Living with chronic / persistent pain can feel like fighting a battle on two fronts. During the day, you manage symptoms and try to live as fully as possible. But at night, pain can interfere with sleep, leaving you exhausted, frustrated, and caught in a cycle where poor sleep makes pain feel worse.
We often hear the same advice about sleep hygiene – go to bed at the same time, keep your bedroom dark, avoid caffeine. While these tips are helpful, they don’t always address the unique challenges of sleeping with chronic/persistent pain.
In this blog, I want to share some different sleep strategies that move beyond the basics and may help you find a little more rest.
Why Sleep Matters When You Live with Chronic / Persistent Pain
Poor sleep doesn’t just make you tired. It reduces your ability to cope with pain, increases stress, and impacts mood, memory, and concentration. Research shows that improving sleep quality can reduce the intensity of chronic pain and improve overall wellbeing. That’s why finding ways to sleep better with chronic illness is so important.
Some Different Strategies for Better Sleep with Chronic Pain
1. Micro-Naps That Reset the System
If pain keeps you awake at night, allow yourself short “resets” during the day rather than pushing through fatigue. A 15–20 minute nap before 2.00pm, can restore alertness and reduce the emotional strain of sleep loss without interfering with your next night’s sleep.
2. Temperature Tweaks
Instead of focusing only on room temperature, experiment with local temperature regulation. For example, cooling pillows, heated socks, or alternating hot and cold packs can help soothe painful areas and signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to relax.
3. Narrative Escapes
Listening to audiobooks or immersive stories can provide distraction from pain-related thoughts at night. Fiction in particular allows your mind to “step out” of your body for a while, which can reduce the perception of pain and make drifting off easier.
4. Reverse Bedtime Rituals
Rather than winding down in silence, try adding gentle but unusual sensory rituals – brushing your skin lightly with a soft fabric, diffusing a novel scent, or listening to rain sounds. Engaging your senses in unexpected ways can disrupt the usual cycle of “bedtime equals pain and frustration.”
5. Body Position Experiments
Many people with pain stay in the same sleeping position for years, even if it isn’t working. Try experimenting with pillow placement, reclined sleeping, or even lying diagonally across the bed. Sometimes, a small shift creates surprising relief.
6. “Parking Worries” Before Bed
Pain often feels worse when the mind is busy. Try writing down any worries, tasks, or pain-related fears before bed, placing the note in a box or drawer. This symbolic act tells your brain, “I’ve dealt with that for tonight.”
Living (and Sleeping) Well with Pain
There’s no single solution for sleep and chronic pain. But building a toolkit of strategies gives you more options to ease discomfort, calm the nervous system, and invite sleep.
If you’d like more support, you might enjoy my guided relaxation audios at Sleep Well with Dr Sue – designed to help you unwind and improve sleep quality.
For a deeper exploration of pain and sleep, my book Sleeping with Pain offers practical strategies, real-life examples, and compassionate guidance.
Final Thoughts
Sleep may feel elusive when you live with pain, but it is possible to improve your nights with a mix of creativity, experimentation, and kindness to yourself. This week, try one unusual strategy – perhaps a narrative escape or a small temperature tweak – and notice how it feels. Over time, these gentle adjustments can bring more restful nights and brighter mornings.
Wishing you a less pain day
Dr Sue