Sleep, Pain and Quality of Life in Chronic Pain Patients

Sleep, Pain and Health-related Quality of Life in Chronic Pain Patients. Interventional Study

The interventional study will have two main aims. First, to compare two interventions aiming to improve sleep in chronic pain patients. And secondly, to study the associations of sleep, mood, chronic pain and quality of life. Half of participants will go through iCBT intervention for insomnia and the other half will receive sleep hygiene education. Additionally, the study will gather information which patients will benefit/will not benefit the tertiary pain clinic treatment when the outcome variable is the Health-related Quality of Life (HrQoL).

Sleep disturbances associates closely with chronic pain. It now seems that sleep problems usually precede and maintain persistent pain. Anxiety and worry frequently precede and associate with disturbed sleep and chronic pain. Depression is usually a consequence of chronic pain. Pain and depression disturb sleep further. These elements form a vicious circle where poor sleep is a critical driver.

Previous studies have shown that sleep disturbances are a major contributor to the poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with chronic pain.

Inclusion Criteria:

• fluency in Finnish

Exclusion Criteria:

• severe psychiatric conditions (e.g. scizopherenia)