If you are like me, hitting the snooze button is a daily ritual. I do it as my count down for getting up and prepping myself for the day. Others do it habitually after a poor night of sleep. Poor sleep is related to high blood pressure, low pain tolerance, memory problems and weight problems, and even difficulty staying awake when driving. A recent article written by a fascial therapist discusses the link between those who are in chronic pain and those who are having problems with sleep. Our office has also seen many of our pain patients who experience sleep disturbances due to the pain. Sleep difficulties are also linked to the Fibromyalgia diagnosis, although rheumatologists created the condition in 1990. One of the cardinal observations of patients with this condition is sleep disturbances. There is a chain of events that includes cortisol levels which should be high in the morning and below at night for proper sleep. This is part of a cycle that when interrupted affects the cannabidiol system and results in chronic pain. Perhaps, this is why CBD oil is becoming so popular as it addresses the pain part of the cycle. True, you can take ashwagandha, which can help improve your cortisol levels. Cortisol Manager, by Integrative Therapeutics, has ashwagandha as the main ingredient. This is the beginning of the pathway to inflammation which can be reduced with Turmeric, of which Curcumin is the Active ingredient. Integrative Therapeutics Theracumin is an ideal way of getting a high dose of this natural inflammatory safely while reducing inflammation and it can be purchased from our offices. The following inflammation is the cannabidiol receptors which are responsible for pain. This is where CBD comes in. Treating the sleep pathway is important to regulating pain. Taking these other substances, while helpful may not be as effective without regulating and restoring restful sleep. Below is an interesting article that discusses sleep and its relationship to chronic pain. It does not talk about the cannabidiol pathway which was covered earlier in this article Does hitting the snooze button really help you feel better? by Steven Bender June 6, 2019 To sleep or to snooze? You probably know the answer, but you don’t prefer it. Most of us probably use the snooze function on our alarm clocks at some point in our lives. Just a few more minutes under the covers, a time to gather our thoughts, right? While such snoozing might seem harmless, it may not be. For starters, it is important to understand why we are using the snooze button in the first place. For some it’s a habit that started early on. But for many, it can signal a significant problem with sleep. Poor sleep has been shown to be associated with a number of health disorders including high blood pressure, memory problems and even weight control. I’m a facial pain specialist and have extensively studied sleep and how it impacts painful conditions. With testing, we discover that many of our chronic pain patients also suffer from various sleep disorders. Read more