Did You Know?: The Importance of Sleep

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As I mentioned before I got a Fit Bit for Christmas and have been monitoring my water intake, sleep, and exercise. I don't think the Fit Bit is 100% accurate for sleep but I sure think it helps me understand why I am so tired all the time. Last night I slept for 9 hours and 11 minutes, but was "asleep" for 10 hours. I was awake 5 times and restless 15 times for a total of 49 minutes of awake/restless. This is the nature of a person with fibromyalgia. We never really get into a deep restorative sleep. "Restorative" sleep is when the body restores itself, cells repair. For example, if you cut yourself the healing process takes place at night when you are sleeping, not when you are awake. That's why it is important to get lots of sleep when you are sick, and why it takes longer to get better when you are sick if you are unable to sleep well due to the illness. My illness is fibromyalgia. Body pain prevents me from sleeping well. Ringing in my ears prevents me from sleeping well. Restless Legs Syndrome prevents me from sleeping well. A restless body next to me prevents me from sleeping well. The weather or a full moon or other environmental factors prevent me from sleeping well. Body or muscle pain prevents deep restorative sleep. The cells don't repair which causes more body pain which makes sleep more difficult. It is a vicious cycle. Right now I am currently in what we call a fibro-flare. My body has been in a lot of pain for the last two weeks. I originally blamed it on the exercise, and it could still be a factor, but since I really haven't been in an actual flare in a long while because I have been "managing" my illness, I have forgotten about actual flares and what they are and how they feel. This past Friday was a full moon, a lunar eclipse and apparently a comet occurrence. What a wonderful combination of energy to interrupt a person's sleep schedule. A couple of days leading up to and following a full moon are full of energy as well. A nurse friend of mine said she was happy to not be working this past weekend because the hospital is crazy during a full moon. So I never get deep restorative sleep. Because of that I always feel like I've been hit by a truck when I wake up. It's hard to get out of bed in the morning... it's usually afternoon for me. Even with the aid of sleep medication I do not get into a deep sleep, I just get sleep. My body cannot heal itself. So for those of you who are too busy to get a proper amount of sleep, your body will get run down because it is not repairing itself and you will get sick. So take the time to sleep. It's important for your health now and in the future. Now you know.