Chronic insomnia, nightmares and bad dreams, what people with fibromyalgia should know!
While the types of sleep problems vary from person to person, virtually everyone with fibromyalgia can relate to the aches and pains, fatigue, and depression that can be caused by chronic insomnia and sleep disturbances. Repetitive and continuous nightmares are common complaints. If you’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you’ll quickly learn that the sleep difficulties you’ve experienced for years are part of a much larger picture.
For some people with chronic insomnia, even waking up after finally falling asleep is an ordeal. Pain, depression, and anxiety often accompany waking up. And then there’s the fatigue…it feels like you’ve been up all night. I’ve heard it described as “I feel like I’m running relay races in my sleep, to the point of experiencing shortness of breath when I try to get up!”
Many chronic insomnia sufferers will tell you that they fight sleep as long as possible by trying to avoid the dream state… or the REM sleep cycle due to unpleasant nightmares. Night terrors are not uncommon among fibromyalgia sufferers. As a child, I experienced flashing and colored lights, weird plaid designs, and kaleidoscopic patterns when I closed my eyes to sleep…but everyone’s experiences are different. I remember trying to explain to my parents and doctors what I would see when I closed my eyes. Colors would blend into nightmarish shapes and visions he couldn’t describe. And no one really understood what I was going through or provided me with a solution. As a result, I developed self-inflicted chronic insomnia…trying not to go to sleep.
As I got older, I gradually outgrew most of my vision symptoms or learned to control them… I’m really not sure which. I still experience bright colors in some dreams, but now they are not so strange. And because vision and focus problems can be a serious part of fibromyalgia symptoms, you should see your ophthalmologist if they persist. Many doctors would probably say that my monitoring has something to do with my state of mind and my recognition of vision problems and accompanying chronic insomnia as symptoms of my illness. But I’ve also been working on another theory…
Since I was about 5 years old, I have suffered from fibromyalgia symptoms. I had an accident that triggered my condition. It has given me a lot of time to develop coping techniques and, through trial and error, the ability to make some critical changes in my life and… my nutrition!
If you think fibromyalgia symptoms like trigger point pain and fatigue are caused, at least in part, by chronic insomnia and poor sleep quality, you’re not alone. Many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia can result from the patient’s inability to get enough rest or be negatively affected by it. That’s why so many fibromyalgia sufferers take sleep-inducing medications and end up dealing with the sometimes dangerous side effects, drug interactions, and possible drug addiction. When one pill no longer helps, we take two… and so on.
What I have learned from my own experience is that healing the body with proper nutrition will help reduce and even eliminate fibromyalgia symptoms such as sleep disturbances and chronic insomnia. When you have less pain and fatigue, you feel better. This, in turn, helps you feel less anxious and stressed… and sleep is easier. Chronic insomnia, in particular, can be positively affected by making a few simple dietary changes:
- Maintain a healthy weight and avoid foods that are known allergens.
- Choose a heart-smart diet…low sugar, low fat…add fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages…and don’t forget protein! Effective nutritional supplements for fibromyalgia sufferers should include an adequate supply of lean, digestible protein to repair and strengthen the body, as well as enzymes to help with protein digestion and assimilation.
- It is widely accepted that a diet complete with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids…the building blocks of protein that support muscles, nerves, and the brain…can help relieve fibromyalgia symptoms, such as pain and trigger point fatigue… and chronic insomnia, nightmares, and bad or vivid dreams.
For fibromyalgia sufferers with chronic insomnia, nightmares, and sleep disturbances, there is hope. You can manage your symptoms through proper diet and get the restful sleep and healing you need. Click on one of the links now to learn more.
Find out how to survive fibromyalgia!