Three major sleep problems in patients with Parkinson's disease
The most common sleep problems of patients with Parkinson's disease mainly include the following situations:
▲ insomnia at night
Emotional distress, nocturia, difficulty in turning over, lower limb spasm, nightmares, etc. , are important reasons for insomnia at night. In addition, some treatments can also cause insomnia at night. If the patient has insomnia, insomnia may be further aggravated for various reasons after suffering from Parkinson's disease.
▲ Excessive drowsiness and sleep attacks during the day.
Research shows that 44.4% of patients with Parkinson's disease have excessive drowsiness during the day, especially in the afternoon. If the problem of insomnia at night is more serious, the degree of sleepiness during the day will be significantly aggravated.
However, there is a difference between this kind of excessive sleepiness and sleep attack. Sleep seizure refers to a sudden and irresistible sleep phenomenon, which lasts for several seconds to dozens of seconds. Some surveys show that about 30.5% of Parkinson's patients have sleep attacks.
▲ abnormal sleep
Sleep disorders are also common in patients with Parkinson's disease, including rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, restless leg syndrome, periodic leg movement, nocturnal myoclonia and common nightmares and sleep convulsions.
Among them, REM sleep behavior disorder refers to the patient's muscle relaxation during active sleep, and there may be spontaneous motor behavior disorder related to dream content, including self-injury or injury to partner. In layman's terms, patients will "turn their dreams into reality". If the patient dreams of quarreling or fighting with others, he will really shout, touch and even punch and kick.
Restless leg syndrome refers to the inexplicable discomfort of limbs during sleep, forcing limbs to move involuntarily. This discomfort often seriously interferes with sleep, making it difficult to fall asleep and increasing the number of waking up during sleep. Periodic leg movement refers to the periodic unilateral or bilateral dorsiflexion of foot joints that affect sleep, which is different from restless leg syndrome with discomfort as the main factor.
Actively adjust and improve the condition.
▲ mentality adjustment
This is the most important and the most difficult. Words like "accept the reality and create a life" and "walk with the disease" are no longer empty slogans at this time, but goals that need to be achieved bit by bit. If you can adjust yourself well in a short time through your own efforts and the efforts of your family, you can continue to adjust yourself. Otherwise, you should ask an expert for help.
I recommend you to read two books, mitch albom's tuesdays with morrie and Matsuhara Taidao's Life Planning from 50 to 100, and learn some ways to adjust your mentality.
▲ Sleep regulation
The first task is to learn the knowledge of sleep hygiene and pay attention to obtaining relevant information from formal channels.
Secondly, patients must make adjustments according to their own conditions, such as reducing drinking water as much as possible at night to avoid increasing nocturia; The activity environment should be bright enough and the sleeping environment should be dark enough to ensure the normal operation of melatonin in the body; Try to keep a regular schedule and arrange a nap reasonably during the day, instead of sleeping when you want.
In addition, seek the opinions of specialists, adjust the treatment plan according to the doctor's advice when necessary, and carry out physical therapy.
▲ Behavior adjustment
Ensure a certain amount of exercise, such as learning relaxation training. Taiji Chuan and "3 12" meridian exercises popular in rehabilitation medicine are worth a try. (Note: The "3 12" meridian exercise method refers to the appropriate physical exercise that massages and stimulates Hegu, Neiguan and Zusanli points to keep abdomen breathing in Dantian, and mainly squats with legs. )
Learn more about Parkinson's disease and consult Parkinson's experts online: jrsjnk.