What Is the Connection Between Sleep, Pain and Mental Health?
Facts state that around 50–70 million US adults have a sleep disorder, and about 35.3% of people say they're getting less than 7 hours of sleep on a typical day.
Getting enough sleep helps relieve mental stress and improves overall health. Its absence can lead to sleepiness, poor focus, irritability, a weakened immune system, and—if untreated—even stress, anxiety, sadness, or bipolar disorder.
Poor sleep can stem from factors like age, excess caffeine, noise disturbances, an uncomfortable bedroom, or illness.
Pain and sleep
Pain is a substantial contributor to poor sleep and harms mental health. Acute or chronic pain makes it hard to get sufficient rest, and lack of sleep lowers pain tolerance, creating a vicious cycle.
Conditions such as arthritis, lower back pain, and severe headaches often cause night awakenings, reducing sleep quality. Left untreated, they can trigger insomnia, which in turn worsens mental well-being.
How are sleep and mental health connected?
During NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep, brain activity slows and processes daily events. In REM (rapid eye movement), the brain absorbs emotions, consolidates memories, and heals mind and body. Each stage repeats 2–3 times nightly and is essential for clear thinking, learning, memory, focus, and emotional balance.
Insufficient sleep impairs emotional processing, influencing mood and reactivity and raising the risk of mental health disorders—even suicidal thoughts. Thus, sleep can be both a cause and a consequence of mental health.
How are pain and mental health related?
Chronic pain causes insomnia and sleep disturbances. Over time, this can lead to depression and other mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder.
Pain and insomnia combined reduce pain endurance, making minor aches feel intense and slowing recovery. Therapy for pain and insomnia is critical, as both can lead to heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and depression. It’s estimated that around 33% of the world’s population suffers from insomnia.
To conclude
Further research is needed to explore the connections between sleep, pain, and mental health. Existing evidence highlights they are critical factors for mental well-being and overall health.
