Your body repairs its cells during sleep, which is why getting enough sleep is vital to healing. If you’ve been getting fewer hours of sleep lately, you might have noticed that your levels of pain have increased to the point that it’s affecting your quality of life. Pain from lack of sleep can even lead to sleep disorders. Here are a few things to know about the link between pain and sleep.
How Is Pain Related to Sleep Loss?
Sleep loss can cause pain because it reduces your pain threshold, which can make already-existing aches seem unbearable. Pain can also cause sleep loss since being uncomfortable can stop you from settling down and drifting off. This situation can lead to migraines, IBS, anxiety, indigestion, a depressed mood, and other health problems. Furthermore, since headaches or migraines cause people to be more sensitive to light, noise, and temperature, having these sensitivities at night can cause you to lose even more precious hours of sleep.
Getting to the Cause
When it comes to identifying the connection between sleep loss and pain, it’s possible to find a root cause. Doing so can help you address both issues while keeping sleep disorders at bay. For example, you could be suffering from back pain due to recently gaining some excess weight. Excess weight can also lead to a sleep disorder called sleep apnea, where fatty tissue in the throat area constricts the airways, causing snoring and difficulty breathing. By identifying the root cause, and making changes that help you take off some of the excess weight, it’s possible to get rid of both the back pain and the sleep apnea.
The Importance of Professional Diagnosis
For help identifying the root cause of your situation, it’s best to consult a sleep specialist, since they will be able to diagnose complicated situations. For example, some people suffer from conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, or nerve pain. For them, it could be risky to take sleep aids since these could interfere with their pain medication. For this reason, it’s essential for people who suffer from chronic pain and sleep loss to see a sleep specialist. Your specialist will evaluate your overall health, lifestyle, behaviors, and sleeping environment, and give you suggestions for improvement.
Your sleep specialist can also conduct a study to see if you have any sleep disorders. They can have you perform an at-home or in-clinic sleep study to evaluate your sleep. Your specialist can then give you a treatment plan that addresses your specific concerns.
How Can I Deal with Pain and Sleep Loss Now?
There are things you can do now to start helping with pain and sleep loss. You can start practicing healthy sleep habits. You should also try to stay physically active during the day and get some sunlight to help align your circadian rhythm. Going to bed at the same time each night and avoiding TV or electronics that emit blue light can also help you get ready for sleep.
See a Sleep Specialist in Jacksonville, FL
Pain can be a fact of life, and everyone goes through it at times. However, persistent pain can make sleeping or other activities uncomfortable. If you can’t sleep due to chronic pain, it can create a negative feedback loop in your immune system, leading to further complications such as sleep disorders.
If pain is stopping you from getting the sleep you need, get in touch with our specialists at Jacksonville Sleep Center. We provide treatments for various types of sleep disorders, customizing plans for our patients’ specific conditions. Book an appointment today!
