What are Lupus and What Type of Sleep Disorders Do People with Lupus Experience?

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus can cause waking up till late at night. Lupus Symptoms are associated with sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia. Lupus is well-known for affecting your sleep quality. Following good sleep hygiene can help improve it. Don’t rely only on lifestyle changes, contact a healthcare provider or a sleep specialist to help you design an effective treatment plan and prescribe the options to improve the condition. 

In this article the meaning, types, causes, symptoms of sleep disorders which affect you with lupus are being discussed. So keep on reading to know the ways to improve your sleep quality so that you may get rid of the lupus. 

Overview

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is simply known as lupus. This is an autoimmune disease and  causes inflammation throughout your body. Autoimmune disease refers to a condition when your immune system starts to damage your body instead of protecting it. When your immune system damages your own body you may experience tissue damage in your: 

• Blood.
• Heart.
• Brain.
• Kidneys.
• Joints.
• Skin.

The damage of tissues in these organs causes severe pain. So never ignore your body pain and go to your doctor immediately when you feel any pain, rash, or any change in your eyes, hair or skin. 

Types of Lupus

Lupus is also known as SLE. SLE is the most common type of lupus that affects your whole body and its vital organs. More types of lupus include:

Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus: This type of lupus only affects your skin.

Neonatal Lupus: If biological parents are living with lupus the risk of a baby born to the, with lupus is high but it is not necessary. There are cases where parents are affected with lupus but the babies do not get the condition in inheritance. However, sometimes babies are naturally born with lupus symptoms. 

Drug-Induced Lupus: Sometimes, lupus symptoms occur as the side effects of certain medications. These symptoms may be temporary and might go away after some time when you stop taking those medications. 

How Common the Sleep Problems in People Experiencing Lupus?

According to studies, 60 to 90% of people experiencing lupus symptoms have some type of sleep problem. If you’re one of them and experiencing lupus disturbing your sleep quality, talk with your doctor to indicate the cause. They can study your health history, sleep his dirty and medication history to design an effective treatment plan and advises how to manage insomnia, OSA, or other sleep issues.

Symptoms of Lupus

Symptoms of lupus can be observed throughout your body. However, it affects different organs in different people. Every individual affected by lupus, experiences a different severity and combinations of symptoms. Its symptoms usually form and go in flare-ups, like waves. When a flare-up comes, the symptoms get worse and affect your sleep and daily routine very badly. However, there are also periods of remissions, when you do not feel any flare-up or symptom at all.

In addition, symptoms of lupus develop gradually. At first, you may notice just one or two signs of lupus, but with the passage of time the symptoms increase and get worse too. Its common symptoms include:

• Rashers across your face which are medically called butterfly rashes.
• Fever.
• Severe muscle pain, joint pain, and chest pain, especially when you’re breathing at a high rate.
• Blood clots.
• Swollen glands.
• Fatigue and tiredness.
• Selling on your face, arms and legs.
• Confusion.
• Shortness of breath.
• Mouth sores.
• Hair loss.
• Headaches.

Lupus is also associated to some other health conditions, such as:

• Osteoporosis.
• Anemia.
• Dry eyes.
• Sensitivity light (photo-sensitivity).
• Depression.
• Heart disease.
• Kidney disease.
• Raynaud’s syndrome.
• Seizures.

Causes of Lupus Symptoms

Exact causes of lupus are not well-known to us. However, studies suggest that certain health factors contribute to develop lupus, such as:

Hormones: Your body reacts in response to certain hormones found in your. Some of such reactions especially for estrogen make you more likely to develop lupus.

Health History: Having certain health issues due to stress, autoimmune disorders or smoking can trigger the development of lupus symptoms.

Genetic Factors: Certain genetic mutations also cause the symptoms of lupus.

Environmental Factors: Certain environmental factors, including, the pollution, sunlight. Hygienic conditions and humidity air also affect your lupus risk. 

Risk Factors for Lupus

Although it can affect anyone or anywhere but the people having more risk to develop the condition include:

• People with bilingual parents or parents who have lupus.
• Black people.
• Pacific islanders.
• Asian people.
• Hispanic people.
• Women between the age of 18 to 45.
• American people, First Nations people, and Alaska Natives.

Is there a Link Between Sleep Issues and Lupus?

Lupus flares make the sleep disorders more severe. Sleep issues worsen the lupus symptoms. This in turn impairs your sleep quality. You should work with your sleep expert or doctor to create a suitable treatment plan for reducing the lupus symptoms and limiting the severity and frequency of flares. These steps can impact your sleep quality in a positive way. 

Link between Lupus and Sleep Disorders

Lupus can affect your sleep quality in many ways and thus causing several sleep problems, including:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

OSA and lupus are interlinked conditions. Studies showed that people living with lupus was also affected by obstructive sleep apnea disorder. A 2020 study found that OSA also causes either complete or partial closure of airways during your sleep. This closure disrupts your sleep, which can lead to severe symptoms including restlessness and daytime sleepiness/ research showed that OSA is more common in people affected by lupus.

