We may joke that sleep is like air--it doesn?t seem all that important until you?re not getting any--but sleep is an important event in our lives. When you sleep the brain gets ready for the next day?s onslaught of stimuli. If you are deprived of prolonged sleep for several days, you can suffer degrees of irreversible brain damage. Also, the immune system is particularly active at night which is why the stress of sleep deprivation often results in illness.

Sleep disturbances can be common in PD. The earliest problems usually found are in staying asleep which could be from pain, urination, stiffness or difficulty turning in bed. Parkinsonians seem to awaken spontaneously, then become aware of symptoms, rather than being awakened by abnormal movements. If this occurs, studies have shown that altering your medication by using Sinemet CR results in a decrease in the number of nightly sleep disturbances, and if taken at bedtime, can improve morning foot dystonia.

Sleep disturbances appear to be related more to the underlying disease process than to the medications used to treat PD. However, altered dreaming, nightmares, and vocalizations appear to be related to medications and can generally precede hallucinations. If you become drowsy after each dose of medication, try lowering the individual dose.

Although PD may be influential in your sleep problems, let us not forget that ordinary people without PD also have problems with sleeplessness. Much of this is due from being excited or stressed by the trials of everyday life. If you want quality sleep, you need to prepare for it.. Before you turn to your doctor for the usually prescribed sedating antidepressant, let?s talk sense about your five senses. When the senses are overstimulated and your body is in an agitated, unbalanced state, try the following strategies to soothe them and restore balance to your life.

Sight

Create a tranquil environment for yourself. Avoid television after 9 P.M. and stay away from violent or disturbing shows. Make your bedroom as visually pleasant as possible. It has been documented that hospital patients, recovering from surgery, heal faster with a view of a lawn or trees than those whose windows looked out on the parking lot. If your view isn?t what you?d like, compensate with an aquarium with a few tropical fish or a beautiful painting. Keep your bedroom clean and make the bed each day, so the last impression you have before turning in is one of harmony and orderliness. If the room is too light, use black-out shades or a sleeping mask.

Hearing

Plants don?t grow as well when subjected to overly stimulating or unpleasant sounds, so noise certainly can have a negative effect on humans. Before going to sleep or even in the middle of the night, listen to soft music, invest in a white-noise machine or simply plug in an electric fan and let its gentle whir lull you to sleep. If you have a partner who snores, try earplugs.

Touch

Every neuro-chemical in the nervous system is also found in the skin, so it?s possible to alleviate a lot of the anxiety and restlessness we think of as being confined to the nervous system through our skin. For this reason, certain types of body massages help reestablish balance. If a full body massage isn?t feasible, simply massage the bottoms of your feet for a few minutes with warm coconut or sesame oil and then sponge off with a cool cloth. The feet are said to contain many vital points to help restore balance to the nervous system and promote sound sleep. Also think about the relationship of your skin to your surroundings. It goes without saying to find a comfortable mattress, but you may want to try natural fibers for your sheets and wear easy-to-turn-in nightclothes. Also keep the temperature in your bedroom slightly on the cool side.

Smell

The receptors in the nose are direct extensions of the part of the brain responsible for our heartbeat, appetite and sleep cycle as well as generating chemicals that influence emotion. So try aromatherapy for a sound and restful sleep. The delicate scent of lavender, vanilla, green apple, basil, orange geranium or cloves can be found in potpourri, scented oils or incense.

Taste

Eating a large, late meal is one of the worst things you can do because digestion involves increased metabolic activity. Also avoid cold food and drinks. Because of the effects of protein and PD, try a cup of chamomile tea instead of the usually recommended cup of warm milk. You might also try the hormone, melatonin, now being sold at your local drugstore. As nighttime falls, your melatonin level rises bringing on sleep and as night blends into day, melatonin levels fall and serotonin levels rise, nudging us awake. However, as we get older, our responsiveness to these hormone fluctuations decline. This is why insomnia is so common among the elderly.

Seek enhanced quality sleep and don?t lose sleep over the quantity. In the end, many of us can get by on fewer hours than we think.

This is by Nina Brown, now of HAPS. She tells us that she wrote it at 3:00 AM when she couldn?t sleep. Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to live with it.