Sick and Tired: Understanding and Managing Sleep Difficulties in ...
Sick and Tired: Understanding and Managing Sleep Difficulties in ...
Sick and Tired: Understanding and Managing Sleep Difficulties in ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Figure 4. Conceptual model of the development of sleep difficulties <strong>in</strong> chronic pa<strong>in</strong><br />
(Currie et al., 2000)<br />
Chronic pa<strong>in</strong><br />
Insomnia secondary to<br />
chronic pa<strong>in</strong><br />
Pre-Chronic pa<strong>in</strong><br />
No <strong>in</strong>somnia<br />
Acute pa<strong>in</strong><br />
Acute <strong>in</strong>somnia<br />
Masi et al (2002) have criticised this model by highlight<strong>in</strong>g that other factors have been<br />
found to affect sleep quality, such as anxiety <strong>and</strong> depression, are not <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the conceptual model. However, the model has been effectively used to <strong>in</strong>form<br />
treatment of <strong>in</strong>somnia for people with chronic pa<strong>in</strong>, based on cognitive behavioural<br />
techniques which support the use of adaptive cop<strong>in</strong>g strategies <strong>in</strong> response to pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
sleep difficulties (Currie et al., 2000).<br />
Chronic pa<strong>in</strong><br />
Cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g sleep<br />
problems<br />
Attempts to cope with sleep<strong>in</strong>g<br />
problems<br />
-excessive time <strong>in</strong> bed<br />
-irregular sleep rout<strong>in</strong>e<br />
-napp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> low activity<br />
-worry<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> bed<br />
-pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> sleep medication<br />
Onset of pa<strong>in</strong><br />
- trauma from <strong>in</strong>jury or<br />
illness<br />
More than 6 months <strong>in</strong><br />
pa<strong>in</strong><br />
-emotional distress<br />
-functional impairment<br />
-reduced activity<br />
-medication reliance<br />
Despite the wealth of evidence suggest<strong>in</strong>g a bi-directional relationship between sleep<br />
<strong>and</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>, there is little research explor<strong>in</strong>g the potential physiological mechanisms<br />
underly<strong>in</strong>g the l<strong>in</strong>k. In a review of the sleep <strong>and</strong> chronic pa<strong>in</strong> literature, Smith <strong>and</strong><br />
Haythornthwaite (2004) highlighted that areas of the bra<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the onset <strong>and</strong><br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance of sleep (such as the mesencephalic periaqueductal gray <strong>and</strong> the thalamus),<br />
are also <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the modulation of pa<strong>in</strong>. Neurotransmitters such as acetylchol<strong>in</strong>e are<br />
also <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> both sleep <strong>and</strong> pa<strong>in</strong> regulation, suggest<strong>in</strong>g that a neurological<br />
dysfunction may underlie both chronic pa<strong>in</strong> severity <strong>and</strong> sleep disturbance<br />
(Lautenbacher et al., 2006). Incorporat<strong>in</strong>g theses physiological processes <strong>in</strong> their<br />
conceptual framework of sleep <strong>and</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>, Call-Schmidt <strong>and</strong> Richardson (2003) propose<br />
34