Relationship Between Sleep and Pain

How to break the cycle of insomnia and pain!

There is an age-old question: “What came first: the chicken or the egg?”. The same can be said of pain and insomnia, which one comes first?Evidence shows that sleep (or lack thereof) and pain are directly related, but how so? Which one causes which, and how does it all work? Many agree that it’s an intervened relationship in which, no matter what came first, the 2 aspects feed on each other and therefore intensify each other, in other words, it is a never-ending cycle that becomes worse over time.If one is in physical pain it will become more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Sleep will become light, easily broken, and one will wake up still tired from restless sleep, the body will have missed out on the restorative functions of sleep. The inability to sleep will cause the body and mind to weaken, which will, in turn, increase physical pain, which will then worsen sleep quality, and on and on it goes.On average those in chronic pain are reporting a gap of 42 minutes between the amount of sleep they should be getting compared to how much sleep they are actually getting, for those with acute pain its 14 minutes. About 50%-90% of those with chronic pain are reporting having sleep difficulties.The (constant pain compounded by sleep issues doesn’t just perpetuate the) negative sleep/pain cycle ramifications are far-reaching; it affects a person’s quality of life, diminishing the ability to perform daily tasks as well as at work, limiting physical activity, increasing anxiety and more.The sleep/pain cycle must be broken in order to improve one’s quality of life, so how do we overcome the sleep/pain cycle:Pain medication can help temporarily relieve the pain, just watch out for side effects, developing a habit, and negative effects from long-term use.Regular meditation has proven effective at helping to relieve pain by lowering pain perception, it should also help with lowering anxiety and allowing one to sleep better.Regular moderate exercise helps ward off the pain by reducing inflammation, and by strengthening the body and mind.Light Energy Pain Therapy in Solio Alfa Plus provides pain relief as well as treatment for the underlying condition, be it bone/joint inflammation or soft tissue issues as well as agitated nerves and many others problems.By dealing with the pain you will finally be able to sleep better, which will then help lower the pain and on and on, so the painful/no sleep cycle will turn into a healing cycle. Something that is definitely worth repeating!