As you have read, pain perception is extremely complex. For example, Walch and colleagues (2005) randomly assigned hospital patients to either bright or dim hospital rooms after back surgery. They found that patients in the brighter rooms used 22% less pain analgesic medication per hour than those that were staying in the dimmer rooms. Thus, exposure to natural sunlight appeared to affect pain tolerance!

For this discussion, please give an example of how pain is more than a simple sense. Describe how another variables affects pain perception. Examples of other variables might include the weather, stress, trauma history, hospital window view, insomnia, etc. Share a primary source (research study) and discuss its findings with the class.

Walch, J.M., Rabin, B.S., Day, R., Williams, J.N., Choi, K., & Kang, J.D. (2005). The effect of sunlight on postoperative analgesic medication use: A prospective study of patients undergoing spinal surgery. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67, 156-163.