Pain And Sleep: 5 Ways To Sleep Better With Chronic Pain
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Chronic pain and sleeping problems can be an unhealthy combination. Whether it is joint pains or arthritis, chronic pain is known to cause insomnia and can rob you of sleep for many nights unless you act on it. The good news is that you can put a stop to this vicious cycle. If you experience any trouble sleeping due to chronic pain, use the following five ways to gain a healthier sleeping routine again.
Try yoga
Yoga is said to be a therapy that connects your mind to your body. Every physical pose, thoughtful breathing, and meditation helps relieve pain. This can improve the quality and duration of sleep. It would be best to consider learning yoga from a licensed professional who can tailor all the poses according to your level of tolerance and chronic pain condition.
Accordingly, you can learn specific yoga poses online and try them out at home as you deem convenient. You may want to consult your yoga instructor if you find yourself experiencing pain during yoga.
Create a bedtime routine
Forming bedtime habits is essential to improve your sleep. You can do this by ensuring you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. For instance, ensure you go to bed early if you want to wake up for work. This gives you enough time to sleep without interfering with your sleep cycle. Accordingly, if you have prescriptions to manage your pain or sleep medications, ensure you take them before you go to bed every day. Creating a bedtime routine helps your body adapt to sleeping at the same time every night. This is how your body clock should work.
Use sleeping aid when necessary
Many sleep-enhancing preparations can help you break the pain barrier and sleep well. Luckily enough, there are many sleeping aids that will improve your sleep regardless of the pain you feel. Sleeping aid may range from tea to oral pills. With these supplements, you should be able to enhance the duration and quality of sleep. However, you should consult with your doctor before taking sleep or pain supplements that improve sleep from licensed professionals, such as Texas Orthopedics.
Try relaxing techniques
Apart from yoga, you can also improve your sleep by trying out various relaxation techniques. You may want to consider guided breathing or imagery where you imagine yourself in a calm, peaceful place without pain. Accordingly, you can find something that you love most and keep it in your bedroom to help you fall asleep. On the contrary, you should avoid playing music, unless it is recommended.
Switch off the lights
Light may get into your brain and affect the circadian rhythm. Accordingly, lights at night may disturb your sleep routine. Therefore, it is advisable to keep the lights as dim as possible or off altogether before you go to bed. Accordingly, you may want to invest in a blackout curtain.
The bottom line
Chronic pain and insomnia tend to go hand in hand. However, you can always beat this awful combination using the techniques discussed here. Try yoga, sleeping pills, relaxing techniques, and create an ample sleep environment to ensure you do not interfere with your sleeping routine.
