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Sleep as a Therapeutic Target for Pain Management

  • Alternative Treatments for Pain Medicine (M Jones, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to provide a summary of the utilization of sleep as a therapeutic target for chronic pain and to evaluate the recent literature on current and proposed pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic sleep interventions used in the management of pain disorders.

Recent Findings

Sleep is a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of pain disorders with both non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies. Non-pharmacologic therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy and sensory-based therapies such as pink noise, audio-visual stimulation, and morning bright light therapy. Pharmacologic therapies include melatonin, z-drugs, gabapentinoids, and the novel orexin antagonists. However, more research is needed to clarify if these therapies can improve pain specifically by improving sleep.

Summary

There is a vast array of investigational opportunities in sleep-targeted therapies for pathologic pain, and larger controlled, prospective trials are needed to fully elucidate their efficacy.

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Data Availability

All data analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Lizbeth Hu & Eric Jyun-Han Wang

  2. Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Treatment Center, 601 North Caroline Street, Suite 3062, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Eric Jyun-Han Wang

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Hu, L., Wang, E.JH. Sleep as a Therapeutic Target for Pain Management. Curr Pain Headache Rep 27, 131–141 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-023-01115-4

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