Painsomnia: A Thief in the Night

Who knew there was a name for it? 

Lying awake night after night in pain, with pain, or as a result of pain has a name.

People with rheumatoid arthritis call it painsomnia.

Painsomnia isn't a word that is found in Wikipedia. No, but insomnia is there.

Insomnia is an ailment by itself, obviously, or can occur as a result of underlying issues including (spoiler alert) chronic pain.

So if a person struggles with chronic pain all day and then is unable to rest all night because of it, that is colloquially called, painsomnia.

What are a person's options in a struggle with painsomnia? 

Sleeping pills?

Not sleeping pills. They are associated with dementia, injuries, and addiction.

Melatonin?

Not melatonin. It causes vivid dreams, horrifying nightmares, and can result in a rebound effect otherwise known as insomnia.

Pain medications?

Not pain medications. Many over-the-counter (OTC) medications interfere with anti-inflammatory medication regimens prescribed by rheumatologists.

Sleep hygiene?

Sure. Sleep hygiene is a great set of recommendations until this list conflicts with reality. "Go to bed when you are tired." Tired all the time, but thanks for that advice.

Sure- there are small behavioral steps each person can take in order to sleep better, but advising better sleep hygiene to a person with chronic pain minimizes the daily reality that the pain is 24 hours per day, 7 days and nights per week, and unrelenting every day, of every year, despite intervention by highly trained specialists.

The effects of painsomnia go beyond simply not getting a single good night of sleep. Painsomnia robs the sufferer of any restful sleep and begins an unending cycle of pain from which relief is rare. 

There is a multiplicative effect of the inability to sleep or rest on the person with chronic pain. Without a restful period of sleep, the mind and brain do not rest and cannot maintain resilience, calm, problem-solving capabilities it once enjoyed.

This is a vicious, unkind cycle of chronic pain-deleterious to the body and the self-uninterrupted even overnight.

Whatever sleep preparations or conditions create a better night of sleep-a series of better nights of sleep- people with chronic pain should feel empowered to take those steps and protect their overnight rest.

I recently asked a group of people with chronic pain what their guilty pleasures were in the realm of sleep. Quite a few of them said they had given up on sleeping well at all. Others responded that comfort items such as comfy robes, lavender pillow spray, fuzzy socks, blue light bulbs in the bedroom, help create a sense of calm before sleep, but that pain still wakes them nightly stealing a little bit of energy and resilience from the next day.

Painsomnia is a thief in the night robbing sufferers of rest, relaxation, and future energy stores for endeavors to be undertaken or enjoyed. Melatonin, sleep hygiene, and sleeping medications are treating the sleep issue, not the constant unrelenting inflammation and chronic pain issue that is keeping people awake.

Without better options for chronic pain treatment, it is unlikely that painsomnia will go away. The very best anyone can do it cobble together conditions that make sleep more likely and pain less likely every day and every night.