It’s Sleep Awareness Week, and the National Sleep Foundation
has unveiled the results of its annual Sleep in America™ poll. This year’s
survey focused on the impact of pain on quality sleep.
The national poll found that a majority of American adults
suffer from some type of recurring pain. For these respondents, pain resulted
in an average “sleep debt” of approximately 15 minutes to over 40 minutes. In
contrast, 65% of the people who reported not experiencing pain said that their
sleep quality was good or very good. On average, these people sleep 18 to 23
minutes more than their counterparts who experience regular pain.
According to the Foundation’s report, people who don’t get
the quality of sleep they need due to pain experience a number of negative effects,
including:
- Higher stress levels, including anxiety about the impact lack of sleep might have on their health
- Greater tendency to wake up during the night (sleep sensitivity)
- Sleeplessness due to environmental factors
- Interference in their emotional state and personal and professional activities
Making an effort to get more sleep tends to correspond with
greater quality and quantity sleep, even among people who experience pain. If
you suffer from sleep
apnea or other disorders that affect your ability to get a good night’s
rest, you know the importance of sleep and the need to set aside enough time to
get a healthy amount.
If you’re not getting the sleep you need and you know you
need to make positive steps to change that, please call 1 (866) 727-6275 (1-8-NO-PAP-MASK)
today. A local sleep specialist can counsel you on treatment options for sleep
apnea, pain, and a variety of other issues.