Sleep Disorders and Lyme disease-Discussed

You would normally think that by feeling sick it would be so easy to fall asleep! This theory disturbed my mind and I decided to do a bit of research to find some of the common types of sleep disorders, possible causes, the effects of sleep deprivation, how it ties into Lyme disease, and what we can do to try to get a full night of rest. Having a sleep disorder is a broad term for many types of disturbances in one’s sleep.

Sleep deprivation is considered a condition and is a general term of not having enough sleep. This can be chronic, or it can only least for a short period of time. It is a common occurrence, as with healthy people 1 out of 5 people suffer from sleep deprivation. According to sleepfoundation.org, they recommend an adult to have 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Having a chronic illness however, you might need a few more hours to feel more refreshed. Careful though! According to researchers, there IS such a thing as too much sleep, that can leave you feeling even less restored.

There are two types of sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM). REM sleep is the level of sleep where dreaming occurs, and accounts for about 20% your night of sleep. NREM accounts for the 80% of your sleep, and is divided into 4 stages. One and two are light sleep; three and four are deep sleep. Deep sleep is also known as slow wave sleep (SWS) actually begin a few minutes after you fall asleep and is the most refreshing and restorative type of sleep you have. This right here is why you feel more restored if you take a short nap versus a long one!

These SWS is only about 10-20% of your sleep, but it is needed for cell and musculoskeletal tissue regeneration, your cardiovascular system, normalizes blood pressure, hormones, and your metabolic system.

Hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is a term for a large group of disorders characterized by daytime sleepiness.

Insomnia

Insomnia means sleeplessness, the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep.

There are 3 subcategories of these two different categories: intrinsic, meaning from within the body, extrinsic, meaning pathological conditions and disturbances of circadian rhythm, which means the physical mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24 hour cycle.

Sleep Disorders and Lyme disease-Types of sleep disorders

Sleep Apnea is more common disorder among Lyme patients.  Sleep apnea means you have one more pauses or shallow breaths in your sleep. Some explanations for Lyme patients having this condition are that most chronic Lyme’s have neurological dysfunction. With the Neuro dysfunction of the palara and uvula are a possible cause. Brain abnormalities are reasoning for this to occur is the floppiness tissues in the back of the throat. Lyme patients with this condition seem to:

Involuntarily grinding or clenching your teeth while sleeping. It can interfere with sleep, and could be a high contributor to jaw pain and headaches as well. Cranial sacral therapy is a good choice to help ease the symptoms if you are suffering from this.

Delayed sleep phase disorder, (or DSPD) is the inability to awaken and fall asleep at socially acceptable times but will stay asleep. This is a disorder of circadian rhythms.

Sleep Disorders and Lyme disease-Symptoms of sleep disorder

Poor immune system function, higher blood pressure (higher risk of heart attack or stroke), being overweight (can cause diabetes among other health issues), clenching teeth at night, decreased body temperature, tremors, fibromyalgia symptoms,  extreme fatigue  and a variety of psychological effects.

Effects of psychology: Of course your psyche is going to be a little off teeter without enough sleep. Some of these issues include symptoms similar to ADHD, hallucinations, slower reaction time, depression, anxiety, irritability, memory lapses, among other issues. That’s a lot. Shows how important it is to get a good night’s rest.

Sleep Disorders and Lyme disease-There are many causes of sleep disorders

Nutritional deficiencies: the main one being magnesium. It is very common among Lyme’s. A magnesium deficiency can cause an array of problems along with sleep disruptions. Others to consider are calcium, folic acid, iron, and your B vitamins (especially B6 and 12) to name a few. I should note though, don’t take your B’s too close to bed! Yes, you need them, but they can cause you to have a harder time falling asleep as well as cause vivid dreams.

Hormone imbalances: Check your Cortisol levels! Cortisol = stress hormone. When it is high (another common abnormality of Lyme’s), it can cause you to not be able to fall asleep. Reduced levels in testosterone in men can cause sleep apnea. Women’s number one hormone issue associated with sleeping problems is lower progesterone levels.

Low blood sugar: Try sticking with a healthy diet for tips to eat a proper diet for those with Lyme disease. Stress can hinder sleep because it produces two things called epinephrine and non-epinephrine, which stimulate the nervous system, which triggers a fight or flight” response in your body, keeping you up. HPA and ACTH, two chemicals responsible in stress response mostly related to an external stressor, AKA Lyme, can also keep you awake at night.

Lack of darkness: I know this isn’t a physiological problem, like I have listed above, but I felt like it deserved to be up here. Before you go to sleep, your body starts producing melatonin, a chemical in your body that makes you sleep and is essential for a restful sleep. This chemical continues to be produced when you are sleeping, with its highest production between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Experts say that without total darkness, the effects of this are much less, causing a lessened effect.

There are other causes are ones that we ourselves can do our best to stop doing, as we might not even be aware that our habits are keeping us awake at night. Poor sleep planning is the main one. Trying to go to bed and wake up at the same time and having a schedule is very important. Working night shifts can cause sleep problems since it causes your body to get out of a normal sleeping pattern, caffeine and other stimulants (check your meds, some have stimulants you might not be aware of!), sleeping with your pets (they can get up and down, or move too much), eating too close to bedtime (digestion disrupting sleep), alcohol and nicotine, exercising too close to bedtime (yeah us Lyme’s are super active!.. but you know what I mean), ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE BEDROOM, among other things that we can change ourselves and try to help aide us get a good night’s rest.

The main issue with sleep deprivation and Lyme is that without a good night’s rest, you are hindering the healing process. Sleep fixes and restores what you did during the day, and believe it or not, when treating Lyme, our bodies’ peak at fighting the little bastards when we are asleep.

So what does one do when they just can’t get to sleep or stay asleep?

Well, there are many things you can do, whether it is by your own actions or things you can personally do, or take natural supplements or pharmaceuticals to be able to aid in this process such as a sleep schedule, substances, electronics, and need for darkness, but others include avoiding stimulating activity right before bed, meditation, or taking a warm bath before bedtime.

Sleep Disorders and Lyme disease-Discussed