Why Arthritis is Worst in the Morning

As most people with arthritis know, the pain and stiffness are always worst in the mornings.

This is not just their imaginations, according to a new study.

The same biological phenomenon responsible for morning stiffness may also explain why insomniacs are likely to suffer from chronic inflammatory conditions.

Researchers at the University of Manchester recently discovered this interesting biological function that will contribute to the development of a treatment for chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis. They published their research in the FASEB Journal in August 2016.

They first injected mice with collagen to promote the development of rheumatoid arthritis. They then observed the ebb and flow of the inflammation and examined the chemical constitution of the tissue around the inflamed areas.

They found that the inflammation worsened during the day while it was light, while it improved significantly during the night while it was dark and the mice were asleep.

If they left a light on during the night, the inflammation did not improve.

The examination of the chemical composition of tissue revealed the inflammatory role of a protein called cryptochrome.

This is how it works. While you sleep, especially during many consecutive hours of darkness, your body secretes a protein called cryptochrome. Together with some other proteins, it helps to maintain your circadian rhythm, or sleep cycle clock.

When you turn off the light at night, you go to sleep, and all your body tissues become packed with cryptochrome. Amazingly, cryptochrome suppresses the inflammatory pathways in your body so that inflammation that is normally out of control is significantly reduced. Unfortunately, you are asleep and cannot really appreciate the reduction in pain and stiffness!

As it gets lighter in the morning and you wake up, your body stops its production of cryptochrome, and the inflammation immediately returns.

In the first hour or two after its return, it feels unbearable because it is, in effect, a new inflammatory attack that starts from scratch. Hence, the perception that arthritis is worse in the mornings.

This may also explain why researchers have found that insomniacs and shift workers are more likely to suffer from inflammatory diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

For example, in a review of the scientific literature published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2012, the researchers found a definite relationship between insomnia and the development of, and death from, cardiovascular disease.

As another example, in a review published in Holistic Nursing Practice in 2003, scientists found that arthritis sufferers with insomnia suffer substantially more pain than those who sleep well.

This study seems to suggest that insomnia can contribute to the inflammation that makes arthritis so unpleasant, because it blocks the protein that suppresses the inflammation for around eight hours per day. As a result, the inflammation rages out of control all of the time.

So what is an arthritic to do?

Despair not because here it the exact step-by-step strategy thousands of readers have used to completely reverse their arthritis in 28 days or less…

And because sleep is so important, why not use this simple technique to fall asleep in 10 minutes and sleep through the night…