Sleep Problems
You simply cannot get comfortable sleep due to the discomfort caused by chronic pain. Many types of pain can interrupt your sleep pattern, from the acute pain following surgery for the chronic pain of arthritis. No matter what the underlying cause, it is the quality and intensity of the pain that determines the impact of sleep on a person’s quality of life.
Sleep and pain are integrally connected. Inadequate and poor quality sleep is very common in people who have chronic pain syndrome. It becomes a vicious cycle as pain affects your ability to fall asleep, and the lack of sleep or insomnia makes the pain seem worse. Healthy people are more sensitive to pain and related discomfort when they are low on sleep. The reasons why are not clearly understood for sure. Some studies and clinical trials show that lack of sleep causes increased the production of inflammatory neurotransmitter chemicals in the body, such as cytokines.
Some of the commonly prescribed medications for pain, e.g., morphine and codeine, can also contribute to causing insomnia. Therefore, studies have shown that people on these kinds of opioid medications for acute or chronic pain are at a higher risk for developing sleep deprivation.