The Link Between Chronic Stress and Pain and How to Stop the Cycle
Chronic stress and pain can feed on one another and damage your quality of life. Read on to learn how to stop the cycle.
For patients with chronic pain, sleep can pose unique challenges. In fact, more than half of pain patients describe problems with sleep, most commonly insomnia. It makes sense that aches and pains may keep you up at night. However, you should know that getting regular, high-quality sleep is an essential tool in managing chronic pain.
At RehabOne Medical Group, with locations in Los Gatos, San Jose, Gilroy, and Salinas, California, our experienced care team supports patients with many chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, lupus, and arthritis. Part of this support includes helping patients get quality sleep. We specialize in pain psychology, and we take a holistic approach to pain medicine and treatment.
If you’re not getting good, regular sleep, it could be negatively impacting your pain and energy levels. Our team at RehabOne Medical Group can work with you on your sleep problems to help you get the deep rest you need each night.
If you have chronic pain — which is defined as pain that lasts longer than a few months — your brain is constantly bombarded by pain signals. At night, these pain signals may disrupt your brain’s rest while you sleep. Your pain may prevent you from getting to sleep, cause you to wake up and not get back to sleep, or keep waking you up.
Your brain needs to cycle through the entire process of sleep, including light sleep, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, to fully recharge each night. If your sleep is disrupted, you can get stuck in a negative cycle, with your chronic pain and your sleep deprivation feeding into one another, draining your energy levels and resilience.
If you can find ways to improve your sleep quality, you can launch a positive cycle of improvement, rest, and healing. Over the long term, getting better sleep may significantly ease your chronic pain.
Talk to your provider at RehabOne Medical Group about your sleep disruptions. You may benefit from learning stress management or meditation techniques. You may also benefit from learning about sleeping positions that may help you rest comfortably.
Furthermore, we may suggest undergoing other forms of comprehensive treatment to reduce your pain levels and improve your quality of rest and overall health. As part of your holistic treatment plan at RehabOne Medical Group, we may recommend chiropractic care, acupuncture, or therapeutic yoga to reduce your pain, strengthen your body, and release tension.
If you have chronic pain and are finding it difficult to sleep, we can help. To learn more, book an appointment over the phone with RehabOne Medical Group today.
