The Trouble with Sleeping

I’ve always found it funny how much children resist napping and adults relish the opportunity for a midday snooze. Perhaps the switch happens during the sleep-deprived years of most people’s early twenties. Maybe we just get more tired as we get older. I may never know. 

What I DO know is that sleep is so important. 

Here are some of the benefits of sleep:

• reduced stress
• clear mind
• Improved mood
• Get sick less often
• Maintain a healthy weight

(source)

Here are some of the negative effects of not getting enough sleep:

• Chronic health problems such as diabetes, obesity, depression, and heart disease
• Memory issues
• High blood pressure
• Poor balance
• Irritability

(source)

Sleep issues are common with Multiple Sclerosis and though there are many causes I am going to focus on three that have impacted me: Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, and Restless Leg Syndrome.

Insomnia

Insomnia can be both a struggle to fall asleep and difficulty staying asleep. I have experienced both. Each time I have an MS relapse, or active damage occurring in my brain or spinal cord, I struggle with sleep. There have been times when I have lain in bed for 2 hours trying to fall asleep.

If you’ve read my medical trauma post you’ll already know that I have a thing about counting. When I’m in bed and not falling asleep I will count down backwards from 1,000. I usually don’t make it past 500 without falling asleep, but I HAVE made it all the way to 0. In the past I would do this counting, then get up if I made it to 0. I have since learned some better sleep hygiene and know that it isn’t beneficial to lay in bed for that long without sleeping. Nowadays, I am taking medication that makes me drowsy and I rarely struggle to fall asleep.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is an illness in which you stop breathing multiple times throughout the night. There are a few different types of sleep apnea. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the most common and involves collapse of your airway while sleeping. There is also Central Sleep Apnea which is when your brain either doesn’t tell your body to breathe, or the signal gets lost somewhere along the way.

I was diagnosed with both types of sleep apnea and was spending 40% of the night not breathing. Since having a baby almost 3 years ago I have had horrendous fatigue (see here for more detail about my experience with fatigue).

I was prescribed the use of a machine called an Adaptive Servo-Ventilator (ASV). This machine provides air pressure to assist my body in breathing. The difference between an ASV and a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is that while a CPAP provides a constant level of air pressure, an ASV can vary in the amount of air pressure depending on when you stop breathing. A CPAP is primarily used to help keep the body’s airways open, while the ASV needs to increase pressure at times to stimulate the lungs to breathe when they are not receiving a signal from the brain.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Lastly, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). This is a disorder in which an agitating sensation is felt in the legs and only leg movement can relieve this sensation. Contrary to what the name indicates, you can actually experience RLS in other parts of your body as well. Most frequently I have experienced this in my arms when trying to fall asleep. I’ve tried progressive muscle relaxation, push-ups, and plenty of tears with my only successful method of dealing with this being to pray and take a shower to help me relax. 

If anyone has a good method to deal with any of these common sleep ailments PLEASE comment below and share your wisdom. 

Sleep Hygiene Tips

Here are a few things I have found that help me get better sleep.

• Put electronics away at least 30 minutes before bed
• Have a pen and paper by my bed to write things down that I need to remember for the next day
• Plan an actual bedtime and stick to it consistently
• Plan an actual wake time and stick to it consistently
• Get some sort of physical activity during the day

I challenge you to try something new to improve your sleep and comment below to let me know what you’re going to try.

Good night, sleep tight.