Pain sensitivity in sleepy pain-free normals
Bantu Samridhi Chhangani, Timothy A Roehrs, Erica J Harris, Maren Hyde, Christopher Drake, David W Hudgel, Thomas Roth, Bantu Samridhi Chhangani, Timothy A Roehrs, Erica J Harris, Maren Hyde, Christopher Drake, David W Hudgel, Thomas Roth
Abstract
Study objective: Past studies have shown that acute experimental reduction of time in bed in otherwise healthy, non-sleepy people leads to hyperalgesia. We hypothesized that otherwise healthy, sleepy people may also exhibit hyperalgesia relative to their non-sleepy counterparts.
Design: Between-groups sleep laboratory study.
Setting: Hospital-based sleep disorders center.
Participants: Twenty-seven, healthy, normal participants (age 18-35 years) were recruited and categorized into sleepy and non-sleepy groups based on their average sleep latencies on a screening multiple sleep latency test (MSLT).
Interventions: Both groups were then allowed 8 hours time in bed, following which they underwent pain sensitivity testing (10:30 and 14:30) and sleepiness assessments by the MSLT (10:00, 12:00, 14:00, and 16:00). Pain sensitivity assessments were made by measuring finger withdrawal latencies to a radiant heat source delivering 5 different heat intensities.
Measurements and results: This study showed that after only one night of 8 hours time in bed, the sleepy participants continued to be sleepy and exhibited a more rapid finger withdrawal response (i.e., increased pain sensitivity) to radiant heat than non-sleepy participants.
Conclusion: This suggests that sleepy individuals experience hyperalgesia in response to a painful stimulus when compared with non-sleepy individuals.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2717191/bin/aasm.32.8.1011a.jpg)
Figure 2
Mean finger withdrawal latency (sec)…
Figure 2
Mean finger withdrawal latency (sec) over the 5 stimulus intensities for non-sleepy and…
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- Adolescent
- Adult
- Arousal / physiology*
- Female
- Humans
- Hyperalgesia / physiopathology*
- Male
- Pain Threshold / physiology*
- Polysomnography
- Reaction Time / physiology
- Sleep / physiology*
- Young Adult
- Full Text Sources
- Medical
- Miscellaneous
![Figure 2](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2717191/bin/aasm.32.8.1011b.jpg)
Source: PubMed