Your spouse's chronic pain[1] could be affecting how well you sleep at night, according to a small new study.


Published in the journal PAIN[2] , the new research shows that spouses are more likely to report having bad sleep and feeling unrefreshed in the morning if their partners had a lot of knee pain at the end of the previous day.


Plus, researchers found an association between the closeness of the spousal relationship, and a spouse's reporting of poor sleep in response to the other person's knee pain.


"Our findings suggest that assessing the extent to which partners are closely involved in each other's lives[3] would help to identify spouses who are especially at risk for being affected by patient symptoms and in need of strategies for maintaining their own health and well-being," study researcher Lynn M. Martire, Ph.D., of Penn State University, said in a statement.


The study included 145 couples ages 50 and older, where one person in the couple had diagnosed knee osteoarthritis, who were tracked for 22 consecutive nights. The couples kept logs of pain levels, sleep quality and feelings of being refreshed.


"Compromised sleep caused by exposure to a loved one's suffering may be one pathway to spousal caregivers' increased risk for health problems, including cardiovascular disease," Martire said in the statement. "In developing behavioral couple-oriented interventions for arthritis, it is important to identify the couples in which the spouse is most affected by patient suffering."


Sleep problems aren't just a problem for the spouse of a person with chronic pain -- research shows that the victim often suffers from bad sleep too. WebMD reported that as many as 50 to 90 percent of people with chronic pain have bad sleep[4] . And sleep is more likely to be disturbed when pain isn't consistent.



"If you have constant pain for six months, you figure out how to cope with it. But if the pain level goes up and down, if it's unpredictable, you can't get used to it and it can really interfere with sleep[5] ," sleep and pain expert Gilles Lavigne, of the University of Montreal, told WebMD.



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  • What Do You Do In Your Bedroom?


    Your room should be a sanctuary reserved for only sleep and between-the-sheets romance. If your bedroom is also where you do homework, answer emails, call your mom, make shopping lists and eat snacks, you'll have a harder time relaxing when you want to.




  • Are You Still Wired When You Go To Bed?


    You've got to unplug. If you're one to peruse Facebook, watch Letterman, or text your friends from the comfort of your own sheets, that computer screen could be disrupting your sleep. Try to ditch your electronics an hour before bedtime. Pick up an old-fashioned magazine instead.




  • Do You Have A Sleep Routine?


    Or do you sometimes fall asleep in front of the TV at 9 p.m., but other times stay up working until midnight, and still other times crawl to bed at 2 a.m.? Talk about mixed signals. Choose a bedtime that's about eight hours before you want to wake up, and stick to it each night.




  • When Do You Exercise?


    One of the roughly million <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/slideshows/7-mind-blowing-benefits-of-exercise">benefits of regular exercise</a> is that it can deepen your sleep. But if you’re one to hit the treadmill while watching Jimmy Kimmel, rethink your routine. Vigorous exercise within two hours of bedtime can make it tough to fall asleep.




  • When Do You Consume Caffeine And Alcohol?


    That after-dinner coffee or happy-hour bender may be wreaking havoc on your sleep routine. Shoot to avoid both caffeine and alcohol four to six hours before bedtime. And yes, a few beers may send some of us right to sleep, but later, the drop in blood-alcohol levels often wakes us up.




  • Are You A Napper?


    There’s nothing wrong with a little mid-day siesta. But if you fall asleep during The Young and the Restless and then snooze through The Bold and the Beautiful, you may have an issue. Skipping or shortening your naps will likely help you sleep at night.




  • Do You Eat Before Bed?


    Well, don't. Not only are <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/10/04/9-ways-to-knock-out-those-nighttime-munchies">nighttime fridge raids</a> rough for metabolism, but they can disrupt your sleep. Spicy foods are known to wake snoozers with a bout of heartburn. If you must indulge in a pre-bed bite, opt for snacks in lieu of heavy meals.




  • You're Getting Sleepy, Very Sleepy...


    If these tips are working, we wish you pleasant dreams. Sleep hygiene tips come from the <a href="http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene">National Sleep Foundation</a>, the <a href="http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm">University of Maryland Medical Center</a>, and Matthew Mingrone, an otolaryngologist and lead physician for EOS Sleep California centers.