What is the problem?

Consistently poor sleep is debilitating, and undermines all our best intentions and efforts to live our best lives. Sleep problems can include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking early, feeling groggy when waking or feeling sleepy during the day.

Adults generally need between 7 and 8 hours sleep each night for general good health, and in particular for our energy levels, mood, concentration, attention, memory and sociability.


What causes our sleep problems and what can we do about them?

Some of the common underlying causes of poor sleep in people with Cerebral Palsy include:
• Muscle pain, cramps and spasm
• Breathing problems interrupt the quality of sleep and can result in waking up still feeling tired
• Difficulty changing body position
• Gastro-oesophageal reflux and constipation
• Poor sleep routine
• Anxiety, depression and stress
• Allergies and colds
• Other sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea, restless legs, underlying psychiatric conditions

How do we manage it?

What might help improve my sleep
• A consistent sleep routine – going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
• Time spent outside with exposure to sunlight is essential to regulating your body clock and assisting with sleep.
• Practicing good sleep hygiene, make your bedroom environment a relaxing place to sleep.
• Using medication at night for your pain.
• Support and positioning in bed – consider pressure relieving mattress, and use of pillows for support, grab bar to help you move position.
• Physical exercise
• A healthy diet full of fresh fruit, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and protein will assist with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
• Include meditation, mindfulness and stretching practices as part of your bedtime routine.
• Stress can play on your mind and make it difficult to fall asleep. Have a pen and paper next to your bed to write down any ideas that you are thinking about rather than trying to remember them until morning.


Sleep Hygiene

Sleep Hygiene is a term to describe the physical environmental and behavioural changes we can take to improve our sleep.

This can help in dealing with many aspects of sleep – implementing Sleep Hygiene is a good positive step that you can take, although it takes practice and persistence.

First and foremost, you must give yourself permission to have a really good night’s sleep.

Consistently poor sleep is debilitating, and undermines all our best intentions and efforts to live our best lives.


Good Sleep Hygiene means:
• Implementing a sleep routine 60-90 mins before bed
• Going to bed at the same time every night, even at the weekends
• Stopping caffeine use by 6pm
• Exercising during the day (try to stop at least 4 hours before going to bed)
• Have some free time after a meal and avoid going to bed on a full stomach
• Avoid using alcohol to promote sleep
• Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet and not too hot
• Avoid taking electrical devices into your bedroom
• Limit daytime napping to a maximum of 30 minutes (avoid day napping if you can)
• Keep the bedroom as a calm place used for sleep and relaxation

What do I do if I can’t sleep?
• Use controlled breathing, muscle relaxation
• Consider strategies to support your racing mind or worries e.g. writing down thoughts in a book/journal, nominate specific worry times during the day, CBT.
• If you’re not able to sleep after 15-20 minutes, don’t stay in bed, get up and do something else, then start your bedtime routine again.

For extra help and guidance with your sleep contact:
IAP services in England & Wales
Primary care mental health teams-Scotland

Resources

Better Sleep, with The Sleep Charity:

 

Adult CP Hub Chatting with Jackie McTaggart on Sleep Hygiene
www.sleepfoundation.org
Sleepio
http://cpaustralia.com.au/media/20403/Fact_sheet_adults_sleep.pdf

Literature

A study of whether sleep hygiene practices were associated with lower levels of insomnia over 1 year in the general population.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29995266/

In children and young people with Cerebral Palsy, which interventions are effective in managing sleep disturbances arising from no identifiable cause?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK533251/

Scarlett Murray is a 22 year-old mother of one, and a talented writer who blogs about her experiences of living with Cerebral Palsy. Her form of CP is left-sided hemiphlegia. She tells us her story.

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Young woman with little girl (Scarlett Murray and daughter)

Clive Gilbert is a leading policy expert on assistive technology for disabled people, drawing in part, on his own experiences living with Cerebral Palsy. He tells us his story.

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Man using assistive technology (Clive Gilbert)