By: Juliette Siegfried
The number of people suffering
from chronic pain is staggering. In a recent Gallup poll, 47% of American
adults reported that they experience chronic neck, back, leg, knee or some
other form of chronic pain on a regular basis. The amount of money spent on
pain relievers and therapies to manage this pain every year is in the hundreds
of billions of dollars, an average of $2,000 for every adult American. People
try acupuncture to relieve their pain, or meditation, or any number of other
conventional or alternative forms of treatment. So will they be pleased or
distressed to learn that one of the best things you can do to reduce your
sensitivity to pain is to simply get more sleep?
That is the message of a new
study published in the journal SLEEP. Researchers led by Timothy Roehrs of
Henry Ford Hospital worked with subjects between the ages of 18 and 35 years
old who were healthy, free of pain, but sleep-deprived (as measured by a
standardized assessment called the Multiple Sleep Latency Test). Half of the
subjects were asked to go to bed at their normal time, and the other half were
asked to go bed earlier, and stay in bed for 10 hours every night. The latter
group was assessed as having gotten an average of 1.8 hours more sleep each
night than the former group, who made no changes to their sleeping habits.
The researchers then took each
group and tested their pain tolerance by performing a radiant heat stimulus
test – they were instructed to hold their finger close to a source of heat for
as long as they were able to comfortably do so. They found that the subjects
who got more sleep were able to tolerate the heat 25% longer than those
who got less sleep.
More sleep was more effective
at decreasing pain sensitivity than codeine
The study authors noted that the
level of decreased sensitivity to pain they found in the subjects who slept
longer was greater than the decrease found in another study that tested the
pain-relieving effects of 60 milligrams of codeine. They speculated that the
effect may have something to do with the production of cytokines in the body,
which are important in controlling and suppressing inflammation: "Pain is
a hallmark of inflammation and studies have shown that sleep disruption and
sleep restriction activate the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and
tumor necrosis factor alpha."
While this study was small (only
18 subjects), and requires follow-up research to replicate the results in
larger numbers of people, especially those already suffering from chronic pain,
it hints at possible ways that we can use our body's own healing processes to
fight pain. Many studies have shown the benefits of getting more sleep, and
this study adds one more – it may help millions of people deal with their
chronic pain, without having to resort to painkillers or expensive treatments.
How can you tell if you need
more sleep?
According to sleep experts, you
probably need to sleep longer each night if you regularly have many of the
following experiences in activity, while awake:
• You're more forgetful and
unfocused. Too little sleep has been linked to numerous cognitive problems,
including confusion, lowered concentration and alertness, forgetfulness, and
difficulty focusing, paying attention, and learning.
• You're hungry all day.
If you find yourself craving food – especially high-carbohydrate, high-calorie
foods – the results of a 2004 indicate that one reason for this may be that you
are sleep-deprived. This continual hunger is one reason why people who are
sleep-deprived are more likely to become obese.
• You get colds and can't
shake them. A 2009 study indicated that sleeping fewer than seven hours a
night resulted in being three times more likely to catch a cold than those who
sleep for at least eight hours, and that the colds last longer.
• You're overly emotional or
weepy. If you consistently find yourself reaching for the box of Kleenex
over things like the TV news, you might be sleep-deprived. A 2007 study found
that people who weren't getting enough sleep were 60% more reactive to
disturbing or negative images.
• You're clumsy more often.
If you discover that lately you've become a real klutz and tend to knock things
over or spill things more than usual, again, you may be sleep-deprived. Sleepy
people have slower and less precise motor skills, and their reaction time
increases.
• You start to lose interest
in sex. (I saved this one for last, since I figured it would get the most
attention.) Studies have shown that in both men and women, sleep deprivation
results in diminished sex drive, and in many cases a loss of interest in sex,
period. Lack of sleep also increases your body's levels of cortisol, often
referred to as the "stress hormone," so not only are you having less sex,
you're all stressed out about it.
So those are some of the facts
about sleep, and a few reasons why you should probably be getting more of it.
It'll help to keep you healthier and more mentally on the ball, it may be of
help if you're dealing with chronic pain, and it might even improve your sex
life. What a deal.
Source: healthguidance.org
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