WITHIN Blog
Here you will find all the blog entries by the WITHIN team. The purpose of this blog is for sharing interesting research articles we have read regarding our work, as well as any useful commentaries and resources related to our project and research.
Have an idea or want to contribute to an entry? email: withinstudy@warwick.ac.uk
July 2022
Research Visit to Warwick Sleep & Pain LabLink opens in a new window
Authors: Anke Samulowitz, University of Gothenburg
The EUTOPIA Doctoral mobility program allowed me to visit the Sleep and Pain Laboratory at the University of Warwick this summer and I’m most grateful for this opportunity. What could be better for a pain researcher to talk to other pain researchers for three weeks and observe their work closely? Well, to do that and to meet interesting, welcoming and wonderful people at the same time...
May 2021
How Stress is Implicated in Chronic PainLink opens in a new window
Authors: the WITHIN Study Team
Since 1992 in the UK, April has been stress-awareness month and here at the Sleep & Pain Lab we have been reflecting on the role that stress plays in all of our lives: What are the common sources of stress? Can stress affect our pain experiences? Can stress management really improve long-term wellbeing? In this month’s blog, we explore the general relationship between pain and stress, as well as looking at some of the ways we can better manage stress for improved health and wellbeing in the context of pain...
March 2021
A Breath of Fresh Air: Sleep Apnoea and Chronic PainLink opens in a new window
Author: Bruno Saconi, PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing (USA) & Visiting Research Student in Psychology at the University of Warwick, Sleep and Pain Lab
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a sleep condition that is characterized by repeated episodes of short stops/starts in breathing while asleep. When these occur, oxygen levels drop which is sensed by the brain causing people to wake up frequently throughout the night. The condition is estimated to effect around 8 million people aged 30-69 in the UK, and is highly comorbid with chronic pain conditions. In this month’s blog, guest-written by Bruno Saconi from University of Pennsylvania, we explore the association between obstructive sleep apnoea and chronic pain, as well as some interesting research in this area.
Authors: Paige Karadag (Research Assistant) & Jenna Gillett (PhD Student, dep. of Psychology)
Our first blog of 2021 is inspired by an event that members of the WITHIN team recently attended, which was the first public event for the Dance and Somatic Practice Network. The online event entitled “Chronic Pain: The Fear and Joy of Moving”, aimed to facilitate a discussion between physiotherapists, psychologists, anthropologists, dancers and people with lived experiences of chronic pain...
December 2020: Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week
#ItTakesGuts - Experiences of Living with Ulcerative ColitisLink opens in a new window
This blog details our own Research Assistant’s experiences of having Ulcerative Colitis as part of the #ItTakesGuts campaign which is running this week - aiming to raise awareness and reduce stigma of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Read on for a personal account of Paige's experiences of living with Ulcerative Colitis.
Author: Paige Karadag (Research Assistant, WITHIN Study)
November 2020: Thanksgiving Special!
How gratitude can have positive impacts on your sleep, pain and wellbeingLink opens in a new window
Authors: Michelle Pun (Student Volunteer, Sleep & Pain Lab), Jenna Gillett (PhD Student, dep. of Psychology) & Paige Karadag (Research Assistant, WITHIN Study)
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in different counties such as America, Canada and Brazil and is often marked with family get-togethers and a large turkey for dinner! Traditionally, it is an occasion where people give thanks for their blessings from the past year. In the UK, we don’t typically celebrate thanksgiving the way people do across the Atlantic, but as it falls during our second national lockdown due to COVID-19, we have been wondering about the concept of giving thanks from a psychological and health perspective.
November 2020
Can Catching Z's Relieve Pain?Link opens in a new window
Authors: Jenna Gillett (Research Assistant, WITHIN Study) & Dr Nicole Tang (Chief Investigator, WITHIN Study)
Recently, our Chief Investigator Dr Nicole Tang gave a talk at an online seminar hosted by the Royal Society of MedicineLink opens in a new window on the sleep-pain interaction. As part of her talk, Dr Tang outlined how sleep problems are often a frequent occurrence in many patients who have chronic pain. In this month’s blog we discuss some of the key highlights from Dr Tang’s talk and reflect on how sleep and pain are related.
August 2020
Sunshine, Lollipops, Rainbows... and Chronic Pain?Link opens in a new window
Authors: Jenna Gillett (Research Assistant, WITHIN Study) & Dr Nicole Tang (Chief Investigator, WITHIN Study)
The summer holidays have begun and as we approach mid-August our yearly allowance of approximately 3 full days of sunshine and thunderstorms are on their way. This got us thinking, with the ever changeable and uncertain weather, what is the impact, if any, of our weather on pain experiences? In this month's blog we review one very interesting study aptly titled "Cloudy with a Chance of Pain" by Dixon et al. (2019).
June 2020
5 ways you can feel more in control over your pain during the COVID-19 pandemicLink opens in a new window
Author: Dr Kristy Themelis (Research fellow, WITHIN Study)
Our current pandemic has an enormous impact on how pain management and care programmes are operating and being delivered. For those with chronic pain, this brings on a whole new set of challenges to manage their health. We want to provide you with a few steps you can take to continue to manage your chronic pain.
April 2020
"We will win the fight" - Battling language use in the news and media coverage of COVID-19: Some links to chronic pain experience
Author: Dr Nicole Tang (Chief Investigator, WITHIN Study)
Checking the news about the latest spread of the coronavirus has become an obsessive ritual during the lockdown. This is an accessible way to gain a sense of control at a time of exceptional uncertainty. Many nations have put themselves on war footing. Suddenly, fighting talks are all the over place in the news and in politicians’ communications to the public, with frequent references made to WWII when the world was gripped with loss and hardship...
March 2020
Reviewing a mega-ethnography of qualitative research into chronic pain by Toye, Seers, Hannink & Barker (2017)
Author: Jenna Gillett (Research Assistant, WITHIN Study)
As a team interested in the novel construct of mental defeat, we keep ourselves up-to-date with emerging research on relevant concepts for the study of chronic pain. One article that caught our eye was that by Toye, Seers, Hannink & Barker (2017). These authors conducted a mega-ethnography of 11 qualitative research papers exploring the lived experiences of those with chronic pain…