When there is body pain, the general tendency is to pop a pill or apply pain relief balms or ointments to manage it. Or, if bearable, we give it time and let it heal on its own. The key to pain relief and healing is rest, say experts, and sleep is the ultimate form of rest.
According to the National Library of Medicine, quality sleep ushers in many benefits. It supports physical recovery and healing, memory consolidation and learning, and brings about a positive change in mood.
“Sleep is an expectational pain killer. It heals the body and helps one overcome pain. It is the best analgesic. When a person sleeps, dopamine – the happy hormone – is released, and it relieves pain,” says Dr Shivani Swami, consultant, pulmonary and sleep medicine, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Jaipur.
Sleep and pain have a bidirectional relationship. Sleep deficiency can lead to pain as well as cause pain. Sleep deprivation can increase pain sensitivity as well.
How sleep heals the body
Wounds heal through two major processes – cell division and protein synthesis. When the body is at rest, while you are sleeping, the tissues which are damaged or degraded get renewed. Meanwhile, neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which get released during sleep, help in pain reduction.
Sleep has various stages, ranging from light sleep (NREM) to deep sleep (REM). “Deeper stages of sleep are associated with muscle relaxation and increased blood flow to the cells, which increases oxygen and nutritional supply that aids recovery,” says Dr Suhas HS, consultant pulmonologist, Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru.
At the time of deep sleep, which is the third stage of sleep, growth hormones (anabolic) are released, which increases the synthesis of proteins. It helps repair and grow muscles as well as bones.
Relationship between pain and sleep
Poor sleep, both in terms of quantity and quality, is known to increase pain sensitivity by reducing the pain threshold in the brain centres.
“Pain and sleep have a vicious relationship since they affect each other. Pain, both acute and chronic, worsen sleep patterns and poor sleep decreases pain threshold,” says Dr Swami.
Sleep deprivation also results in the persistent release of inflammatory cytokines (small proteins released by cells) which can cause chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, obesity, heart disease and stroke.
Managing the sleep-pain relationship
Since pain and sleep work bidirectionally, finding out what occurred first (pain or poor sleep pattern) is important, so that the root issue can be addressed.
If pain is the culprit, there are means to manage pain to enhance sleep, which in turn, will also help in further reducing pain and healing the injury or tissue/cell damage.
“Discuss your symptoms with the doctor, and seek help to manage pain adequately. There are various pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods available which can help in reducing pain and enhancing sleep. Practice sleep hygiene measures to enhance sleep,” says Dr Suhas.
Takeaways
- Sleep, pain and healing are intricately connected.
- Proper sleep helps in injury recovery and repairs the muscles. Insufficient sleep increases pain sensitivity.
- Finding out what came first (pain or sleep disruption) is important so that the root cause is identified and addressed – which helps both in pain management as well as enhancing sleep.
