Pain has a way of disrupting sleep long before the body has a chance to fully rest.
For many people, pain makes it difficult to fall asleep and even when sleep does come, discomfort can interrupt it repeatedly through the night. Over time, this creates a familiar cycle: pain disrupts sleep, and poor sleep in turn amplifies pain.
Chronic pain affects millions of Australians and has wide-reaching impacts on daily life, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Research has consistently shown that people living with persistent pain are more likely to experience fatigue, low mood, and disrupted sleep, with each factor influencing the others.
Importantly, pain is not experienced in isolation. Psychological stress, emotional strain, and ongoing sleep disruption can all contribute to how pain is perceived and managed over time. This interconnectedness helps explain why addressing sleep quality is increasingly recognised as a meaningful part of supporting people living with chronic pain.
What is Chronic Pain, technically?
Despite common assumptions, the term chronic pain does not describe the severity of pain. Instead, it refers to its duration and persistence.
Chronic pain is generally defined as pain that continues beyond the normal tissue healing time, or pain that persists in association with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis. Many clinical guidelines and pain organisations also use a practical timeframe, classifying pain that lasts more than three months as chronic.
Chronic pain can affect anyone; it strikes without fear or favour. A reported 47% of people say their pain is related to a diagnosed condition like cancer or arthritis. Another 40% list a triggering event such as surgery or injury. The other 13%, though, remain in the dark. With or without a known cause, pain is not merely physical. Pain can move from acute, or short term, to long lasting in nature because of emotional challenges, poor treatment, psychological stress, and a haywire body that continues to signal discomfort long after the usefulness of such a signal has abated.
Australian research has consistently highlighted gaps in access to multidisciplinary pain care. Reporting from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that demand for persistent pain services continues to exceed capacity, with longer waiting times in the public system compared to private care.
At the same time, contemporary clinical guidelines emphasise that long-term reliance on medication alone is not considered best practice for ongoing pain management. This has reinforced the need for broader, evidence-based approaches that support people living with persistent pain. This includes addressing foundational factors such as sleep quality, pain sensitivity and recovery.
For a more recent, evidence-informed perspective on how sleep interacts with pain and recovery, you may also find this article helpful: January Reset: Why Sleep Matters for Pain and Recovery
The good news is that, even with chronic pain, there are proven ways to soothe discomfort and enable you to sleep more soundly. This empowers sufferers to turn the pain-insomnia cycle around and implement a positive feedback system that improves both of these problems. Let’s take a look at six evidence-based approaches…
1) Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a psychological intervention that brings awareness to negative thoughts, holds them up to the light for honest appraisal, and enables a patient to reframe the beliefs that shaped them in order to change their behaviours.
CBT has been shown to be effective for the treatment of anxiety and depression, insomnia and chronic pain. The pilot study An Online Self-Help CBT Intervention for Chronic Lower Back Pain found that participants reported a “stronger belief that they could control their pain and they less strongly believed that they were disabled by pain… [there was] improvement in self-efficacy for pain management and mood regulation as well as decreased pain catastrophising and fearful avoidance of physical activity.” Further research showed that CBT was able to reduce insomnia and pain symptoms.
2) Safe movement
Understandably, chronic pain can stop a sufferer from exercising. Yet, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like walking, dancing or water aerobics have been shown to improve the speed an insomniac falls asleep and contribute to better quality and quality slumber. Suitable exercise requires gradual progression or pacing. When done right, it improves muscle strength, physical fitness and can reduce pain without significant side effects. As an additional benefit, safe movement can also calm the mental illness that keeps its sufferers up through long nights.
3) Social interaction
Chronic pain and insomnia may lead to social withdrawal, with research showing that the combination of these two factors can lead to restricted social activities. After all, when you’re tired and sore the safety of your own home can be more enticing than the outside world and its overwhelm of people. Yet, we humans need each other. It’s simply the way we are built. Support from another person reduces pain. There is also a wonderful study that showed the benefits of Tango dancing extend to an enhanced mood, life satisfaction and, yes, better sleep. It’s possible this is related to, well, relating!
4) The practice of mindfulness
There is profound power in mindfulness. As we look in greater detail at what ancient cultures have known for eons, the benefits continue to unfold. Mindfulness based stress reduction can ease pain, especially for those with arthritis, and reduce psychological strain. It could also provide the safe sedative you need.
5) Sound sleep habits
Improving sleep often starts with small, consistent habits that help the body feel safe enough to rest. While these changes can take intention and practice, they can make a meaningful difference over time.
Evidence-informed sleep habits include maintaining consistent bed and wake times, reducing exposure to bright or blue light in the evening, being mindful of caffeine intake later in the day, and creating space to offload mental stress before bed — for example through journalling or relaxation techniques. Gentle lifestyle adjustments, such as appropriate movement during the day and addressing factors that interfere with sleep, can also support better rest.
We explore these evidence based strategies in more detail in our article on building better sleep routines.
6) Products to Support Sleep
Sleeping with pain can be an awkward proposition. An inability to find a comfortable spot, to move when needed, and to block out discomfort can each lead to wide eyed frustration and slumber than just won’t come. Supportive products can calm the pain and lead to a better night sleep. Dr Lawrence Epstein, a sleep expert at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted in Harvard Health Publishing’s article Is your pillow hurting your health? She notes, “Anything that will make you more comfortable will improve the likelihood of getting a good night’s sleep.” A supportive, premium grade, well designed pillow will do the trick nicely.
Chronic pain and disrupted sleep often reinforce one another, creating a cycle that can feel difficult to break. While there is rarely a single solution, research continues to support a broader, more integrated approach to pain management, one that includes psychological support, appropriate movement, social connection, mindfulness, consistent sleep habits, and physical comfort overnight.
Supporting sleep does not replace medical care, but it can play a meaningful role in how pain is experienced and how well the body copes over time. By addressing sleep alongside other evidence-based strategies, many people find they are better able to manage discomfort, recover more effectively, and improve overall quality of life.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on 4 January 2026 to ensure references and supporting information reflect current evidence.
