Fibromyalgia syndrome causes symptoms of extreme pain in the muscles throughout the body. Fibromyalgia produces widespread pain, disturbed sleep, and exhaustion from head to toe. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—the soft fibrous tissues of the body. Although the muscles hurt everywhere, they are not the only cause of the pain. Instead, the diffuse, body-wide symptoms are greatly magnified by malfunctions in the way the nervous system processes pain.

Sufferers with a fibromyalgia sleep disorder do not obtain enough deep sleep, and their body is not adequately refreshed. Sleep lab tests may not be necessary to determine if the sufferer has experienced disturbed SLEEP with FIBROMYALGIA. If the sufferer wakes up feeling as though they have just been run over by a mack truck - what physicians refer to as an unrefreshing sleep - it is reasonable for the physician to predict that the patient has an interrupted fibromyalgia sleep disorder.

Many FMS patients have been found to have other sleep disorders in addition to the alpha-delta EEG, such as sleep apnea, sleep myoclonus night-time jerking of the arms and legs), and restless legs syndrome. Also, a newly discovered sleep disorder, upper-airway resistance syndrome is also being evaluated for its association with disordered sleep in FMS. Disturbed sleep often aggravates the other prevalent FMS symptoms.

Treatments of fibromyalgia syndrome:

Medications

Medications can help reduce the pain of fibromyalgia and improve sleep. Common choices include:

- Analgesics. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may ease the pain and stiffness caused by fibromyalgia. However, its effectiveness varies. Tramadol (Ultram) is a prescription pain reliever that may be taken with or without acetaminophen. Your doctor may recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve, others) — in conjunction with other medications. NSAIDs haven’t proved to be as effective in managing the pain in fibromyalgia when taken by themselves.

- Antidepressants. Your doctor may prescribe amitriptyline to help promote sleep. Fluoxetine (Prozac) in combination with amitriptyline is effective in some people. Duloxetine (Cymbalta) may help ease the pain and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia. And milnacipran (Savella) was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms.

- Anti-seizure drugs. Medications designed to treat epilepsy are often useful in reducing certain types of pain. Gabapentin (Neurontin) is sometimes helpful in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms, while pregabalin (Lyrica) is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia.

Therapy

- Physical therapy. Specific exercises can help restore muscle balance and may reduce pain. Stretching techniques and the application of hot or cold also may help.

- Counseling. Cognitive behavioral therapy seeks to strengthen your belief in your abilities and teaches you methods for dealing with stressful situations. Therapy is provided through individual counseling, classes, and with tapes, CDs or DVDs, and may help you manage your fibromyalgia.

Melatonin is a natural hormone that is manufactured by a small gland located near in the centre of the brain called the pineal gland. Melatonin performs many functions though some of them are not well understood. However the important function performed by it is that of natural regulation of sleep during the night.

Melatonin is made from an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is categorized as an essential amino acid & we can get it only from the foods that we ingest. The tryptophan consumed during the day is converted into serotonin which is a brain chemical that involved with mood functionality. Serotonin is then converted into melatonin.

People with a low level of melatonin may suffer from insomnia. A melatonin deficiency may also play a role in jetlag. Some people claim that melatonin may slow down the aging process therefore allowing you to live a longer life, however these claims have not been proven, nor is there any scientific proof to back up such claims. Read The Full Story…

You know how important good nutrition and exercise are for your health and beauty, but do you know sleep is crucial too? When you doze you’re getting more than rest. Sleep researchers say your body is healing and repairing itself. For this reason, dermatologists often suggest using your most “active” skin creams before bed. To avoid puffy, bloodshot eyes, dark under-eye circles and a pale washed-out complexion — and for peak alertness and energy — experts say you need eight hours of sleep a night.

Here are some tips  to help you get the sleep you need:

- Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep.
- Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
- Exercise every day. Even 20 minutes of walking can help keep stress hormones from interfering with your sleep.

- Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well. Read The Full Story…

The free relaxing music and nature sounds can aid sleep, reduce stress, and provide a relaxing atmosphere for activities such as yoga, tai-chi, and meditation.

Brainwave entrainment means that a particular beat or rhythm will guide your brain’s electrical pulses, which are called brainwaves, into a new rhythm. Your brain, when it “hears” the new beat will follow it and begin to pulse at the same rate.

When brainwave entrainment is used to cure insomnia the brainwaves we want to guide you into are the waves of sleep. When you are sleeping your brainwaves slow right down. The brainwave entrainment audio you are listening to will guide your brainwaves into the rhythm of sleep. When this happens you will fall asleep.

