Abstract
Problematic sleep is one of the most common comorbidities for chronic pain patients. The association between pain and sleep has long been recognized but the nature of the relationship is not well understood. The current consensus is that the relationship is likely bidirectional, both reciprocally influencing one another. In this review, we discuss the available evidence from the epidemiological, clinical, and human as well as animal laboratory data on how poor sleep impacts experimentally induced as well as clinical pain, effects of opioids on sleep, and therapeutic relationship between sleep improvement and pain reduction. Generally, the literature supports the positive relationship between poor sleep and pain. Sleep deprivation also seems to attenuate analgesic effects of medications and behavioral pain management techniques. Sleep disturbance may worsen with the use of chronic opioids. Sleep is a highly relevant parameter in pain problems, although research delineating the causal or associative relationship between sleep and pain is still preliminary at this time. Continuing efforts in both experimental and clinical research are needed to develop translationally meaningful understanding of how poor sleep impacts pain.
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Okifuji, A., Hare, B.D. (2014). Sleep Deprivation and Pain. In: Bianchi, M. (eds) Sleep Deprivation and Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9087-6_13
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