Is Chronic Pain Ruining Your Sleep? Here’s How to Break the Cycle

When you suffer from chronic pain, the relationship between your pain and your sleep can devolve into a vicious cycle. 

You’re in too much pain to sleep (or you keep waking up because of the pain), but the lack of sleep only increases your body’s sensitivity to pain and decreases your brain’s ability to handle the pain, making it harder to sleep. And on and on it goes.

The good news is that there are a few things we can do to break this cycle and get you back to a normal sleep routine, even in the midst of chronic pain. Dr. Jonathan Koning and our team at ReGen Pain Management in Plano and Frisco, Texas, understand how important your rest is. 

If chronic pain is ruining your sleep, here’s how you can break the cycle.

Set a schedule

The first thing you should do is set a sleep schedule. Decide what time you need to go to bed every night and what time you need to wake up each morning. Then follow that schedule consistently. 

This will set your body’s clock and reinforce your natural sleep cycles so your body knows it’s time to sleep during those hours.

Build a restful environment

Design your bedroom for one thing: sleep. Keep the room cool, dark, and quiet, and reserve it only for sleeping. Resist the urge to eat, work, and watch TV in that room so your body knows it’s for sleeping only. Invest in a good mattress and pillows that fit your natural sleeping style.

Develop good sleep hygiene

The idea behind sleep hygiene is to incorporate practices that promote sleep and avoid the things that disrupt it. 

Don’t eat and drink too close to bedtime — food and liquid can make it hard to fall asleep, and you may have to wake up to go to the bathroom. Turn off screens and digital devices an hour before bedtime.

On the positive side, develop a nighttime routine that prepares your mind and body for sleep. This could include taking a warm bath, writing in a journal, reading a book, or listening to soft music.

Manage your pain

If your pain is bad enough to disrupt your sleep, you should do everything you can to manage it well. A comprehensive pain management plan can address underlying causes and may include medications, physical therapy, injections, and other minimally invasive treatments. 

Dr. Koning is an expert in pain management and works with you to develop a plan that addresses your pain in a way that helps you sleep.

Following these steps will help break the cycle of pain and bad sleep that never seems to end. If you need help managing your pain, that’s exactly what our team at ReGen Pain Management is good at. 

To schedule an appointment, call our location most convenient to you today, or use our online scheduler anytime.