One of the questions I ask patients on a regular basis concerns their sleep patterns. Many of the patients with the most neck or back pain sleep the least. Is that because they are in too much pain to sleep? Sometimes, but often they are just too busy to sleep much or they feel that they just don’t need it.
Research lately has linked the lack of sleep to diabetes, weight gain and higher stress levels. It can also be related to increased pain. If you don’t get that good night’s sleep that allows your body to recover from the day’s stressors, you will be more likely to be overweight, full of stress, more apt to catch all sorts of diseases and even more likely to have pain or more pain than if you were sleeping.
What is an appropriate amount of sleep? If you are not getting that 7 – 8 hours of deep uninterrupted sleep, you may be causing your pain to increase. That includes back and neck pain or any other chronic pain condition.
What should you do to promote good sleep? Start with getting rid of all visible light sources and that includes electronics. If the pineal gland in your skin sees the light, you will not be able to get into that deep restful sleep. Another tip is to not use your bed as your office. Also, limit the caffeine in your life.
Good sleep is essential for good health. It can mean the difference between no pain and lots of pain. It is a choice that every individual needs to make for himself. I ask all of my patients to address the issue, to try some of those tips and to report back to me. If you don’t sleep, your body cannot heal. If it doesn’t heal, then your pain has to be worse. So can lack of sleep cause pain? Absolutely and that is something we can all attempt to do better.
