It’s hard enough experiencing back pain as you go through your day, but back pain at night when you want to sleep is especially grueling.  Many patients experiencing nighttime back pain aren’t even especially uncomfortable during the day, but find that once they climb into bed, the pain may be too much to bear. These people find themselves in a nasty cycle: insufficient or interrupted sleep can exacerbate the very same pain that keeps them up each night. Nighttime back pain can be caused by a number of issues. Disc degeneration and arthritic changes as the result of aging may be to blame for some patients. A bulging or herniated disk putting pressure on a nerve can cause  back and leg pain when lying flat. Sprains or fractures and conditions such as scoliosis, spinal stenosis, or even endometriosis may also cause pain at night. It’s possible that nighttime back pain may be an indicator of spinal tumors, though this is quite rare. Typically, mechanical causes of lower back pain will get better once you are in a comfortable position, but when you roll over in bed, may wake you up. Also they are often accompanied by morning pain or stiffness. Before turning in,