Sleep information

[Guest guest]

Interesting that the author suggested that teens sleep later than go to bed earlier.

We parents must make sure our children sleep enough. Sleeping later comes very naturally to the teens I know.

Helping them learn Ben lin's, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise." is a more often than not a good thing, too.

Skip Dallen

Covina, CA

[Guest guest]

I take 50 mg of elavil and have a cup of hot chamomile tea before

bedtime.Also no violent crime shows etc.I watch the first report of

the weather then bed to read a few min. I still get up to go to the

bathroom but the dosage that went up helps some too. but interesting

article Hugs Heidi

Impact of Sleep on FM Symptoms

If you or your doctor were to evaluate your FM today, are there any

symptoms that might predict how you would feel one year from now?

This question was addressed by Silvia Bigatti, Ph.D., and co-workers

at Indiana University in Indianapolis, who assessed 600 FM patients

one year apart.* Basically, she looked at the predictability of four

key symptoms: sleep quality, pain intensity, level of physical

functioning, and degree of depressed mood (or lack of it).

Participants filled out questionnaires to measure each of the four

symptoms at the beginning of the study (or at baseline) and then one

year later. This information was computer-analyzed to determine if

any of the baseline symptom data could accurately predict the

symptoms one year later. The average age was 54 and the average

duration of FM symptoms was 14 years. Obviously, most patients had

endured FM for many years.

After one year, researchers determined that greater sleep disruption

predicted more pain, but none of the baseline symptoms were able to

predict the quality of sleep. However, the following causal sequence

of events were identified:

baseline sleep predicted one-year pain,

baseline pain predicted one-year physical functioning, and

baseline physical functioning predicted one-year depression.

" Clearly, sleep problems among patients with FM impact symptoms in

the long term, " states Bigatti, " and deserve more attention both in

research and in clinical practice. " She adds that " improving sleep

quality in this population would decrease pain, and possibly impact

function and depression. "

If you have tried to explain to your family and healthcare team that

your depressed mood is caused by your FM, the following comment by

the study authors should be comforting: " Our findings suggest that

depression may be the end result of a process that begins with sleep

problems. " People with FM often state they become depressed because

they have lost their job or career and are unable to do the things

that they enjoy. This statement is validated by the finding that a

decline in physical functioning did predict a reduction in mood.

* Bigatti SA, et al. Arthritis Care Res 59(7):961-976, July 15, 2008.