Insomnia and Lyme Disease
The Disruption of the Healing Process
It's 10:30pm. You're lying in bed with the television and lights off, your cell phone off, with the battery possibly removed, and in good spirits and adamant that tonight you will get a good night's sleep. But before you know it, it's 1am in the morning and the only thing productive you've done since hitting the sack is think about how you can't fall asleep no matter how hard you try.
Insomnia. It's the only symptom of Lyme Disease that doesn't occur while a person is sleeping. You might need a second to take that one in. Insomnia includes not just an inability to naturally fall asleep, but sometimes also the inability to stay asleep for the entire night. Not everyone with chronic Lyme Disease experiences insomnia, and some experience it at different intervals throughout treatment. The cause for each individual's insomnia can be different, and even a combination of factors. It's a very familiar pattern - sleep all day and stay awake all night. More information on the causes of Lyme-induced insomnia can be found in Dr. Richard Horowitz's book "Why Can't I Get Better: Solving the Mystery of Lyme & Chronic Disease".
Insomnia Doesn't Mean You Don't Need SleepIt's foolish to think that just because you're not tired, your body doesn't need or desire that all important rest, or that the body itself somehow chose to stay awake rather than sleep. The body is under the influence of a bacteria, and possibly other pathogens, that greatly influence its own chemistry.
So it's not the body that doesn't want to sleep, but rather the body under the influence of pathogens giving the illusion that sleep is not desired or needed.
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If you're not sure you need the sleep when you're attempting to fall asleep at night, it'll be certain the following morning whether or not your body needed that deep and satisfying sleep despite the insomnia that was incurred. As the sun rolls around, you may notice you're not feeling too hot and that maybe even some of your symptoms have become noticeably prominent. The lack of appropriate sleep causes the body to release more cytokines, in addition to the cytokines the body releases during the day, which are pro-inflammatory, and inflammation is the cause for nearly a good percent of the symptoms a person with chronic Lyme Disease experiences.
Sleep Is Essential for Healing from Chronic Lyme Disease
In the end, it's going to be the immune system that puts the final nail in the coffin for those who heal from chronic Lyme Disease. A good antibiotic will kill the pathogens it was designed to kill, but it will be up to the immune system to not only do the same, but also removes the toxins left over that cause chronic inflammation (i.e., symptoms), and to ultimately keep the bacteria at bay and suppressed. Once the Lyme bacteria is suppressed and the immune system has complete control, then grounds are created for a person to be asymptomatic or achieve remission. Sleep deprivation directly results in an even more compromised immune system, and when the immune system is down, the pathogens are up.
People with chronic Lyme Disease have a tendency to experience low serotonin levels and this can be directly linked to a lack of sleep. The irony is that the body produces a good portion of its serotonin supply while it sleeps, which the body then converts some into melatonin, the hormone responsible for making a person sleepy, and lack of melatonin could be one reason why people with chronic Lyme Disease experience insomnia. People who begin 5-HTP to correct a serotonin deficiency as a neurotransmitter test may indicate find that they sleep much better. Low serotonin levels may also be a cause for depersonalization or feeling emotionally numb (i.e., floating) which is another common psychological symptom of chronic Lyme Disease.
Sleep Is Easier Said Than Done
Easier said than done, right? Of course! But just because something is hard to do doesn't mean it's impossible. There are countless solutions available for helping to remedy insomnia and allow a person who experiences it to get the deep, crucial, and physiologically fulfilling sleep they need to repair and heal from chronic Lyme Disease.
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It's also important to remember that even if you have found a solution for your insomnia, it's not completely useful if it's not used appropriately. What is mean't by this is simply going to bed at a reasonable hour, and sleeping for the amount of time your body needs without the awakening of an alarm clock. The human body has an internal clock which is synchronized with the Sun's light. So taking that sleep solution will only truly work to a person's benefit if it coincides with the body's natural sleep cycle. A reasonable sleep cycle is to be in bed between 10 and 10:30pm, and to awaken naturally around 7 or 8am. Going to bed at around 10 at night is crucial, but the time you wake up will be unique to each individual's needs. What matters is that you feel relatively good or better the following day so you can be sure you're not sleep deprived.
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Common Remedies for Insomnia
Disclaimer: Always consult with your treating physician before altering any treatment protocol. The information on this page is not designed to be taken as professional medical advice. Some may find that a combination of sleep aids is needed to increase sleep efficacy. Again, consult your treating physician before combining any sleep aids.
You can rate each sleep remedy that you've used for its effectiveness.
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5-hTP
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Ashwagandha
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Bach Rescue Remedy Sleep
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Blue Vervain
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Kratom
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l-Theanine
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Melatonin
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Motherwort
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Valerian Root
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Resources
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "Induction of Depersonalization by the Serotonin Agonist Meta-chlorophenylpiperazine." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 Sept. 1995. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
- Candice. "Infectiously Optimistic: Notes from Byron White's Lyme and Chronic Illness Interview 9/04." Infectiously Optimistic: Notes from Byron White's Lyme and Chronic Illness Interview 9/04. Infectiously Optimistic, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
- Forsgren, Scott. "Notes From Buhner Conference on Tick-Borne Disease." (2013): n. pag. BetterHealthGuy.com - A Site Dedicated to Lyme Disease. 2 July 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
- Buhner, Stephen H. Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma. N.p.: Healing Arts, 2013. Print.
- Horowitz, Richard I. Why Can't I Get Better?: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
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