Chronic Back Pain and Sleep
When chronic back pain affects you or a family member, you might despair of ever getting a good night's sleep. Pain can disturb the sleep your family needs, night after night. But experts say that with proper treatment, the chances are very good that you or your loved one can get relief from chronic back pain and enjoy normal sleep. Below, find out about treatments and lifestyle tips for better sleep.
Why Sleep Is Important When You Have Chronic Back Pain
The inability to get a good night's sleep hurts -- literally. Chronic back pain prevents you from sleeping well. You can wake up hurting even more.
Pain can interfere with the normal cycles of sleep, creating a non-specific pattern of alpha delta sleep waves found in other painful conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia, but also in healthy people.
What's worse, studies have shown that not getting enough sleep may actually make you more sensitive to pain. It's a vicious cycle. Back pain can make it harder to sleep -- and when you can't sleep, your back pain can be worse.
Other Causes of Sleep Problems When You Are in Pain
Anxiety and depression can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, and the consequent sleep loss can lead to worse pain. Anxiety and depression themselves can also increase a person’s sensitivity to pain.
Some breathing-related sleep disorders are associated with obesity -- and obesity is also linked with back pain. Sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea interfere with normal sleep patterns leading to insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality. Sleep apnea can also be caused or exacerbated by opioid painkillers, which some people are prescribed for severe back pain.
Limb movement disorders, such as restless legs syndrome, might further disrupt the normal sleep pattern.
Fibromyalgia can cause pain throughout the body. It's also linked with fatigue, anxiety, and sleep problems.
Self-medicating with alcohol might numb your back pain and help you fall asleep at first. But it's also likely to wake you up a few hours later. In the morning, you're bound to get out of bed tired, cranky, and hurting because the quality of sleep is poor.
Many prescription medications can impair the quality of your sleep. For instance, medications for conditions such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, and ADHD may also cause sleep problems.
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