Abstract
Abstract
Introduction:
Chronotype indicates the biological preference for timing of activity and sleep. Being a late chronotype (ie, having a tendency for late sleep times) is associated with several mental and physical health problems. Previous studies found that late chronotypes are also more susceptible to chronic pain, but the relationship between chronotype and pain sensitivity remains unclear.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between chronotype and heat pain threshold (as an indicator of pain sensitivity) in a sample of young healthy adults.
Methods:
We analyzed data from 316 young healthy adults participating in 4 different studies run at the Medical Faculty of the University of Augsburg. In all studies, chronotype and other sleep variables (eg, sleep duration) were assessed using the micro Munich ChronoType Questionnaire. Heat pain threshold was assessed with the method of adjustment.
Results:
Chronotype was not significantly associated with the heat pain threshold. Entering the other sleep variables in separate regression models did also not significantly explain variance in heat pain threshold.
Conclusion:
Our null findings are in contrast with previous notions that late chronotypes might be more sensitive to pain and more susceptible to chronic pain. Given the scarcity of the literature on this topic, more studies are needed to clarify the relationship between chronotype and pain sensitivity in different age populations, while also considering distinct pain modalities or other types of pain tests.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Subject
Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Reference23 articles.
1. Chronotype associations with depression and anxiety disorders in a large cohort study;Antypa;Depress Anxiety,2016
2. Sex differences in pain: a brief review of clinical and experimental findings;Bartley;Br J Anaesth,2013
3. Associations between chronotype, sleep disturbances and seasonality with fatigue and inflammatory bowel disease symptoms;Chrobak;Chronobiol Int,2018
4. Circadian rhythmicity of pain sensitivity in humans;Daguet;Brain,2022
5. Chronotype, gender and general health;Fabbian;Chronobiol Int,2016