Chronic Pain Robs Our Sleep

Chronic pain robs our sleep. How have you been robbed?

It is time to sleep. Your many pillows are in place. The heating pad is turned on. You take a sleeping pill. Oh, the possibility of sleep awaits. Yet three hours later you awaken because of pain and this has been going on for years.

Did you know that a word was created for this inability to sleep because of pain?

PAINSOMNIA

People with chronic pain lose one to two hours of sleep a night!!!

• They wake up two to three times a night.
• They lose high-quality sleep. 
• If you have persistent pain, you may also have Painsomnia.

Dawn Gibson and Dr. Ben Nowell wrote in Proving Pansomnia is Real, “Painsomnia is a patient-generated term for the vicious cycle of pain and sleep deprivation or fatigue related to a chronic condition or its treatment.” 

“85.1% said that pain costs them at least two hours of sleep a night.”

Sleep Foundation

• Sleep Loss Issues
• More accidents because of inattention.
• Memory impairment.
• Exhaustion during the day.
• Quality of life.

The Cleveland Clinic identified SERIOUS problems with long-term sleep loss:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Depression
• Reduced immune system function

For more information, read “Here’s What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep” from the Cleveland Clinic.

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What can you do NOW to improve your sleep?

• Set a regular bedtime and wake up time. This includes the weekends.
• Wait until you are actually sleepy to get into bed.
• Create an effective sleep ritual.

I will go deeper into sleep hygiene in my next blog. For now, try these three suggestions. This is the beginning of establishing better sleep!

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Gail Sinclair, MHt, CNC is a hypnotherapist who helps those living with chronic pain go from discomfort to thriving by using hypnosis, pain management tools and resources.

She is a Master Hypnotherapist, Nutritional Consultant, and a Reiki Master Teacher. She has over 20 years in healing work and is an international award-winning speaker.

Gail lives in Portland, OR with her delightful husband, son, and cat. She can be found cooking, knitting, writing, and figuring out new ways to thrive with Trigeminal, and Occipital Neuralgia.

You can reach her at gailthriveswithchronicpain@gmail.com.