Sweet dreams

I bought a smart GPS watch to monitor my exercise activity – and it does a good job. But the best feedback it gives me is about the time when I’m asleep.

For nearly two years after my diagnosis of Parkinson’s I woke in pain at around 4:30 in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. I also had some rather scary dreams and a couple of times yelled out and punched the bedside lamp and water bottle across the room. I didn’t strike out on Robin’s side, but it was only a matter of time.

Of course, this wrecked my day for any other activity I was planning. It is the same for many people, with and without Parkinson’s. Then, at the end of May this year, the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA) ran a Sleep Well Week to raise awareness of sleep disturbance and how we can manage it.  

Parkinson’s 24/7

The revelation came in this ‘Better nights = better days’ clip from Bas Bloem, Professor of Neurology at Radboud University in the Netherlands.

“It’s a common misconception that Parkinson’s goes on holiday during the night … without dopamine at night people may have a whole series of problems.”

These problems may include sleep fragmentation, pain and stiffness, and needing to get up and wee more often at night.

Until I saw this I’d been taking meds at 6pm and nothing again till 8 the following morning. Prof Bloem suggests in the clip that an additional controlled-release medication for night time might help. So I asked for this at my next hospital appointment, and by heck it works! (Disclaimer: I’m not the doctor and my anecdotal experience is no substitute for professional advice from your own medical team).

Gadgets and gizmos

Regular readers of ParkyTracks will know how fond I am of apps and gadgets that help me move which confidence. For example:

• Tracks to help me relax and be mindful (Sweet talkin’ guy)
• Headphones that deliver a steady stream of brass band marches into my ears (I got rhythm)
• A phone app that shouts out numbers 1-12 at random and in French to help me with balance and falls prevention (Rock around the clock)
• And of course, my trusty Nordic poles. (Polyushko polye)

It took me a while to get round to buying a smart (Garmin) watch with GPS and heart rate monitor. I needed to save up, for one thing, and then be absolutely certain the metal bits didn’t contain nickel. Now I wouldn’t be without it. It took a little while to work out what buttons did what and I’m sure there are still 101 functions I’m not using. But the results as a training aid are promising.

The heart rate monitor is maybe a little overprotective when, in a middle of an interval session, it starts sending emergency messages to my nearest and dearest. The GPS mapping shows me where I have been, and that my local Parkrun route looks like a submarine.

Deep sleep

It is at night that this watch really comes into it own. Last week I achieved a personal best of nine hours and three minutes, of which 1:40 was deep, physically restorative sleep and nearly an hour of REM sleep to refresh memory and ‘put out the trash’.

I still have vivid dreams, but they are not scary. Sometimes there is inappropriate behaviour with public figures, and I’m relieved to wake and find I’m not headlining the tabloids.

Most of my dreams simply involve being in the wrong place at the wrong time with no preparation. For example, it’s 9:30, I have to be at the London Marathon start line at Greenwich in half an hour and I am still eating my breakfast in Penrith. A handful of Parkruns doesn’t count as training. Or I have to sit Chemistry A-level in five minutes and I haven’t done any revision since 1971!

Resources

EPDA factsheet Sleep well with Parkinson’s

Garmin Sleep scores and sleep insights

Play > Sweet dreams > Eurythmics

“Hold your head up, movin’ on!”