National Sleep Foundation's Poll Finds Pain Significantly Affects Quality of Sleep

By Priyanka Yadav, D.O., CAQ, Pediatrics and Sleep Medicine Specialist at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center

Few Americans are satisfied with how they sleep. Everybody wants more sleep and better sleep to improve his or her health, memory and stress levels. However, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) finds that pain is a contributing factor to shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality.

Every year in March, as part of National Sleep Awareness Week, the National Sleep Foundation conducts a study on sleep behavior in America. The Sleep in America Poll this year finds that pain is a key factor in the gap between the amount of sleep Americans say they need and how much they’re actually getting. Those with chronic pain average 42 minutes less sleep a night and 14 minutes for those who’ve suffered from acute pain in the past week.

The goal of National Sleep Awareness week is to promote the importance of sleep in order to achieve overall good health and wellness. This week marks a perfect time to resolve any issues you have that may be affecting your sleep, and to educate yourself on how to sleep better every night.

Key Findings from the Study:

• The study finds that 21 percent of Americans experience chronic pain and 36 percent have had acute pain in the past week.
• 23 percent of Americans with chronic pain reported higher stress levels, compared to 7 percent of those without pain. Sleep plays a major role in reducing stress levels. Theorist Rosalind Cartwright proposed that dreams provide people with an outlet to act out and work through their everyday issues with no consequences.
• 40 percent of Americans with chronic pain say sleep difficulties have interfered with their work. In addition, people with pain report that lack of sleep affects their mood, activities, relationships and enjoyment of overall life.
• People with pain exhibit greater sleep sensitivity and are more likely to say that noise, light, temperature and their mattresses make it more difficult to get a good night’s sleep.

Paths to Resolving the Problem

Americans who were motivated to get enough sleep and made it a priority reported 36 more minutes of sleep per night throughout the week compared to others. Even those with pain slept longer and had improved quality of sleep by making sleep a priority. Here are some tips on how to improve you sleep:

• Take a proactive approach to bed times. Go to sleep at the same time every night and make sure to allow yourself 7 to 9 hours of sleep before your daily activities.
• Check the condition of your bed and pillows. The pillows on the bed or the bed itself may not be providing you with the proper support that you need. The right pillows and mattress can provide the necessary support for the neck and spine, alleviating or preventing many common forms of back and neck pain. A good pillow should prop up the head, neck and shoulders, keeping them in alignment to relieve pressure and counterbalance the points in the body, and it should also feel comfortable, which aids in getting a good night’s sleep and feeling well-rested.
• Exercise properly. Vigorous exercise improves sleeping habits, but people with chronic and acute pain are limited to the amount of exercise their body can handle. The best exercise for those in pain is moderate and low impact workouts such as walking, yoga and swimming. Do not exercise within three hours of going to bed.
• Perform relaxing techniques. Ten minutes of daily meditation can help your body ignore the pain. Try guided mediation, yoga, tai chi or just use deep breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation.
• Turn off electronics while sleeping. As found in last year’s poll results, turning off electronics while sleeping makes a difference. Electronic devices in the bedroom disrupt the natural pattern of the sleep-wake cycle, and people who leave their devices on throughout the night typically get less hours of sleep and poorer quality of sleep.
• Choose sleep superfoods. If you have a few nights of restless sleep, try making a whole wheat pasta dish with vegetables and diced chicken. This meal contains a combination of protein and tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to sleep-promoting serotonin. If you get hungry at night, try a small bowl of cottage cheese with banana slices or yogurt sprinkled with cereal to produce the same effect.

As National Sleep Awareness Week concludes with the change to Daylight Saving Time on March 8, I encourage individuals and families not to feel like they are losing an hour of sleep, but to be motivated to getting a better night’s sleep regularly. This year’s findings and results of the study show the correlation between pain and sleep and how making sleep a priority can help increase pain management and overall wellbeing.

It is extremely important that you educate yourself and inform your family of the benefits that quality sleep brings and the actions to take in order to improve your sleep. As a part of this year’s Sleep in America® poll and National Sleep Awareness Week, I urge you to further educate yourself, implement steps to improve your sleep and as a result, better your overall health. If you are experiencing ongoing sleep issues, I urge you to contact your local hospital or specialized sleep medicine center to determine if you suffer from a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea. Take a free online sleep assessment at:

http://www.rwjuh.edu/sleepcenter/sleepdisordersassessment.aspx.

For information on Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center, please visit http://www.rwjuh.edu/sleepcenter/sleep-center-home.aspx.