-
How does Parkinson’s affect your quality of sleep?
Parkinson’s can affect sleep patterns in different ways. For example, some folks struggle with falling asleep or staying asleep, others experience sleep disorders like REM sleep behaviour disorder and restless leg syndrome, and others struggle with tremors, stiffness, or urinary symptoms that interrupt them at night.
Do you experience any of these challenges? What helps you get a better night’s sleep?
-
11 Replies
-
My sleep is definitely changed since having Parkinson’s. I wake up several hours after falling asleep, and then I’ll stay awake for most of the rest of the night. I’m having bad dreams that I don’t even remember. My wife tells me I’m thrashing around during the times that I do sleep. The only thing that really has helped me is to take a small amount of melatonin and then when I wake up after a few hours, take another small amount of melatonin so I’m taking about 2 mg of melatonin each each night.
-
I have improved my sleep to a good degree with blue light therapy. My sleep is not back to normal but it is improved.
-
Mike- Please give us details of your blue light therapy. What light do you use? For how long? Where did you find out about it? Thanks
-
Hello. I was in a 6 month study about blue light therapy. Improvement to my sleep problems was the only effect I noticed but it was a very, very welcome improvement. My sleep didn’t go back to normal but it did improve. The company doing the study insisted I return the blue light after the study was over so I went on Amazon and found SMY Blue Light, it was only $50. The SMY device does not seem to be as effective as the light I used in the formal study but it still helps. Evidently it’s all about fixing the body’s circadian rhythm. The SMY light comes with very basic instructions, I use it about 2 ft from my face 1 hour every day in the late afternoon. The medical study I did said to not stare into the blue light but let the light “bathe your face”. The original company doing the study was Photo Pharmics and they told me they expect their blue light device to be available for sale late in 2026. Total time of this therapy for me is over 1 year now and I haven’t noticed any change to my eyes or vision. Even so, I think I should say “do this at your own risk”. I’m not a medical professional by any means, I’m just a 75 yo PD patient trying to keep my life as normal as possible. Regards, MikeP
-
-
-
Yes, I often had trouble getting to sleep. If I did get to sleep, I would generally wake up between 2 and 3 AM. I would not be able to get back to sleep until 5 or 6 AM. Then, up at 7 AM. I have solved this with cannabis gummies and/or Trazodone (Prescription, see your doctor).
-
BTW; This trouble sleeping was while I was on 5mg (and later 10mg) of melatonin, magnesium, zinc, and zertek.
-
I have improved my sleep with blue light therapy. Not back to normal but definitely improved.
-
Hi Mike, can you share more about how you’re using blue light therapy to help with your sleep? Have you noticed a changes to any other symptoms because of it?
-
Hello. I was in a 6 month study about blue light therapy. Improvement to my sleep problems was the only effect I noticed but it was a very, very welcome improvement. My sleep didn’t go back to normal but it did improve. The company doing the study insisted I return the blue light after the study was over so I went on Amazon and found SMY Blue Light, it was only $50. The SMY device does not seem to be as effective as the light I used in the formal study but it still helps. Evidently it’s all about fixing the body’s circadian rhythm. The SMY light comes with very basic instructions, I use it about 2 ft from my face 1 hour every day in the late afternoon. The medical study I did said to not stare into the blue light but let the light “bathe your face”. The original company doing the study was Photo Pharmics and they told me they expect their blue light device to be available for sale late in 2026. Total time of this therapy for me is over 1 year now and I haven’t noticed any change to my eyes or vision. Even so, I think I should say “do this at your own risk”. I’m not a medical professional by any means, I’m just a 75 yo PD patient trying to keep my life as normal as possible. Regards, MikeP
-
-
-
Yes, I sleep much differently since my brain makes no dopamine.
-
I have REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD). I take trazadone and 12mg of melatonin. I was taking 10mg but it stopped working
Log in to reply.