I am writing this to you in a haze of lack of sleep this week! I am having one of those weeks that we all face at some points, whether you are chronically ill or not, the dreaded sleep disturbances. Now for me these are 90% down to pain and fatigue....yes I know that fatigue means I am exhausted so I should be able to sleep, but it can actually create the opposite problems for us - no joke you become too tired to actually sleep.
There are so many illnesses that cause sleep disturbances, everything from depression through to Lupus and everything in between, so I wont list them all here. It is also perfectly natural to not be able to sleep sometimes, maybe because of stress or simply too much coffee during the day. Each and every sleep disturbance can be dealt with in different ways and I know for Lupus or MCTD fighters this can include;
- Insomnia
- Nightmares (or night terrors as I have found out recently)
- The inability to lie in any position at all
- Sleep walking
- The inability to get into a REM sleep patter (especially true of Fibromyalgia sufferers)
- Sleep Paralysis
So what can we do about this?
Well that is the million dollar question and over the years I have been experimenting with numerous ways to try and get into a healthier sleeping pattern and take on the times when I simply cannot get a decent nights sleep. Now I will admit that I have tried certain medications....currently I take amitriptyline to help me get into a REM sleep - but I wont go into that here as I am neither a doctor or an expert - if you want to look at medications then do speak to your doctor as there are some options available.
Here I will look at the lifestyle changes I have made to aid my sleeping and also the ways that I deal with bad nights....something that has taken me many years of panic to overcome.
Nights when you simply can't stop clock watching
You have gone through your entire day battling with fatigue, you decide an early night will help. As soon as the clock strikes 10pm you are ready, you settle down but you can't nod off. That is when the cycle starts, you try and sleep, you drop off only to jolt awake and then you check the clock. It's 11pm...you say to yourself "If I go to sleep now I will get 7 hours sleep".
This is how the rest of the night goes, clock checking, calculating how much sleep you will get and then panicking about this in relation to work the next day. It is a horrid cycle and one that demands so much energy....energy that I simply don't have.
This is probably one of my biggest issues with sleep...the complete inability to get any and I used to become so panicked that I would literally throw a fit a 3am. So I decided I needed to change this and to start with I simply needed to stay calm. I would lie there and feel the rising panic, having to eventually tell myself that there is no point in panicking as it will only make things worse.
The most successful technique I found was to simply get up and do something else. If I really can't sleep then there is no point in aimlessly lying there, I need to do something to snap my mind out of it. In general, getting up and walking around is the best thing for me even if it is just wandering around my bedroom....the action and movement often helps to clear my mind. Along with this I also find doing something completely different helps to distract my mind....reading a book in the living room, making a warm drink...I have even been known to have a bath. I would avoid watching TV or using your laptop as these keep me awake for longer......oh and make sure you remove or cover up your clocks!!!!
Combating sleep paralysis........literally the scariest thing for me
If you have never experienced sleep paralysis then I would say you are lucky, but the reality is that most of us will at some point and it really isn't anything to worry about....its a perfectly normal thing to happen.....just scary at the time.
Sleep paralysis occurs when the hormones our bodes produces to help us sleep don not wear off when you wake up. Essentially your body wont move.....oh but your brain will. many people will experience the sensation of being pinned down, being actually paralyzed and even seeing faces or people holding them down. I experience this about twice a month on average because I have issues with my REM sleep, which controls these hormones.
When it happens there is very little you can do but try and remain calm and remind yourself that it will only be short lived. On average for me it will last a minute or two...which is great because you wouldn't want it to last longer than this. Another tip, if you are afraid of this is top do some meditation before you go to bed. This works for me around 80% of the time and if it doesn't stop the paralysis it helps me to remain calm during it.
This is also part of the reason I take medication to help with REM sleep...again speak to you doctor if you feel this will help.
Pain and Sleeping.....probably the worst to relax with
Pain is one of the things that causes me the most distress in the night. Sometimes simply rolling over is enough to make me feel like my legs are going to break. there have been times when it has been so bad...a recent infection of my jaw is one that springs to mind....that I have had to sleep sitting up. So what can we do when we desperately need sleep but the pain killers are not working?
Firstly look at your bedding, which I know sounds strange, but having supportive bedding can really help. last year I dislocated my right shoulder quite badly....not helping with the joint pain that was already there...I found that using a V shaped pillow pile was the best way to stave off the pain so that I can sleep. I also keep a pile of pillows within reach as some nights propping my legs up helps with the knee pain. Then there is the overall mattress support, although it's an expense, having the support where you need it is so important.
Another trick I have found that works is to have two hot water bottles, one for my legs and one for the top of my back. In the cooler months this is often enough with my pain killers, to stave off the pain until I am asleep.
Other things worth trying are; walking around your bedroom to loosen up stiff joints, alternating your sleeping positions every 2 hours, ice packs during the summer and if the pain is muscular I sometimes use deep heat cream.