Insomnia. Just hearing the word frightens me. Sometimes I go through a rough patch and it’s happened again. I’ve joined the legion of the Parkinson’s can’t sleep at night sleepless. I get in bed, and although I am exhausted, sleep just doesn’t come. I’m not just tired, I am that special it is all I can do to barely make it to the bed Parkinson’s exhausted. So I get up and haunt the house during the midnight hours but have not yet begun to cruise the late night internet PD chat sites with the many PWP who can’t sleep.
I give up on sleeping in my bed and head for the couch which is tricky because I can’t walk at night. I have enough problems with walking and balance during the day. It is worse at night, hard to keep upright. I do the bent over crab crawl hanging on to one piece of furniture after another until I make to the couch which I thankfully sink into, sigh, yawn, close my tired eyes and sometimes gratefully fall asleep.
PD insomniacs you are not alone. 90% of PWP report sleep problems. They average 5 hours of sleep a night if lucky and wake up twice as often as those without PD. As with all PD symptoms, sleep is different for each of us. Some have trouble falling asleep, some say they don’t sleep at all, some sleep all day and night, some during the day and not at night. Then there is interrupted or fragmented sleep where you wake up every hour or so and may have trouble falling asleep again. Some have vivid dreams, some say they don’t dream. Some suffer from PD related Restless Leg Syndrome which makes sleep even more difficult. Take your pick they all are problems.
Just getting into bed is tricky for many PWP. I do a version of the Fosbury Flop. Dick Fosbury was an athlete who revolutionized the high jump when he won the 1968 Olympic gold medal by going over the bar backwards and turning his body in mid air to land on his back. I go to the side of the bed, put one knee on it, and do a flip and roll over so I land on my back. Getting comfortable in bed and getting out of bed are additional problems.
Sleep as we all know is crucial for health and has many benefits one of which is that PWP don’t shake while sleeping. Sleep gives the gift of a body at rest and replenishes me. Not sleeping at night not only affects my nights it affects the quality of my days as well. Lack of sleep makes my day time tremors, balance, posture, fatigue, and how I feel worse. It’s bad enough having PD. Not sleeping increases my symptoms and makes the disease even harder to handle.
There are many things you can do to help induce sleep. The problem is they are only best practices and may not work. Let your body know it is time to sleep by establishing a bed time routine and doing the same thing every night before going to bed. Relaxing meditation helps some people. Try to get bright natural light during the day so your body knows it is time to sleep when it gets dark. Exercise during the day but not at night. No caffeine or stimulants after mid day. Limit liquid intake at night so you don’t have to wake up to urinate so often. Limit screens at night, especially interactive screens. Over the counter and natural sleep aids work for some people although I am not a fan of OTC meds and prefer going straight to the doctor and getting a prescription for the real thing. If you can’t sleep, get out of bed, give yourself a few minutes and then try again. Sleep, sweet refreshing sleep. Such a satisfying pleasure. How I miss you.
