We use cookies on this website.

Back to the overview

The Science of Sleep: Influence on Pain

How come sleep can have such an impact on pain? In the previous blog you could read tips on how to sleep better, today I'm thinking about how this works.

Factors that influence pain

The amount of pain caused by the alarm system strongly depends on how you feel, where your attention is, your thoughts and what you do. 

For example, if you feel stressed, focus on the 'miserable' pain you feel, think 'this will never pass' and decide not to go for a walk because it doesn't make any sense - you can imagine that the pain will only increase. 

The influence of (a lack of) sleep 

Maybe you saw it coming, but sleep also affects all these factors. You can be more irritable if you don't sleep enough (or dull if you've been in bed for too long), don't seem to be able to keep your attention on anything, feel too tired to do anything, and so on and so forth.... 

Want to know more? In this video Dr. Russell Foster explains how sleep works and why sleep is so important.