People with Insomnia More Sensitive to Pain
People with Insomnia More Sensitive to Pain – Researchers in Norway studied pain sensitivity in 10,000 adults who were participating in an ongoing public health study, and found that those who had insomnia had a greater sensitivity to pain than those who didn’t have any sleep problems.
Researchers asked participants questions about sleep issues, such as how long it took them to fall asleep and to rate their experience with insomnia on a 4-point scale, ranging from “never” to “more than once a week.” Almost 11% of the participants had insomnia.
Researchers then asked participants to take the cold-pressor test, where participants placed their hands in cold water that was 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) for 106 seconds to mimic chronic pain. They found that nearly 42% of participants removed their hands from the water before the time was up, indicating a low tolerance to pain. The increased sensitivity to pain was also greater in those who had either more severe or more frequent insomnia.
Researchers found that when the two conditions were present, participants’ pain threshold was very low, and for this reason, they suggest that healthcare providers should treat both chronic pain and sleep disorder together.
Category: News
