Adequate Rest may Help Promote Physical Activity in Chronic Pain Sufferers

There's no doubt that getting enough sleep is an essential part of our overall health. Yet a recent study shows that for the treatment of chronic pain, this can be particularly important.

Researchers from the University of Warwick's Department of Psychology found that sleep can help chronic pain sufferers stay physically active and could even work as a remedy for those suffering from pain-related insomnia.

"Engaging in physical activity is a key treatment process in pain management. Very often, clinicians would prescribe exercise classes, physiotherapy, walking and cycling programs as part of the treatment, but who would like to engage in these activities when they feel like a zombie?" said study lead-author Dr. Nicole Tang of the University of Warwick's Department of Psychology, via a press release.

Researchers set out to determine if there was a day-to-day connection between nighttime sleep and daytime physical activity in chronic pain patients.

"Many of the patients struggled to stay physically active after the onset of pain and we found that chronic pain patients spontaneously engaged in more physical activity following a better night of sleep," Tang said, via the release. "The research points to sleep as not only an answer to pain-related insomnia but also as a novel method to keep sufferers physically active, opening a new avenue for improving the quality of life of chronic pain sufferers."

For the study, participants were asked to wear an accelerometer that measured motor activity and monitored their physical activity 24/7 for a week in their usual living environment. They were also asked to rate their sleep quality, pain intensity and mood via an electronic diary.

"The current study identified sleep quality, rather than pain and low mood, as a key driver of physical activity the next day. The finding challenges the conventional target of treatment being primarily focused on changing what patients do during the day. Sleep has a naturally recuperative power that is often overlooked in pain management. A greater treatment emphasis on sleep may help patients improve their daytime functioning and hence their quality of life," concluded Tang.

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More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal PLOS ONE.