Poor sleep is more sensitive to pain, scientists uncover the reason behind it

CTOnews.com, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) in a new study, a team of researchers at Harvard University found a potential link between pain and poor sleep, suggesting that people who sleep poorly are more sensitive to pain, creating an unpleasant cycle.

Source: scientists at Harvard University in Central Tennessee and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified a potential link between pain and poor sleep and have come up with a treatment based on it.

At present, there is a consensus in academic circles that neurotransmitters are chemicals released by neurons to communicate with each other, and in this study, we found a neurotransmitter called NADA, which targets cannabinoid Ⅰ receptor (CB1R) in the brain and controls pain perception to some extent, which can also explain the analgesic properties of drugs.

In tests in mice, the researchers found that chronic sleep interruptions reduced levels of NADA in the brain. This does not necessarily increase the degree of pain, but it does seem to enhance the perception of pain, making it more severe than the day before.

Shiqian Shen, lead author of the study, said:

Human pain is a very subjective experience, after insomnia, even if there is no exaggerated stimulation, we still feel pain. This means that it's like having a thermostat in the body that regulates our sensitivity to pain.

The team may have found a way to turn down the thermostat. When the researchers gave sleep-deprived mice more NADA, they found that pain perception decreased again. This suggests that the development of drugs that increase human NADA levels can help relieve pain and break the vicious circle between pain and poor sleep.

CTOnews.com attached the reference address of the paper as follows: Ding, W., Yang, L., Shi, E. et al. The endocannabinoid N-arachidonoyl dopamine is critical for hyperalgesia induced by chronic sleep disruption. Nat Commun 14, 6696 (2023). Https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42283-6