Fibromyalgia & Sleep

Reviewed By:
Vikas Garg, M.D., MSA

Fibromyalgia pain can be widespread and flare up throughout the day. Even at night, fibromyalgia symptoms won't quit, robbing you of precious sleep.

Fibromyalgia is known for its chronic widespread pain and the localized pain it causes in certain muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. Sleep problems and fatigue are also common.

Sleep disorders associated with fibromyalgia include:

• Restless legs syndrome (RLS). Causes nighttime muscle spasms in the legs. Patients describe it as unpleasant creeping, crawling, tingling, pulling or painful sensations.
  
  
• Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). Causes spasms similar to those of restless legs syndrome, but occurs only during nighttime sleep and often are more violent.
  
  
• Sleep apnea. Causes a patient's breathing to temporarily slow or stop while asleep. Pauses in breath occur up to 30 times an hour, and each may last for 10 to 20 seconds. Left untreated, sleep apnea can be life-threatening.
  
  
• Bruxism. Persistent grinding of the teeth. Bruxism may be related to stress or to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, a condition that is more common in fibromyalgia patients than the general public.

Source or symptom?

Why does fibromyalgia wreak havoc with sleep patterns? For years, scientists were unsure. Only recently did they suspect that sleep disturbances may actually cause some cases of fibromyalgia.

Patients with fibromyalgia may have a condition known as alpha wave interrupted sleep pattern. The condition (also called alpha EEG anomaly) causes the brain to suddenly become active during deep sleep, which prevents the patient from getting a full night's rest.

The sleep anomaly leaves patients tired. It also deprives them of one way to reduce fibromyalgia pain: high-quality deep sleep.

Available treatments

Fibromyalgia and sleep problems often go hand in hand, but patients should not resign themselves to a life without rest. If you have fibromyalgia, you can take steps to improve the quality of your sleep. These include:

• Go to bed and getting up at the same time every day
  
  
• Exercise earlier in the day but not within three hours of bedtime
  
  
• Avoid caffeine, sugar and alcohol before bed
  
  
• Avoid eating shortly before bedtime
  
  
• Practice relaxation exercises while falling to sleep
  
  
• Maintain a sleep environment that has a comfortable temperature and is quiet, free from distractions such as television
  
  
• Limit daytime napping

National Institutes of Health studies have found that making such lifestyle changes may significantly reduce insomnia in patients with fibromyalgia.

In some cases, sleep medications also may be helpful, particularly when aggravating conditions such as restless legs syndrome also disturb sleep. However, there are risks associated with taking sleeping pills and other medications over long periods. In addition, some patients find that their bodies eventually become resistant to the effects of the sleep medications.

Many other treatments are available for fibromyalgia, ranging from other medications and psychotherapy to exercise and massage therapy. Consult your physician to find the treatment that is right for you.