"Sleep Disorders and Chronic Pain" - Ruben Castaneda
It’s common for patients who suffer from chronic pain and who aren’t getting good, consistent rest to believe that their discomfort is interrupting their sleep patterns. "There are tens of thousands of regulators in the body that determine your pain experience," said Houman Danesh, MD, director of the Integrative Pain Management Program at the Mount Sinai Hospital. "Our bodies can filter experiences, including pain. If you have a broken bone in your leg and someone yells 'Fire,' you'll find a way to run out of that building. Your body filters every signal that comes into your brain, whether it's a pain signal or a pleasure signal. Getting a full night's sleep improves your filter."
— Houman Danesh, MD, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Rehabilitation & Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, The Integrative Pain Management Program, The Mount Sinai Hospital