Pain physicianDec 17, 2024

Link Between Sleep Timing Preferences and Sensitivity to Long-Term Nerve Pain

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗

Updated Mar 25, 2026

Abstract

Patients with a morning chronotype reported higher pain scores compared to those with an intermediate chronotype.

Morning chronotype patients exhibited higher average pain intensity, as measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS).
Those with a morning chronotype had lower scores on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pain Interference (PROMIS-PI), indicating less interference with daily activities.
Chronotype, depression, sleep apnea risk, sleep quality, and body mass index (BMI) were identified as significant independent predictors of pain intensity and interference.
The study analyzed data from 38 adults with chronic neuropathic pain disorders, highlighting differences in pain sensitivity based on chronotype.
Further research with larger and more diverse populations is necessary to confirm these findings.

Simplified

BACKGROUND: Chronotype defines an organism's biological preference for timing of activity and sleep. Being a morning chronotype (i.e., tending to wake up early and go to bed earlier at night) is associated with protection against chronic musculoskeletal pain and headaches, but the relationship between chronotype and neuropathic pain sensitivity remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this pilot study was to explore the relationship among chronotype, neuropathic pain sensitivity, and pain interference in patients with chronic neuropathic pain disorders.

STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective, observational, single-center, cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Patients were recruited from pain management clinics.

METHODS: The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) was used to evaluate circadian typology. Linear mixed-effects models, principal component analysis, and principal component regression were used to determine the predictors of pain intensity and pain interference evaluated by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pain Interference (PROMIS-PI) scores, respectively.

RESULTS: We analyzed 38 adults who had at least one documented chronic neuropathic pain diagnosis. Morning-chronotype patients reported higher NRS scores over time and lower PROMIS-PI t-scores than did intermediate chronotypes. MEQ, depression, risk of sleep apnea, sleep quality, and body mass index (BMI) were all significant independent predictors of average NRS scores and PROMIS-PI t-scores.

LIMITATIONS: The population was small and homogeneously white, with an average age of 57 years. However, this population was representative of our pain clinic.

CONCLUSIONS: Morning chronotypes are more sensitive to chronic neuropathic pain, reporting higher pain scores than do intermediate chronotypes. However, in this study, morning chronotypes were more resistant to neuropathic pain interference, suggesting that they may experience less disturbance of their physical, mental, and social activities than intermediate chronotypes. Further, larger studies are needed.

Funding

Competing interests

Conflict of interest: Each author certifies that he or she, or a member of his or her immediate family, has no commercial association (i.e., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

PubMed

Link Between Sleep Timing Preferences and Sensitivity to Long-Term Nerve Pain

Abstract

Funding

Competing interests

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Abstract

Funding

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