It’s four in the morning and you’re still awake. You’ve been in bed, and you should have been asleep years ago. His alarm will go off in just a few hours, and he’s dreading the long day he’ll have to spend utterly exhausted.
If you suffer from peripheral neuropathy, this scenario is probably all too familiar to you. Insomnia (lack of sleep) affects almost half of the general population, but among those with neuropathy, that proportion rises to more than seventy percent. Experts recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep for most adults, regardless of age or gender, a daunting goal if you’re someone whose chronic pain keeps you up at night.
Neuropathic pain can be intensified in the evening hours, both in reality and in perception (fewer distractions of the day can make a sufferer focus more on their pain the closer it gets to bedtime).
Research suggests that sleep apnea, a common cause of insomnia, can also cause peripheral neuropathy. Beyond a mere relationship, studies have shown that apnea is a high-risk condition among insulin-resistant patients, which could probably be affecting incidents of neuropathy among diabetics in a very direct way.
Neuropathy insomnia can also perpetuate its own problem. Neuropathic pain is not only prodigious when it comes to nighttime restlessness, but the resulting lack of sleep can make the pain worse. Rest is essential for recovery and treatment, and lack of sleep can dramatically lower your pain threshold. You need that dream, so what can you do?
There are several steps you can take if your neuropathy is keeping you awake at night. Your doctor can work with you to best help you with your specific situation, but here are some guidelines to get you started:
• Do your best to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Be persistent! Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day is one of the best ways to train your body to sleep properly.
• Limit your intake of caffeine and any medications that contain a stimulant (not a numbing effect), especially in the evening hours.
• Avoid heavy meals at night. Our bodies metabolize food for hours after eating, giving us a boost of energy! Energy is great when we need it, but it can be a pain when we don’t. Many cultures eat their largest meal of the day in the morning and only a small snack at dinner time for this reason. Test it!
• Try turning off the television and computer a few hours before bed. Mileage varies from person to person, but the electronics tend to stimulate the senses. Try a book or quiet conversation, instead.
• Adjust your environment to make it ideal for sleeping. Layer layers of covers to ensure you stay warm but not hot, and to minimize light and noise.
There are also a number of herbal and natural sleep aids, which can help you fall asleep quickly. Sleep expert Elizabeth Shannon recommends dabbling with a number of stress relief, psychological conditioning, and homeopathic solutions for insomnia before turning to pharmaceutical sleep aids, which can often be addictive and, over time, exacerbate sleep disorders. problems associated with restlessness. Always be careful with medications and consult your specialist or other doctor before taking medication.
Always remember, disrupting your sleep pattern will not happen overnight (so to speak)! It could take three to four weeks before any changes you make to your routine start to have a significant impact on your success in falling asleep and staying asleep, and don’t be surprised if your restlessness gets worse before it gets better. Contact us and we can help you find a doctor in your area and provide even more information on how to get the rest you need while suffering from neuropathy.