Chronic pain represents an increasing health and societal burden in the Western world and has a significant negative impact on the individual’s quality of life. More than half of patients with chronic pain report having sleep problems, which they perceive as a major contributing factor to low physical and mental quality of life. Patients with chronic pain who experience insomnia often report more severe and widespread pain compared to those who sleep well.
Sleep disturbances can alter the sensitivity of the pain system and the pain-regulating function, which plays a role in the development of chronic pain. Even a short period of sleep disturbance can lower the pain threshold and cause pain in healthy individuals. Some studies suggest that insomnia is a stronger predictor of pain development than pain is for the development of insomnia.
The Sleep and Pain project consists of three studies:
Study 1 aims to investigate the relationship between physiological sleep, clinical pain and self-reported perceived sleep quality. Physiological sleep is monitored over a period of four weeks using ear-EEG, while participants report their daily pain levels and perceived sleep quality.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) is a cost-effective and safe treatment for insomnia.
Study 2 aims to examine whether digital-delivered CBT-i has a greater pain-relieving effect than general information and guidance about sleep for patients with chronic pain and insomnia. Additionally, ear-EEG-based sleep monitoring is used to investigate whether there are differences in change in physiological sleep between the two treatment groups.
Melatonin is a widely used medication for the treatment of sleep disorders.
Study 3 investigates, in a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial, whether melatonin has a pain-relieving effect in patients with chronic back pain and insomnia. Ear-EEG-based sleep monitoring is also used to examine whether there are differences in change in physiological sleep between the two treatment groups.
Collaborators: University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Odense University Hospital (OUH), Aarhus University (AU), T&W Engineering and Erasmus Medial Center, Rotterdam.
The project is funded by Sygeforsikringen "Danmark"
