Can wake-up sunshine help with MS?

  

Pulling back the curtains or running up the window shades immediately upon awakening in the morning has become a popular natural elixir for lots of folks. It’s not exactly a new discovery, but lots of health experts are trumpeting the merits of catching a glimpse of sunlight right after waking up.

 Starting the day with a glimpse of natural light can be soothing and cheery at the time, but it also may provide some significant ongoing health benefits.

 

Sunlight (or UV lighting) isn’t just a treatment for seasonal affect disorder anymore.

 Experts agree that, although excessive exposure to sunlight may cause skin cancer, sunlight can aid in resetting the body’s circadian rhythms (internal clock), adding vitamin D, generating emotional well-being (by boosting serotonin and melatonin in the brain), improving vision, easing certain skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo), treating jaundice, reducing blood pressure, and perhaps helping with weight management.

 Scientific American says it may help with cognitive fog, fatigue, inflammation, lethargy, and other symptoms common to MS. The National Library of Medicine offers support of the theory that sunlight (or light therapy) can reduce MS-related fatigue.

 A 2021 study published in Neurology magazine suggested that children and young people spending considerable time outdoor in summer months might be less likely to develop MS than those who did not.

 Some actually use ultraviolet light boxes to self-treat autoimmune diseases like arthritis, Crohn’s, colitis, diabetes, and more. Oh, and multiple sclerosis.

 

Step outside, if you can!

 Direct sunlight is a known source of vitamin D, which is healthy for everyone, but especially difficult to build up for many MSers. It seems we can’t get enough of it. A short jaunt outdoors (or perhaps a brief stop to read a chapter of a good book) can be just the ticket.

 

Sunshine before screen time

 There’s something to be said for taking a few moments to breathe deeply and enjoy a peek at the outdoors before picking up the phone, tablet, laptop, TV remote, or other screened device. Starting the day with a pause seems like a healthy thing to do – especially as a stress-buster. It’s a way of changing the channel before jumping into the plentiful concerns of the day.

 Personally, I love to open the blinds and let the sunshine in (or just natural light, if it’s a cloudy day) and then crawl back into bed for a few minutes. Sometimes I can spot birds, rabbits, or other delightful sights. It’s a great time to ponder the day to come and think through my plan of attack, so to speak. Even that is likely to start a new day in an intentional and deliberate way.

 Hey, it can’t hurt.

 

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• MS style: Sporting shades in the shade ... or fog or rain
• What is it with MS and sleep apnea?
• What's a weather-related migraine?

What is it with MS and sleep apnea?

 

Sleep can be a common concern among those with multiple sclerosis. Possibly up to 60 percent of MSers struggle with some sort of sleep disturbance. Sleep apnea is a frequent contributor to this issue.

 

What is sleep apnea?

 This is a condition that causes a person’s breathing to stop and start unpredictably during sleep. During those intervals (which may last for several seconds or more), the body is deprived of ample oxygen. An individual may gasp and awaken, or slightly stir and resume breathing. Each time this happens, it’s called an apnea, and it can occur many times each hour throughout the night.

 Experts say approximately one in five American adults may suffer from sleep apnea, although many may not be aware they have it. (Often, it's identified after a sleeping partner complains enough about intense and sudden spurts of snoring that a person seeks medical advice for it.)

 

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

 People with sleep apnea find themselves extra tired during the day. They might wake up with frequent dry mouths and nagging morning headaches.

 

What are the risks of sleep apnea?

 Untreated sleep apnea can be deadly, or at least add to potentially fatal conditions. Some researchers claim it can take as much as 10 years off a person’s life, largely because it increases a person’s vulnerability to high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks. (This has something to do with decreased blood oxygen levels that occur during each apnea episode.)

 

How does sleep apnea play into MS?

 Specialists have identified two types of apnea.

1.  Obstructive apnea occurs when the muscles in a person’s throat and nose relax (usually during sleep), blocking the airway and stopping breathing momentarily. This is the type that is commonly associated with loud, sputtering snoring and most often with obesity. Smoking is a risk factor as well.
2. Central apnea occurs when the brain fails to direct the body to breathe for a short interval. This may be more of a neurological issue. (That concept sounds familiar to anyone with MS and how it can pay tricks on all sorts of body part and functions.)

 MSers are widely regarded to be at higher risk for both kinds of apnea. Neuroscientists have pointed to reduced brainstem function issues as possible reasons for this, such as may be caused by demyelinating lesions that may be caused by MS over time.

 Whether obstructive apnea, central apnea, or some combination of both, this sleep disorder wreaks havoc when it strikes someone living with MS. Even without MS, sleep apnea tends to make people extremely sleepy all day long, due to the diminishing of quality sleep overnight. MSers already face bouts of (or ongoing struggles with) a crushing fatigue that is nearly indescribable.

 When sleep apnea prevents quality sleep, it considerably complicates this battle. The lack of rest can also aggravate memory loss, increase accident risks, lead to depression, and worsen diabetic symptoms (for MSers with that comorbidity).

 Certain medications frequently used to alleviate MS symptoms may make sleep apnea worse. These include those prescribed for insomnia, pain, spasticity, and more.

 

What can be done about sleep apnea?

 Once sleep apnea has been diagnosed (usually through an at-home of in-lab overnight sleep study, ordered by a neurologist or other physician), the patient will likely be prescribed treatment using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. This regulates breathing during sleep, piping humidified air into the person’s airway via a special mask. In many cases, sleep apnea may also be lessened somewhat when a person stops sleeping on his or her back.

