good sleep hygiene
The better you sleep, the better your pain will feel. Limit your exposure to bright lights prior to bed. Try to avoid caffeine and nicotine, particularly close to bedtime. And make sure your sleep environment is quiet and comfortable. Check out our post about better sleep hygiene for more tips.
Optimizing Your Body’s Rest Helps To Reduce Pain While Sleeping
Whatever the cause of your pain, remember that your sleep quality can also suffer. When your sleep suffers, your pain becomes even worse. Always talk to your doctor or a healthcare professional if the pain is persistent or bothersome. Also, make sure you take the proper precautions to optimize your body’s opportunity to rest, including getting the right mattress and pillows for your needs and practicing good sleep habits and hygiene. Hopefully, with the right combination of elements, you can get more restful sleep and make your nights (and days) much less painful.
