The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.

W.C. Fields

I have always been a light sleeper. Maybe it was a precursor to Parkinson’s. Maybe not. I do think that my sleep patterns have gotten progressively worse since the Pandemic began last year. It is rare that I get more than 5 hours sleep, even after taking a sleeping pill. Many people with PD have sleep problems which can affect how they function during the day. The funny thing with me is that I rarely have daytime sleepiness after a bad night. I can keep going all day and then will doze later in the evening while watching tv.

I think that the disruption of our lives by the Pandemic has complicated everything. I still exercise but not as much or at as high an intensity level as I did when I could go to boxing and yoga classes. It is so easy to not work as hard when you are taking an exercise class on-line. It is also way too easy to get sidetracked and keep putting off exercise until you realize that the day is over and you didn’t exercise, again. And if you don’t exercise, you may not sleep as well. It is a vicious cycle. I am sure that is part of my problem.

Looking back at my past blog posts, I found several about sleep problems and PD. On March 31, 2015, my third post, was about sleep. You can read it here To Sleep Perchance to Dream.

Almost two years later, I wrote about sleep again. Some Interesting Sleep Solutions for Parkies, February 16, 2017 goes into much more detail about sleep problems and solutions used by other people with PD to help them sleep.

Not much has changed since then, except for the Pandemic. My tremor has returned to some extent, most likely because I am not sleeping well. I need to go back and try some of these things that were suggested several years ago. I think that some of them actually helped. I just can’t remember which ones they are.

What works for you?

Have you found something that helps you sleep better? Please share it with me. I would like to put all of your suggestions into a future blog post.

A few opportunities for you

I received three of these today. If you are considering DBS, you should definitely look at the first two.

UCLA is sponsoring a teleconference on May 22 Tremor: How to Shake the Shakes. Anyone with a movement disorder is welcome to attend. Please RSVP to UCLA.tremor@gmail.com.

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Boston Scientific has a series of webinars about

DBS coming up in May.

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Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has launched a disease education initiative which provides information and resources about living with Parkinson’s, dyskinesia and OFF. You can read it at Picture More Time. By the way, the first quote about playing tennis is from me!

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