Chronic pain is a disease that affects millions of people around the world and these people’s quality of life is diminished in a variety of areas, including sleep.
Chronic pain affects a significant percentage of the population. In a study of 5,000 people, 43% of respondents reported having experienced pain in the past week, especially in the legs, back or head; of these, 54% reported chronic long-term pain. pain, which has a significant impact on their lives and prevents them from getting a good night’s sleep.
- The most common causes of chronic pain are arthritis.
- Rheumatism and migraines.
- To combat it more than 60% of patients take painkillers.
- This measure has many side effects when medications are consumed in the long term.
- Including new conditions that further aggravate discomfort.
- Of those affected.
Suffering from chronic pain significantly decreases the quality of life. The fact that the discomfort is daily generates, in addition to the physical pain itself, a significant psychological discomfort. Areas most affected by chronic pain include:
All of this presupposes a lot of stress for the patient; unfortunately, in many cases, ongoing pain ends up leading to chronic stress.
Sleep quality is considered a critical variable for assessing whether treatment for chronic pain is satisfactory or not. Approximately 50-70% of patients with moderate or severe pain have some form of sleep disorder, this is particularly common in elderly patients. disorders include:
In these patients, the pain causes lack of sleep. As a result, hyperalgesia occurs, i. e. a greater perception of pain, feeling more pain leads to worse sleep, so the situation reverberates and the patient is seriously injured.
Medications used to treat chronic pain improve symptoms, but affect the patient’s sleep quality. Some of the most common are:
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as NSAIDs, are among the most commonly used painkillers in adults, reduce not only inflammation, but also fever, swelling and redness, and are prescribed to treat chronic health problems, such as arthritis or lupus.
How do they affect sleep? NSDSs reduce sleep efficiency and increase the number of times we wake up at night, due to three possible main causes:
Opioid painkillers are safe when prescribed by a doctor and taken for a limited time, their usual use can be addictive and, if swallowed poorly, can lead to an overdose and even death, so they are prescribed with great caution by doctors.
How do they affect sleep? They decrease the REM sleep phase and slow sleep, both fundamental to the correct physiological development of sleep cycles.
Corticosteroids are primarily prescription drugs to reduce inflammation in diseases such as arthritis, asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers.
Continued consumption can cause several side effects, such as weakening of bones or cataracts, so they are usually prescribed for short periods.
How do they affect sleep? In high doses, they act in the same way as opioids: they reduce rapid eye movements and slow sleep.
The scientific literature has found a direct relationship between chronic pain and difficulty sleeping well, pain hinders rest and poor sleep quality increases the perception of pain.
It is important to consider that structural changes in sleep are multifactorial. Age plays an important role, as does the type of painkiller. However, other variables, such as concomitant pathologies or external circumstances that harm night rest and increase the sensation of pain, should not be excluded.
When an analgesic treatment is prescribed to treat chronic pain, it is recommended that rapid release formulations be replaced by slow-acting formulations. Studies have shown that these types of medications reduce the onset of sleep disorders associated with painkillers.