 It can take time and practice to adjust to CPAP treatment, especially the wearing and breathing through the mask while sleeping. (Trust me. It can take weeks or even months to get used to it!) But this adaptation has been shown to reduce sleep apnea episodes (as well as their duration), and eventually to improve restorative sleep and rest.

 That’s worth plenty to an MSer.

 

 Related items:

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• Got up. Got dressed. And got back in bed.
• Learning to plan down-days
• MS comorbidities: Welcome to the party!
• MS has made me more body-conscious.
• The perfect storm can bring on an MS maelstrom
• Thermostat wars and MS

 

Image/s:  Public domain photo

 

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My hand is numb. Is it MS again?

Oh, no. Not again. I woke up in the wee hours of the night and realized one hand was completely numb. Even though I was awake, this single paw was still asleep. Did multiple sclerosis cause this?

It’s happened before. MS has knocked out the feeling in one hand, one foot, or another random body part before. It’s not uncommon for that to happen to an MSer. And the feeling usually returns at some point. Maybe it takes a few minutes, a couple hours, or even several days. But it always seems to come back.

I shook my hand a little. I tried to wiggle my fingers. They worked. I made a weak fist, and my hand started to tingle.

Those are good signs, I thought.

Still, my hand was asleep. And it felt cool to the touch. I groaned and wondered: What’s this all about?

I quickly considered several possible reasons for this strange loss of sensation in one mitt. Surely it wasn’t a stroke, a spinal cord injury, or another particularly scary occurrence.  I hadn’t caught frostbite in the night, huddled under my cozy quilt. I was pretty sure I had not suddenly picked up carpal tunnel syndrome while sleeping.  I don’t have diabetes, Raynaud’s disease, Lyme disease, or another potentially numbing disorder – except MS.

Did MS make my hand go numb while I dozed?

I clicked on my bedside light and looked at my hand.

Aha! There’s the culprit.

I had a spare hair tie looped around my wrist, which must have swollen somewhat while I slept. I slipped the band off and spotted the ring-like indentation in my skin.

Sometimes there really is a simple explanation.

Now, that’s a relief – this time around.

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MS means I might have the flu for DAYS without knowing it

A nasty midwinter flu is making the rounds around here, and I finally caught it. Only I didn’t realize it for a few days. Finally, once the flu was full-blown, I got the point. 

I know that sounds weird. It’s like I’m not even paying attention, right?

Only I am. But multiple sclerosis throws a wrench into the works, adding confusion to some of our most uncomfortable seasons.

It started with a headache that lasted for a few days straight. But headaches pretty much go with the MS territory for me.

A whirling vertigo spell came along next. But that’s a hallmark of MS for me.

I started feeling hot and cold and hot and cold. Again, that’s sort of standard practice for my life with MS.

Then the sneezing started, sending me honking two or three times in a row. But I get the sneezies sometimes with MS too. (Look it up. It happens.)

The all-over aches and fatigue crept in, right about then. And yes. You got it. I chalked that all up to MS too.

The idea that I might have the flu didn’t hit me for a while. I’d been overtired after not sleeping well for several weeks. My stress bucket was overflowing for a host of reasons. And the midwinter blues were blooming in full force, as the darkest months of the year brought sub-zero temperatures, beckoned blasting blizzards, held back the sun, and made staying home a whole lot easier than going out.

But, yes. Eventually I got the point. I had the flu. It just took me a while to realize what it was and stop blaming the MS MonSter.

Once I did that, I could even count back several days and figure out where I probably caught it. I’d been at a music convention, spending an entire weekend singing with hundreds of other attendees in a crowded hotel ballroom. Singing together meant breathing all over each other. Plenty of laughing, talking, and coughing were also featured. (Enter the flu.)

Two weeks later, I’m finally digging my way out of the sneezing, wheezing, hacking, sniffling, snuffling, sweating, chilling, aching mess. Soon, the flu will flown. Thank God.

Then I’ll be battling the MS MonSter better. You can bet on it.

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Insomnia - Facing MS symptoms from A to Z

Multiple sclerosis makes me tired! When it also steals my sleep, it’s a double whammy! Maybe you’ve been there.

Insomnia is a common complaint for MSers – and probably for multiple reasons.

Sometimes MS-related spasticity can make it hard to sleep. Imagine trying to relax comfortably for the night, while legs or arms or hands or feet or the neck or the back lock up with muscle spasms or rigidity. Tremors can cause similar sleep difficulties, as can multiple overnight bathroom trips.

Some MSers resort to taking daytime naps, if overnight insomnia is a problem. For others, however, even a short catnap early in the day can contribute to sleeplessness later.

MS experts offer several possible ways to encourage better slumber. These include

• exercising daily (or at least several times weekly)
• keeping a consistent sleep schedule
• skipping alcohol and caffeine hours before retiring
• eating a light and mild snack in the evening
• cutting back on fluids before bed
• going to bed when tired
• establishing a relaxing bedtime routine
• avoiding bedtime television viewing
• setting an alarm for morning wake-up

Getting adequate rest is particularly important for anyone battling a chronic medical condition such as MS. Because sudden and overwhelming fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms assailing those with MS, and this is most likely when the MSer is overtired and stressed, sufficient sleep is a critical concern.

 

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