An extra hour of sleep will replace painkillers
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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American scientists say that an extra hour of sleep improves the attention of a person and reduces sensitivity to pain.
The results of the research of scientists are published on the pages of the scientific publication "Sleep".
Experts from the Henry Ford clinic in Detroit under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Roers found that if you sleep ten hours a day instead of the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep, you can reduce the pain. In particular, they say that this method is more effective than "jamming" pain with pain medications, such as codeine.
18 healthy people became participants in the study. The volunteers were observed for eight days, four of which they slept for eight hours, and the remaining four - for ten.
The obtained results indicate that the most effective way to get rid of pain was not taking an anesthetic, namely a sleep of at least ten hours a day.
The pain sensitivity of the experimental subjects was evaluated by specialists with the help of heat sources. According to experts, a full night rest for ten hours contributed to improving the response of participants in the experiment, their daily activity and reduce pain sensitivity.
Those who slept for a longer time demonstrated an increase in the pain threshold by 25% on contact with the body source.
Moreover, the level of this decrease in sensitivity to pain is greater than the effect of receiving codeine, which the researchers studied in previous work.
"In combination with previous research results, the result obtained by us now allows us to conclude that the sensitivity to pain sensations depends to a large extent on the state of a person, that is, from lack of sleep and fatigue," the researchers comment. - Thus, it can be concluded that with different chronic conditions and diseases accompanied by painful sensations, it is important for the patient to receive a full-fledged sleep. In addition, scientists hope that the results of their work will be useful for reducing pain in surgical interventions. "
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