For the millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain, relief can feel impossible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates nearly one in four Americans – 60 million – live with some form of chronic pain, most commonly back pain, headaches and arthritis.
The solution is also hardly one size fits all. Between pills, patches, injections and alternative therapies like acupuncture, it can take years for patients to find a solution, often with side effects in tow.
But researchers at the University of Missouri believe maintaining a consistent daily routine may slash pain levels without medication.
The team looked at survey data from older adults, many of whom had insomnia, which has been shown to increase sensitivity and lead to inflammation that raises the risk of chronic pain.
They found that people who kept up with a daily routine, such as going to bed at the same time every night, saw significant reductions in their average pain levels.
Additionally, the study revealed people with more consistent routines tended to have fewer symptoms of depression.
The experts noted the improvements may be because having a regular daily routine regulates the body’s internal clock – the circadian rhythm – which boosts levels of mood-boosting and pain-suppressing hormones like cortisol, melatonin and serotonin.
Maintaining a consistent daily routine may lower pain and depression levels, a study suggests
‘Regardless of sleep quality, those who reported having a regular daily routine had lower levels of physical pain and less depression compared to those without a daily routine,’ Eunjin Tracy, study author and assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri, said.
‘If we are consistent with when we wake up, eat, work or study, interact with others and go to bed, those time cues help synchronize our internal body clocks.
‘Over the long term, that seems to be linked with improved health outcomes.’
In the new study, published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, researchers surveyed 67 older adults, 37 of whom had insomnia, with an average age of 68.
For seven consecutive days, participants recorded when they got out of bed, had their first social interaction, began work or housework, ate dinner and went to bed.
The routine counted as ‘regular’ if it occurred within 45 minutes of that person’s average time. Scores ranged from 0 (‘very irregular routines’) to 7 (‘extremely regular routines’).
The participants also filled out surveys on pain intensity and depressive symptoms.
The team found that for each one-point increase in routine regularity scores, there was an average six percent improvement in pain scores over the course of the study period.
Additionally, for each one-point increase in routine social interactions, there was a 0.7-point decrease in depressive symptom score, which reflected behaviors like having little interest in doing things, feeling down or hopeless, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
‘When we regulate our circadian rhythm well, our bodies function well, but if it gets too distracted, our bodies don’t function as well,’ Tracy said.
There were several limitations to the study, including the small sample size and using self-reported data, which can be subject to bias.
