Unraveling the link between chronic pain and sleep quality: Insights from a national study

Objectives

To assess the relationship between chronic pain and sleep quality in U.S. men and women.

Methods

Data included adults aged 25-84 from the 2013-2018 nationally representative National Health Interview Surveys (n=161,282). We examined three measures of sleep quality –self-reported days with difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and days not feeling rested. We analyzed multiple measures of chronic pain – any chronic pain, the location of chronic pain, and the count of chronic pain locations. Linear regression models of each sleep outcomes were estimated on the pooled sample, then by sex and age.

Results

The presence of any chronic pain, migraines/headaches, and the number of chronic pain sites were all associated with worse sleep quality across all three measures. Having migraines tended to be most strongly associated with sleep quality. Our findings also indicate sex differences in how chronic pain affects sleep, with women's sleep issues being associated with minor chronic pain while men's sleep problems are associated more with major chronic pain.

Conclusions

Chronic pain influences the sleep of the American population, with migraines in particular having a strong relationship. Future research should consider the bi-directionality in the relationship.