Pain and Sleep: A Disastrous Cycle

Pain and sleep together contribute to be a dreadful cycle. Pain and sleep are two aspects, which go hand in hand. The effect of the pain coupled with stress and tension causes detrimental effects on sleep.

• Relationship between the two: Studies show that more than half the percentage of people with chronic pain disorders suffer from sleep problems and more than half of insomniac patients suffer from pain. Pain affects the duration of sleep and pain inflicted people have poor sleep hours. Pain also affects the quality of sleep. While trying to fall asleep, environmental factors such as light, external noise and temperature affect a pain inflicted person more. People suffering from pain have much less control on sleep. They worry about their disrupted sleep cycle, which causes more stress.
• Medications: Medications which treat chronic pain sometimes are responsible for causing sleep disturbances because of the presence of certain chemicals. It is perceived that pain medications would reduce pain and sleep would improve. However, this is not the case and people who take medicines for pain treatment, suffer from disrupted sleep. Sleeping pills do not work effectively in people suffering from pain.
• Effects: Lack of sleep affects your quality of life to a great extent, especially when it is due to pain. Lack of sleep combined with pain will affect any kind of work you undergo and your performance will be dull and sloppy. There will be a degradation in the person's mood, activities and even relationships are affected.
• The disastrous cycle: Sleep and pain create a dangerous cycle. The relationship between sleeplessness and pain is reciprocal in the sense that pain affects and causes difficulty in sleeping, in a continuous pattern and poor sleep further enhances or affects pain. Pain causes disturbances in sleep, gives rise to stress and fatigue and leads to even more pain, which again affects sleep. This process keeps on occurring like a cycle.
• Treatment: For treatment of sleeping disorders due to pain, both the aspects should be addressed. A multidisciplinary approach has to be taken. You can try interventional treatment procedures, which will help you to decrease your level of pain. Along with this, you should consult a behavioral health specialist to get the best remedies on coping with stress. Working these two out will result in decreased pain, decreased stress and your normal sleep will be revitalized.

Pain and sleep together work like a cycle. Excess pain leads to reduced sleep, which causes more pain in return and the cycle carries on. Proper remedies should be taken to get rid of the pain, which would revive good sleep.