Sleep Disturbances Result in Chronic Pain in Healthy Women
News Desk
6/22/2006 6:02:00 AM
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To: National Desk, Health Reporter
Contact: Jim Arcuri of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine,
708-492-0930 ext. 9317 or jar...@aasmnet.org
WESTCHESTER, Ill., June 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Healthy women with
regular sleep disturbances are more likely to experience chronic pain,
according to a research abstract that will be presented at the 20th
anniversary SLEEP meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep
Societies (APSS) at Salt Lake City's Salt Palace Convention Center from
June 17-22.
M.T. Smith and colleagues of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
conducted a survey of 32 healthy, pain-free, medication-free females
over the course of seven nights. For the first two nights, the women
slept undisturbed for eight hours. After the second night, the women
were randomly selected to be force awakened at several times during the
night and to have restricted sleep. The results showed that sleep
disturbances, but not simple sleep restriction, had an adverse affect
on the women's physical condition.
A study published in a recent issue of the journal SLEEP showed that
the reduction of sleep time by at least four hours and the total loss
of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep both produce an increased sensitivity
to pain during the following day. Complete deprivation of REM sleep
also significantly increases pain sensitivity compared with control
nights of sleep.
The annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of 5,000
leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine to
present and discuss new findings and medical developments related to
sleep and sleep disorders.
More than 1,000 research abstracts will be presented during the
meeting, which is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS). This will bring
to light new findings that enhance the understanding of the processes
of sleep and aid the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as
insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.
The annual SLEEP meeting is open to the media. To register for a press
pass, to schedule interviews, or for more information, contact Jim
Arcuri at 708-492-0930 ext. 9317, or jar...@aasmnet.org by e-mail.
More details, including the program schedule and a list of invited
lecturers, are also available on the APSS website, http://www.apss.org
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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
Support Desk
Long-term pain and sickness related depression makes women more
disabled than men - study published in the European Journal of Pain
finds. Thus treatment procedures targeting to reduce stress and pain in
arthritis and back pain patients will reduce disability.
This suggests that by targeting their depression, doctors could help
reduce disability in female patients with chronic conditions such as
arthritis and back pain.
The study, which involved 260 chronic pain patients from Royal National
Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD), builds on growing evidence
that 'psychosocial' factors can have an effect on a person's
health and behaviour.
'It is now accepted that pain is more than just a sensory experience,
and that factors like a person's gender, their emotional condition or
their interactions with others, can contribute to their pain
experiences,' said Dr Ed Keogh from the Pain Management Unit at the
University of Bath and RNHRD.
'This research shows that pain-related emotions are associated with
pain-related behaviour, such as the number of visits to the GP, the
number of medications taken, the amount of sleep lost, and disability,
but it also highlights a significant discrepancy between the behaviours
of men and women.
'For women in particular, targeting depression may help reduce
disability associated with chronic pain.'