Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract affect millions of people with little cures or help outside medications and surgeries. Unfortunately, many “attacks” or “flare-ups” stem from a shift in routine or ignoring doctor’s recommendations. Add a night of restless sleep and symptoms begin to compound.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers primarily to Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)—chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. When untreated, the diseases can be debilitating with bouts of loneliness, depression, anger, and hopelessness. Hopefully, with some understanding of the physiological need for sleep and ways to avoid consistent flare-ups, your sleep can improve which benefits the disease and immune system.
Sleep Physiology and Flare-Ups
Your body needs sleep for a number of reasons with a strong immune system being a key connection to many suffering from diseases. When insomnia sets in over multiple nights, your immune system can crash causing more issues with inflammation. “Sleep physiology is intimately integrated into immune physiology, and there is a bidirectional relationship between sleep disturbances and immune dysregulation.”
Current research estimates over 75% of active IBD disease patients report sleep disturbances. Patient-driven studies found that disturbances were one of the highest factors correlated with poor quality of life. It also raised occurrences of gastrointestinal symptoms the following day.
Gastrointestinal flares involve painful bowel symptoms which can contribute to “increased systemic inflammation, which likely worsens and maintains comorbid non-gastrointestinal symptoms, such as insomnia, widespread pain, and ocular, rheumatologic, and dermatologic manifestations of IBD.”
With symptoms flaring up in the morning, a cyclical routine can negatively affect your work and relationships leading to emergency room visits, lengthy hospitalizations, mounting medical bills, and possible surgeries. This leads to more sleep disturbances and, for many, a loss of hope.
How to Help Your Insomnia
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation gives patients some tips to help alleviate insomnia:
- “Keep a sleep diary so that you can see the effect that lack of sleep can have on your health and your disease. If you notice you are not getting the rest you need, you may be physically feeling something, or perhaps your mind just can’t relax.
- Take note of the symptoms that you are feeling, and that are keeping you up. Is it abdominal pain? Is it frequent bathroom visits during the night? Is it some other discomfort?
- Take your medications as your doctor prescribes. Medications help in reducing inflammation and symptoms, which can help minimize the symptoms that could keep you up at night.
- Talk to your doctor and healthcare team about it. They may make changes to your care, or recommendations that can help you.
- Know your limits. If you feel very tired, then listen to your body. You may be very busy with extracurricular activities, or other plans. If you need to take a break, then try not to overexert yourself.”
If insomnia is a continuing problem alongside your inflammatory diseases, Alaska Sleep Clinic can help. Schedule a free consultation to see how we can help diagnose your pain points to a healthier night of rest.
