#241 Parkinson's Sleep Disorders and Doors and Windows

#241    Parkinson’s Sleep Disorders and Doors and Windows 

Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire, England

St Francis of Assis Church, Taos NM

Sleep is a window through which we see our mind’s dream world. Sleep is a door to the mind’s adventures. Since this post’s Parkinson’s topic is sleep disorders associated with the disease, pictures of windows and doors seem appropriate. And if that is a stretch too far just sleep on it.

A door no more in Glencoe, Scotland.

Church window in Foulis Wester, Scotland

Parkinson’s Disease and Sleep Disorders

Both the Parkinson's Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation place the number of PD suffers who face various sleep problems at 75%. This number is very important because those of us with PD need more time to repair and restore our battered bodies. There are several sleep issues that typically affect those with PD:

What are they smoking in Santa Fe, NM.?

Cafe window, Edinburgh

1. Difficulty falling and staying asleep affects about one-third of the adult population and is significantly higher in the PD population. Caused by anxiety and depression along with other non-motor symptoms of the disease, this affliction progresses as the disease progresses.

A door for the narrow minded.

Acorn Gardens, England

2. Excessive daytime sleepiness affects 30-50% of those diagnosed with PD. A natural effect of poor nighttime sleep, the condition is also a side affect of several of the drugs used to treat PD. In extreme cases patients will be affected by “sleep attacks” where they can fall asleep almost instantaneously, even while driving a car.

St Andrews Cathedral

Looking out a Falkland Palace window.

3. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep disturbances. The deepest of our sleeping, the time when the mind is most actively dreaming is called REM sleep. Natural inhibitors freeze  movements of most people in REM sleep, but PD interferes with those inhibitors allowing the Parkinson’s sufferer to act out, sometimes violently, the dream. Typical activities while in REM sleep will be talking or shouting, thrashing in bed, and flailing or striking out. Anyone within range can become a target. Those who suffer with REM disturbances will often feel better sleeping alone rather than cause injury to a partner. Caused by advancing disease progression and by certain drugs, REM sleep disorder is no sweet dream.

The door is always open, Bandelier National Monument, NM.

Window in the Door, Scandinavian Village, Aviemore, Scotland.

4. Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) affects a high percentage of PD sufferers. Mostly occurring at night, RLS is an uncomfortable feeling in the legs that only is resolved by moving them.  When RLS strikes there’s no fighting it—if it says move that leg, you move it. I’ve spent many nights trying to get to sleep or back to sleep between twitches of feet, ankles or legs seconds or minutes apart. There is medication available but the side affects can be worse than the loss of sleep.

A Kissing Gate

Watches get my attention every  time, York, England.

These four difficulties don’t cover all the sleep problems a PDer might face, but as for me I’ve had a taste of all of them. I now sleep most nights in my living room recliner because I get more sleep there than in bed. I found myself fighting waking up at 3 AM and not being able to go back to sleep pattern. RLS and problems turning over in bed were my nemesis —turning over in bed for me was like being a potato wrapped in a velcro suit trying to roll over on a bed of velcro spikes. Now I normally sleep until four or five in the morning before my RLS kicks in. I have had several very vivid dreams where I was giving speeches and I woke up to find I was giving speeches. Only once have I awakened pounding my pillow—once was enough to scare both Anne and myself. I don’t know if my daytime sleepiness is excessive, but I can sit down in my  recliner at any time and fall asleep--especially as soon as golf comes on. I guess most people would do that. I do find it easy to want a nap any time of day.

Open Close.

Window Pooh

The solutions for these sleep disturbances are basically the same for a Parkinson’s patient as for any adult: stick to a schedule, limit caffeine to early in the day, shut down the visual stimulus early, etc. The trouble is the effectiveness of these solutions still leaves us up at 3 AM wondering what might work. Want a good night’s sleep with Parkinson’s? Dream on!

Choosing between the Window and the Door is Hell.

Santa Fe Window

Extra, extra, extra: borborygmi is the medical term for the squeaks, pops, and gurgles your stomach make especially when you’re in a crowded but quiet social situation. 

“I live in a very small house, but my windows look out on a very big world.”

—Confucius

It's amazing what you can see in St Andrews' shop window. Do you see us in the photo?

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”

—Tom Stoddard

The first step's a killer!

“Better keep yourself clean and bright, you are the window through which you must see the world.”

—George Bernard Shaw