Sleep and Chronic Pain Connection

I found this article interesting and wanted to share, due to its relevance with sleep disturbance and chronic pain connection. I can definitely tell a big difference in how much better I feel when getting GOOD sleep. I have found 1/2mg of Lunesta (prescription) per nite helps me get GOOD restful sleep and I have been having a lot more GOOD days!

For migraineurs, definitely check out James' Migraine blog (link below), he provides EXCELLENT information.

from http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/ 

Migraine and REM Sleep

by James on 6 July 2010

It’s no secret that sleep issues are connected to migraine.  For example, check out Sleep apnea and migraine? and Solve child’s sleep problems = solve migraine?.

Building on previous studies, researchers from Missouri State University recently reported on a study that connected a lack of REM sleep with chronic pain.  The research was done on rats, which were deprived of REM sleep for three nights.

What happened?  There was an increase of expression in certain proteins which help regulate sensory response in facial nerves.  The same thing happened with another protein linked to starting chronic pain.

This type of response could cause problems with the trigeminal nerve, which is key in the migraine chain reaction.

Lead researcher Dr. Paul L. Durham says,"People with headaches often have a hard time sleeping.  It is easy to see how several nights of interrupted sleep can make people more susceptible to developing a chronic pain state."

Yet more information showing us how migraine and various types of chronic pain may be links to interruptions in sleep.