For many people, chronic pain is a way of life. If you have chronic pain, you know it can affect every aspect of your life, making everyday activities miserable and painstaking.
Many people with chronic pain also have insomnia, and there is a documented link between the two. Lack of sleep can create a host of new problems for someone in pain: lethargy, excessive fatigue, and difficulty focusing.
Chronic pain and insomnia often develop into a terrible cycle, one feeding off the other. My colleagues and I who specialize in sleep disorders have long understood that the place to stop this cycle is with sleep. Sleep is a natural way of energizing the mind and body, and regular sleep and activity are known to reduce pain levels and give you a sense of well-being and vitality.
Tips for Getting a Less Painful Night's Sleep
Several techniques or sleep aids can help you improve your sleep, including finding new positions to sleep in. You may not realize it, but you could be making your chronic pain by sleeping in positions you grew up with.
The problem with changing to a new sleep position is that your body may default naturally to the positions you’ve grown accustomed to. One way you can consciously change this by lying in alternate positions before you actually go to sleep each night.
Cutting out caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, and developing a soothing pre-sleep regimen, are additional ways to get to sleep each night.
You can also use a sleep journal, which will help you figure out where your sleep problems originate — beyond simply being in pain.
Asking yourself the following questions will also help you identify what keeps you awake so you can get control of your sleep schedule:
- Do you need to seek out better ways to manage your pain?
- Are environmental factors keeping you awake, such as sounds, lights, and other interruptions?
- Do you have a sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, that could be treated and controlled?
- Is stress and anxiety a factor in your insomnia?
Once you have identified the issues most responsible for keeping you awake, you can begin to implement changes in your lifestyle and sleep regimen. Getting better sleep may give you the energy to be more physically active, which is important because physical activity has been proven to help reduce chronic pain.
Sleep is not a cure-all, but regular sleep patterns can contribute to a stronger immune system, better body chemistry, and a more positive outlook on life. In turn, the benefits of sleep work to lower the severity of your chronic pain, which then helps you sleep better and more soundly.