USAFrom the book "The Fibromyalgia Solution" by Dr. David Dryland:
"Providing for improved sleep will immediately help you get the upper hand in the battle against fibromyalgia. Improving your sleep is so important that it is the first step you should take on your journey toward recovery. In addition to increases in pain, a lack of quality sleep imparis such cognitive functions as memory and decision making skills, exacerbating the frustration of fibro-fog. Poor sleep contributes to fatigue, mood swings, and symptoms of depression.
You may have suffered from sleep problems for years, or they may have developed in association with the onset of fibromyalgia. Regardless, there are concrete steps you can take to improve sleep immediately. Increasing the quality of your sleep will produce some of the most immediate and dramatic effects of any step you take toward recovery.
As sleep improves, you body's sorely needed but diminshed suppy of dopamine will have a chance to catch up with the demands of your overactive fight or flight response. Improved sleep won't totally solve the dopamine problem, but most people feel positive results after a few weeks of it. Consistently sleeping well will also improve your mental clarity, reduce your fatigue, and provide a big boost to your immune system.
It is usually poor sleep in combination with other triggers that causes fibromyalgia. Your natural sleep cycle will quickly deteriorate with the onset of fibromyalgia. An overactive sympathetic nervous system inhibits sleep, interrupting your natural circadian rhythm. Even if you do fall asleep at night, chance are that your nervous system interferes with the natural progression of sleep during the night.
More recent studies show that alph-wave acitivity, normally limited to the early stages of sleep, often continues unabated in fibromyalgia pateints. This alph-wave intrusion interrupts the sleep cycle, either preventing them from achieveing stage 3 or 4 of sleep or greatly decreasing the restorative qualities of these sleep stages. Alpha-wave intrusions account for the frequent awakening and restless activity that characterize nonrestorative sleep. Alpha wave intrusions during delta-wave sleep are far more prevalent in people with fibromyalgia.
If you suffer from insomnia, there are two ways to improve sleep: change your habits and attitudes as they relate to sleep and take prescription or over the counter meds. Recent studies have shown that behavioral changes or behavioral changes in combination with medications are the most effective cures for insomnia. In these studies, the participants who made only behavioral change were the most likely to remain normal sleepers during an extended follow up period.
This approach has also been specificially studied in fibromyalgia patients, with very encouraging results. However, you should not expect your sleep patterns to completely normalize until you have successfully resloved any other fibromyalgia triggers that are keeping your fight or flight response on high alert."
I took the online cognitive behavior course for sleep out of Harvard and although it helped some, I still need medications to sleep. I know what to do for stress, but still there are times when that old fight or flight response really kicks in no matter what I do. I am looking forward to Dr. Dryland's next book due out soon on just dealing with the fight or flight response.
In later posts I will list his behavior changes for sleep as well as his view on medications for sleep and which ones are the best.
sue in ohio
