A free nighttime pain and sleep handout for adults whose pain gets louder at night. Includes 4-6 breathing, temperature contrast, gentle micro-movement, sensory grounding, the adapted get-out-of-bed rule, thought diffusion, and a nighttime flare plan.
When Pain Keeps You Up is a free handout for adults whose pain burns, throbs, aches, tingles, buzzes, or gets harder to ignore at night. It gives specific tools to help the nervous system settle enough for sleep, including breathing, temperature, gentle movement, sensory grounding, thought diffusion, and a simple nighttime flare plan.
Want deeper support? Pair this free handout with When Pain Stays, When Pain Spikes, or When Sleep Will Not Come for more pain psychology and sleep tools.
FREE NIGHTTIME PAIN + SLEEP HANDOUT
This handout offers practical, evidence-based tools for nighttime pain, pain spirals, insomnia, and nervous system settling.
We are not trying to eliminate pain completely. We are reducing how loud it gets.
4-6 Reset Breath
A nervous system downshift tool using a longer exhale to help signal safety before bed or during a pain spike.
Temperature Contrast Reset
Uses warm-to-cool cycling to send competing sensory signals and help interrupt pain messages.
Gentle Micro-Movement
Small, low-effort movements to keep the nervous system from getting stuck in a pain loop.
Sensory Grounding
Tools like soft blankets, weighted layers, compression, lotion, or calming sensory input to compete with pain signals.
Adapted Get-Out-of-Bed Rule
A pain-sensitive version of the sleep rule that helps break the bed-equals-pain-and-frustration link.
Nighttime Flare Plan
A simple sequence for pain spikes: breathe, add heat/cool, move gently, shift attention, and briefly get out of bed if needed.
This handout is a psychoeducational nighttime pain and sleep resource and is not a substitute for medical care, pain management, sleep medicine evaluation, physical therapy, psychotherapy, crisis care, or individualized clinical support. If pain is severe, worsening, new, medically concerning, or connected to safety concerns, contact your medical team or seek emergency support.