Why Back Pain Affects Your Sleep!
Sometimes we think that back pain can get in the way of sleep as it becomes painful getting in or out of bed, added to that then there is the time it takes to find a comfortable position. How long does it stay comfortable for? That varies for everyone, and sometimes not too long.
We all know sleep is critical for functioning, for optimal health and wellbeing. It’s the time that we need for our body to recharge itself. In broad terms researchers believe that sleep enables our body and more specifically our brains to recover.
If pain in our body is always processed by the brain, then we can start to understand why back pain and sleep are inter related. Studies have also shown that sleep loss lowers your pain tolerance, hence why back pain could be worse with lack of sleep.
To help you understand a little more how your sleep may be affected by back pain, please read on.
1.
Generally when trying to fall asleep there are no distractions. When you have the distraction of pain, then this can make it harder to fall asleep
2.
Back pain can make it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position. Specific back conditions may require a different sleeping position to lessen pain. This new sleeping position may in turn feel awkward and uncomfortable as it may not be your ‘usual sleeping position.
3.
There are some medications prescribed for pain, typically opiod medication that have been shown to interfere with sleep, particularly with long term use.
4.
Lack of exercise can lead to sleep problems. Back pain can make engaging in exercise difficult. Consequently, this lack of exercise or vigorous activity can decrease the chance of sufficient sleep at night.
5.
Sleep deprivation slows down the release of our bodies natural pain relieving chemicals, hence slowing down the healing process
6.
Poor sleep may reduce the body’s pain tolerance by making the nervous system more sensitive to pain signals.
7.
Lack of sleep can increase the risk of anxiety and depression, and further prolong back pain.
8.
Inadequate sleep can aggravate inflammation according to research. Inflammation is generally present with back pain, and more inflammation, leads to more pain.
At the end of the day, if your sleep is affected by back pain, there are solutions.
Please feel free to contact the clinic on 028 92666959 if you have any further queries.
Or, if you would like to download our 100% FREE back pain report on 7 easy ways to beat back pain, you can download it
here
