Do your joints ache at night? Does nighttime knee pain keep you awake? Many of us experience trouble sleeping due to arthritis pain and inflammation. We’re left tired and cranky the next day, and doesn’t it seem like the pain worsens when you don’t sleep? It’s not your imagination. Studies show that loss of sleep exacerbates pain the next day. Worse, insufficient sleep causes greater arthritic disability over time.
Let’s explore how poor sleep affects arthritis and how to get the rest you need.
How Restful Sleep Alleviates Pain
The body’s repair cycle activates during sleep, repairing damaged tissues, replenishing joint lubrication, and reducing inflammation. Our muscles relax, and our stress levels ease, lowering cortisol levels, which contribute to painful inflammation. Quality sleep is essential to managing arthritis pain and slowing the condition’s progress. Yet arthritis pain impairs sleep, and without sleep, the pain gets worse, making it harder to sleep. Let’s see how to break this wretched cycle.
Strategies for Achieving Better Sleep with Arthritis
Strategies to improve sleep with nighttime joint pain include developing a more supportive and comfortable environment and better preparing the body for restful sleep.
Creating a Comfortable Sleep Environment
As your body prepares to fall asleep, your core body temperature lowers, your muscles relax, and your mind calms. Supporting these essential physiological changes is key to creating a comfortable sleep environment.
Sleeping Cool
Studies indicate that maintaining a cool temperature is one of the most significant ways to improve sleep quality. For most people, 65 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for sleeping, plus or minus a couple of degrees for individual preferences. Aim for a 40-50% humidity level for the best possible sleeping environment.
Comfort and Support
The role your mattress and pillow(s) play in sleeping with nighttime joint and muscle pain cannot be overstated. Your mattress and pillows should support your spine, head, and limbs to avoid placing undue stress on them, which increases joint pain. It is recommended that you change your mattress every six to eight years to ensure proper support. If finances are too tight, consider investing in a quality mattress topper, at least 2-4 inches thick.
A quality pillow is essential for good sleep, but don’t stop at one for your head. If you experience nighttime knee pain, sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees can relieve pain, improve blood flow, and help you have more restful sleep. Back sleeping also improves the alignment of your neck, shoulders, spine, and hips, easing pain throughout the body. Consider using additional pillows to support and help alleviate nighttime joint pain wherever it occurs.
Dark and Restful
Your bedroom should be quite dark to aid your mind’s ability to slow down so you can sleep. This can be challenging with windows and multiple LEDs. Consider blackout drapes and a sleep mask. If silence gets a bit heavy, consider using white noise, rainfall, or nature sounds to help your mind relax so you can sleep.
Establishing a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Preparing your mind and body for sleep is important in addition to creating a supportive environment. Before drifting off, your heart rate and blood pressure lower, digestion slows, and cortisol levels drop. Keep these necessary changes in mind as you form your bedtime routine.
Wind Down Activities
Develop a routine of activities that help you to relax and decompress from your day. Consider mental, emotional, and physical relaxation. Quiet reading, meditation, and deep breathing are excellent for calming the mind. Gentle stretching is ideal for helping those with nighttime joint pain relax tense muscles and prepare for sleep. You might try yoga and a warm bath or shower an hour or two before bedtime to ease stiff joints and muscles. But doesn’t a warm shower defeat the body’s need to cool down? Strangely, relaxing in a warm shower can lower your core body temperature, which is ideal for falling asleep.
Avoid Stimulating Activities
Exercise is essential for easing arthritis pain. However, you should avoid doing any high-intensity aerobic exercise within three hours of going to bed. Likewise, avoid following the news, discussing politics, or engaging in anything contentious or upsetting within 1-2 hours of getting into bed. Avoid eating a heavy meal within 2-3 hours of retiring, and avoid caffeine within six hours of lying down for sleep. Skip drinking alcohol within four hours of bedtime. Although a drink may initially help you feel sleepy, as your body metabolizes it, the alcohol can disrupt REM sleep, worsen snoring and sleep apnea, and wake you up more frequently for bathroom breaks.
Dietary and Lifestyle Considerations
In addition to the foods to avoid before bed, several foods contain nutrients that can promote restful sleep. These include:
- Tart cherries or tart cherry juice
- Turkey and other lean white meats
- Whole grains, such as oats, rice, and barley
- Dairy products, including milk (warm or cold), yogurt, and cheese
- Fatty fish, such as tuna and salmon
- Eggs
- Honey
- Chamomile tea
- Leafy greens, such as spinach, lettuce, and kale
- Bananas
- Kiwi
- Almonds
These sleep-promoting foods make excellent evening snacks. Just don’t eat a heavy meal within 2-3 hours of trying to fall asleep.
A regular exercise routine with gentle stretching can relieve some of your arthritis pain and make sleeping with joint pain easier. Look for low-impact exercises like walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, and water aerobics. Strengthening the muscles around your sore joints provides greater support for the joints. It also improves blood flow to each joint, boosting oxygen and nutrients needed to tame inflammation. Exercise lubricates your joints and supports bone health while improving flexibility and range of motion.
When to Consult a Healthcare Professional
Quality sleep is critical to your overall health and ability to manage arthritis. Don’t try to tough it out alone. It’s time to see your healthcare provider if:
- Your struggle to sleep lasts four weeks or more
- You frequently wake up gasping for breath
- You suspect a new medication is interfering with your sleep
- Your legs feel a relentless need to move, keeping you from sleep
- You cannot sleep due to persistent heartburn
It is important to discuss your arthritis pain and its impact on your sleeping with a medical professional. Don’t risk overlooking a more serious issue. Your doctor may know of ways to decrease joint pain and address sleep disorders you’re unaware of, significantly improving your quality of life.
Here's to a night of deep, restorative sleep and the relief you deserve!
