If there’s one thing that’s been universally agreed upon, it’s the importance of good sleep for our health. This impacts absolutely everything from how we feel, to how we perform and even the rate at which we age. Unfortunately, good quality sleep can also be an elusive thing for women struggling with fibroids – it doesn’t matter how great your mattress is if symptoms are keeping you up at night.
That being said, modern sleep technology gives us ways to monitor, measure and adapt our sleep routines to improve what we can. In this article, we’re uncovering the relationship between sleep quality and mental health, and looking at how some types of sleep technology can benefit women with fibroids.
Sleep and mental health
Let’s start with the connection between sleep and overall mental health. We all know we feel better when we get a good night’s sleep in, but why? Simply put, it comes down to our ability to regulate our emotions, deal with stress and think more clearly.
During sleep, particularly REM sleep, your brain processes and consolidates emotional experiences. This helps to “reset” the amygdala (the emotional centre of your brain) and maintain appropriate emotional reactions. If you’re not getting good, deep sleep on the regular, you’re simply not able to regulate your emotions as well, so if you find you’re snapping at people at work or school, maybe you should check to see whether a poor sleep schedule might be partly to blame! Studies also show that sleep deprivation tends to heighten negative emotions like anger, frustration and sadness, and to reduce positive emotions like joy or optimism[1]. These are all things a large cup of coffee in the morning won’t fix.
Another unfortunate byproduct of poor sleep is the inability to deal with stress, coupled with the fact that not sleeping can make you more stressed. Quality sleep reduces cortisol (a stress hormone) in your body, while lack of sleep can activate the body’s stress-response system, leading to elevated levels of cortisol[2]. Without enough sleep, you’re more vulnerable to experiencing stress and less able to bounce back from negative experiences.
Lastly, not getting enough sleep can affect your mental clarity and decision-making ability. Sleep-deprived individuals are more likely to engage in impulsive or risky behaviours because of decreased control over decision-making processes[3]. Consider how many ads encourage you not to drive while tired. Poor sleep also makes it harder to think clearly, increasing feelings of frustration and potentially leading to more emotional instability.
These things are not a great combo for any individual, never mind the additional negative effects for women with fibroids.
Fibroids and lack of sleep
Even without sleep disruptions, fibroids can really take a toll on your mental health. Dealing with chronic pain, self-esteem issues from chronic bleeds and bloating, and the stress of managing the condition and its (sometimes unpredictable) symptoms is not for sissies! To be able to deal with fibroids it’s important to stay in optimal shape and sleep is crucial to this.
Unfortunately, fibroid symptoms that are uncomfortable during the day, can also bother you at night. Pain and pelvic pressure, the frequent need to urinate and heavy bleeding can all contribute to restless nights[4]. Beyond this, fibroids can affect your normal hormonal balance, so oestrogen fluctuations can cause you night sweats or disrupt your normal sleep-wake cycle.
Worst of all, this can become a vicious cycle, as when you are tired, your pain threshold also tends to be lower, and your ability to deal with day-to-day stressors is significantly impaired[5]. This makes fibroid symptoms worse to deal with in the daytime as well. And as we already discussed above, lack of sleep can also play havoc with your cortisol levels, and too much cortisol can in turn disrupt the balance of oestrogen and progesterone – hormones we know have an effect on fibroids.
How modern sleep technology can help
Sleep technology can’t completely fix or counteract the issues that may be keeping you awake but can indirectly help to manage the symptoms of fibroids and improve sleep quality, or alternatively can help you better measure and manage your symptoms at night. We’re not advocating that you run off and buy every product, but it’s worthwhile doing some research into some of the below technologies and considering whether any of these might be a good option to include into your holistic fibroid management plan.
Smart mattresses, are an advancement that can adjust firmness or temperature to help you find a more comfortable sleeping position when experiencing pelvic or lower back pain. Some of the fancier ones even have built-in tracking functionality to monitor sleep patterns or allow for both you and your partner to adjust for your sleep preferences. They do cost a pretty penny, but then again, good sleep is an investment!
If tracking via a smart mattress isn’t your thing, you can also look to modern wearable devices. Many modern smartwatches that women use for exercise tracking can also be helpful in monitoring how you sleep. Alternatively, there are some devices that are solely meant for sleep tracking. This is not just for interest’s sake; by monitoring you can start to understand sleep disruptions caused by fibroid-related symptoms and can use this data to guide lifestyle changes or discuss treatment adjustments with your doctor.
We also know that heat can disrupt sleep patterns[6] and can also aggravate fibroid symptoms, so another way to get some relief – particularly during those hotter summer months – are cooling technologies in mattresses, bedding or room coolers.
If the anxiety of fibroids or just life in general is getting you down, one of the products that’s really gained momentum in recent years is weighted blankets. They can provide a calming effect, reducing stress and anxiety that can worsen sleep disturbances. The deep pressure stimulation from weighted blankets helps promote relaxation, aiding in better sleep.
Last but not least, we have some more familiar tactics that can help to bring down your stress levels, including sleep apps and guided relaxation. Stress can interfere with your sleep patterns[7], from flooding your body with cortisol and adrenaline that keep you awake, to those racing thoughts that make it difficult to quiet your mind.
Conclusion: sleep is crucial and technology is worth investigating
Unfortunately, no sleep technology exists that can directly counteract the symptoms that cause sleep disturbances. That doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile investigating some interventions that can make you more comfortable while you sleep or help to reduce your stress levels. By prioritizing this aspect of your life as a part of a holistic management plan, you give yourself the best chance of preserving and strengthening your mental health.
References
[1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220513113237.htm
[2] Hirotsu C, Tufik S, Andersen ML. Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep Sci. 2015 Nov;8(3):143-52. doi: 10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002. Epub 2015 Sep 28. PMID: 26779321; PMCID: PMC4688585. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4688585/
[3] Stijn A A Massar, Sleep loss and risk-taking: new findings in a field that needs more clarity, Sleep, Volume 44, Issue 4, April 2021, zsab013, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab013
[4] https://atlii.com/can-fibroids-cause-sleep-problems/#:~:text=Fibroids%20can%20also%20crowd%20internal,activities%20and%20overall%20well%2Dbeing.
[5] https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/sleep-loss-heightens-pain-sensitivity-dulls-brains-painkilling-response
[6] https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/nighttime-temperature-and-human-sleep-loss-in-a-changing-climate/
[7] Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL. The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders. J Sleep Res. 2018 Dec;27(6):e12710. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12710. Epub 2018 May 24. PMID: 29797753; PMCID: PMC7045300. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7045300/
