Influence of Sleep and Wakefulness States and Physical Activity on Chronic Pain in Temporomandibular Disorders

Chronic pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders is a common and costly social problem. However, studies investigating the direct relationship between sleep and physical activity and pain are insufficient, and the causal relationship between these factors remains unclear.

This study aimed to clarify whether sleep conditions and physical activity influence the subjective intensity of chronic pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders.

The participants consisted of 15 females (mean age: 38.9 ± 10.1 years). Physical activity and total sleep time were evaluated using the Actigraph (AW2, AMI, USA). The recordings were carried out for 14 consecutive days. Pain intensity and subjective sleep quality were also evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale for 14 consecutive days. The linear mixed-effects model and Mann-Whitney U-test were applied for statistical analyses.

The higher the subjective sleep quality the previous night, the lower the jaw pain the next day. The higher the physical activity on the previous day, the lower the jaw pain the next day. The higher the jaw pain on the previous day, the higher the jaw pain the next day.

The subjective intensity of jaw pain was affected by subjective sleep quality, physical activity, and jaw pain the previous day.