Sleep Study (Closed to new enrollment)

Impact on Pain, Sleep, Fatigue, and Mood

Overview

Patients suffering from chronic pain conditions commonly reports difficulties with sleep, fatigue, and mood. These symptoms have a significant negative impact on functioning and quality of life.

Similar to patients with chronic pain, individuals showing disturbed behavioral rhythms also commonly experience difficulties in sleep, fatigue, and mood. While we know that symptoms of sleep, fatigue, and mood are highly common in chronic pain, and that these symptoms can result of rhythm disruption, we have no research that evaluated the presence of behavioral rhythm disruption in patients with chronic pain.

The purpose of this project is to better understand the relationship between behavioral rhythms with symptoms of pain, sleep, fatigue, and mood in individuals with chronic pain as well as in healthy individuals.

Participants will come for an initial visit at the Pain Research Center lasting about two hours. During this visit, participants will meet with the lead researcher for a clinical interview and complete questionnaires assessing pain, sleep, fatigue, mood, functioning, and quality of life. Patients who meet study criteria will be given a wrist watch-like device to be worn for eight consecutive days to measure activity and sleep. Participants will also be asked to complete a sleep log and activity log during the eight days.

Participants will be compensated for their participation in this stud

Contact

Principle Investigator: Ariel Neikrug, PhD
Department: Anesthesiology, Pain Research Center

For more information about whether you qualify to participate in this trial, please contact the investigator listed below.

Name: Ariel Neikrug, PhD
Phone: 801-587-0264
Email: ariel.neikrug@utah.edu

Criteria

In order to be included in this study:

Inclusion Criteria

All patients must be between 18-65 years old with English proficiency in reading/writing.

Participants must meet one of the inclusion criteria for either Chronic Pain Group or Healthy Control Group

Chronic Pain Group Criteria

• Experiencing current chronic pain: persistent pain for more than one year at a consistent body part or diffuse body pain (eg, fibromyalgia) that is stable rather than progressive in nature, and who report experiencing the pain for more than 70 percent of the waking hours in any given week.
• Patients must be under current medical care by a physician for a pain diagnosis and have seen their physician for chronic-pain management within the last three months.
• Patients must be able remain stable on any of their medication (as prescribed) for the duration of the 8-day evaluation involved in the study.

Healthy Control Group Criteria:

• Pain-free for the past (one) year
• No prior treatment for a chronic pain condition
• Overall good health

Exclusion Criteria

Participant are excluded if they meet any of the criteria listed below:

• Underwent surgery in the last six months
• Shift workers
• Have dementia or any neurodegenerative disease (eg, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease).
• Current drug abuse/dependence or patients receiving treatment in methadone clinic
• Current unmanaged cardiac conditions
• Untreated sleep apnea
• Untreated restless legs syndrome
• Individuals with bipolar disorder
• Individuals experiencing symptoms of psychosis (delusions or hallucinations)
• Individuals with current suicidal ideation
• Individuals who have changed time-zones in the last 7 days, or who experienced a significant life change in the last month (eg, death in the family, loss of job, traumatic event).