Examples of sleep-sounds:

- Rhythmic drumming creates a hypnotic effect to help induce sleep

- The sound of the vibraphone is calming, and may reduce stress

- Rain acts as a white noise machine that masks household noises such as refrigerators, heaters, and creaking floors

- The booming sound of thunder helps to mask loud stereos, barking dogs, and traffic

- The sound of steady, rhytmic ocean waves provide a sensation of relaxation and calm.

- Birds and windchimes are comforting sounds that provide a relaxing and stress free atmosphere

- An atmosphere of rain and thunder may be especially relaxing, because one feels they cannot go out to work

- Ocean waves may remind one of a relaxing and calm vacation Read The Full Story…

There are a number of reasons why sleep problems can develop.
1. Normal effects of ageing - as mentioned, when people get
older they tend to sleep less deeply and need less sleep. Not only
this, but sometimes people develop a habit of dropping off to
sleep during the day which again reduces the need for sleep at
night. This in itself is not a problem, but often not sleeping
becomes a greater cause for worry, frustration and concern,
which in turn leads to sleeping less well.

2. Medical reasons for disrupted sleep - medical reasons for
poor sleep may or may not be related to getting older. Some
examples are:
The need to go to the toilet during the night occurs more in
later life. About 60% of women and about 70% of men,
aged over 65 get out of bed at least once a night to go to
the toilet. This can also happen for other reasons of course,
such as pregnancy. Getting out of bed at night isn’t always
a great problem, but can be frustrating if it is difficult to get
back to sleep.
Another medical reason is pain. This again can be common
in older age with joint pains such as arthritis.
The emotional upset of loss or bereavement can affect
sleep and again this may be more common in older people.
Some medicines can interfere with sleep, so it is worth
checking with your doctor if you are on any
tablets. Read The Full Story…

- Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to altered sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for the lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.
- Exercise is great but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than 5 or 6 hours before your bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and its effects can take as long as 8 hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing
smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.
- Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. You may think having an alcoholic “nightcap” will help you sleep, but alcohol robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.
- Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate. Read The Full Story…

Here are several strategies that a person can use to get better nights sleep:

- Establish a routine. When you change the timing of your sleep, you affect your circadian rhythm: the internal clock that guides sleep patterns. Research demonstrates that going to bed late upsets your circadian rhythm, but the time you wake up has an even greater impact on your sleep cycle. More that any other strategy, having a regular schedule will improve the quality of your sleep. As much as possible, go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, even on weekends.
- Manage your stress. Stress and sleep problems are strongly linked. Evaluate your experience of stress and learn and use effective stress- management strategies.
- Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant. It can help people fall asleep by slowing down body processes. As the alcohol is eliminated from the body there is a rebound stimulant effect, which can result in night-time waking, vivid dreams or fitful sleep.
- Avoid heavy meals at night. These can contribute to difficulty falling asleep. On the other hand, having a light snack (e.g. cereal, cheese and crackers) can help. Studies reveal that high carbohydrate meals late in the day can induce sleepiness.  Read The Full Story…

Exercise promotes improved sleep quality by allowing smoother and more regular transition between the cycles and phases of sleep.

Moderate exercises lasting 15 to 30 minutes three or four times a week will help you sleep better and give extra energy. Exercise in the morning or afternoon, not close to bedtime.

Try to boost your physical daily activity during the day. The goal here is to give your body sufficient stimulation during the day so that you are not restless at night.

The following activities are relaxing and can induce sleep:

• Aerobic exercises are the greatest to combat sleeplessness. Aerobic means “with oxygen.” Aerobic exercises boost the amount of oxygen in the blood. Examples of aerobic exercises are: jogging, walking, swimming, bicycling, jumping rope, dancing, riding a stationary bicycle, and using a treadmill.

• Anaerobic, or nonaerobic, means “without oxygen.” Anaerobic exercises, such as slow walking, bowling, or strength training with weights, are important to your overall fitness level.

• Yoga has a stimulatory effect on your nervous system, particularly the brain. Yoga uses breathing techniques and yoga postures to increase blood circulation to the brain centre, promoting regular and restful sleeping patterns. Regular practice of yoga will relax you as well as relieve stress and tension.

• Tai Chi is a form of breathing and movement that was developed by ancient Chinese monks. The movements involved in Tai Chi are precise and slow, which is ideal if you have joint pain or are unable to participate in high impact aerobic exercises. Studies have shown that Tai Chi may help people with insomnia by promoting relaxation. Read The Full Story…