CBT 'can help chronic pain patients get better sleep'

People suffering chronicpain due to conditions such asarthritis could benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help them get better sleep. This is according to a new study from the University of Warwick, which has demonstrated the impact that certain modes of thinking can have on sleeping habits among chronic pain patients, as well as highlighting ways this problem could be addressed. The impact of negative thinking on sleep Published in the Journal of ClinicalSleep Medicine, the research centred on the development of a new scale to measure beliefs about sleep and pain in long-term pain patients, while also examining their overall quality of sleep. It was tested on four groups of patients suffering from long-term pain and bad sleeping patterns, revealing that individuals who had a strong belief that they would not be able to sleep as a result of their pain were more likely to suffer from insomnia - thereby making their pain worse. Conditions such asback pain,fibromyalgia and arthritis were all shown to be linked with negative thoughts about insomnia and pain, creating a vicious cycle in which sleep problems exacerbated pain levels, and vice-versa. How CBT can help chronic pain sufferers sleep better However, the flipside of this was that getting better sleep resulted in pain problems being significantly reduced. This was particularly evident among those who received a short course of CBT for both pain and insomnia. CBT is a highly effective talking therapy that hel...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news