Insomnia

Studies revealed that overuse of glucocorticoid and perceived stress can contribute to insomnia especially in people affected by lupus. Insomnia is a condition when you feel it is harder to get to sleep soon at night. You cannot fall asleep easily when you have insomnia symptoms. Researchers explained that perceived stress destroys your ability to fall asleep easily. You can take steps to unwind before bedtime to improve the symptoms. 

People often take glucocorticoid for lupus. But it is important to take them with the consultation of your healthcare provider because overuse of them for dress relief can affect your sleep ability. Talk to your doctor immediately about the symptoms of insomnia and lupus if you experience any one or both. 

Medications

Experts say that medications taken for the treatment of lupus cause sleep problems. People usually use glucocorticoid for the lupus but some other medications are also available in the market that increase the likelihood of experiencing disturbed sleep such as antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and biologic belimumab. So it is important to follow the prescription given by your doctor while taking productions. In case of experiencing any side effects, like sleep issues, speak to your doctor immediately.

Depression

Depression is another cause of sleep issues in people with lupus. Studies suggest that people with lupus and depression experience worse sleep quality than those without depression. It is recommended for your betterment that working with a medical professional to manage your sleep problems caused by depression can help you improve your sleep quality even if you’re affected by lupus.

Pain

Lupus flares cause severe pains in your body. These pains contribute to sleep disturbances. However, sleep experts revealed through research that the pains in your body appearing in the evening cannot be linked with your disturbed sleep. If you feel lupus pain affecting your ability to have a good sleep or staying asleep at night, talk to your doctor immediately. They can help you to take measures to manage pain while you are going to sleep at night. 

Impacts of sleep Disorders on the People with Lupus

Lack of good quality sleep and staying awake till late at night causes fatigue during day time. These factors also trigger daytime sleepiness and depression in people. Reduced sleep quality is a main reason for worsening work quality in daily routines. Studies Show that disturbed or low quality sleep triggers sleep disorders that affect your functions if immune cells lead to increased risk of becoming ill. 

How to Improve Sleep Quality with Lupus?

The first thing is to strictly follow your treatment plan prescribed or suggested by your doctor. Other measuring steep[s to help improve your sleep quality include:

• Avoiding using caffeine in caffeinated beverages right before bedtime.
• Making sure that your mattress, bedding and room environment is comfortable enough to have a peaceful sleep.
• Taking measures to improve your sleep hygiene, such as a dark bedroom at cool temperature may give you more comfort.
• Avoid working on laptops, computers or cell phones at least one hour before you go to bed.
• Taking time to unwind and relax at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Using a white noise machine or a fan to avoid other sounds produced in surroundings.
• Eat your dinner at least 90 minutes before going to bed.

These tips can limit the factors contributing to sleep disturbance and you can have a good sleep. A disturbed sleep can lead to day time sleepiness and tiredness that badly affects your working routine and efficiency. Thus, it is important to avoid taking naps during daytime, because they affect your sleep quality at night. Try to take a nap for a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes during the day, if necessary.

Specific Medications Helping with Sleep Disorders in Lupus

Although the experts have no clear explanation about not finding the specific medication to help people with lupus to improve their sleep quality, the healthcare providers must suggest some according to the underlying cause. Doctors usually recommend antidepressants to manage depression and some other medications to help manage other symptoms. Managing the lupus symptoms with these medications minimizes the damage to your organs and improves your sleep quality. In most cases, people are prescribed a combination of medications to help them prevent flare-ups and lessen the severity and frequency of symptoms. 

However, some medications may not be suitable along with lupus treatment. So it is important to contact your doctor and make them aware about all the medications you are already taking. This may help them to prescribe an effective drug or treatment plan for underlying causes of sleep issues with lupus. 

Some of such medications are:

Immunosuppressants: These medications help hold back your immune system and stop it being active. This also prevents inflammation and tissue damage caused by lupus.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): These are over the counter drugs suggested for relieving pain that disrupts your sleep. You can ask your healthcare provider which NSAID is best for you and how often you should take it. Don’t take these medications more than 15 days consecutively without a prescription from a specialist medical professional.

Hydroxychloroquine: This is an anti-rheumatic drug helping in relief of pain and lupus symptoms. They also slow down the frequency of symptoms and limit its progress. 

Corticosteroids: These medications are usually prescribed by the providers to reduce inflammation caused by lupus. Inflammation also disrupts your sleep quality leading to insomnia. Prednisone is a common corticosteroid that is used to manage lupus symptoms. This medication can be taken by mouth or injected into one of your joints for better results. 

Some other health conditions are also needed to manage to improve sleep issues in people with lupus, including high blood pressure, osteoporosis and anemia.

Conclusion

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a leading cause of many sleep issues, including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Other factors like depression, pain, high blood pressure ,medications and osteoporosis also contribute to sleep disturbance in people with lupus. 

According to sleep experts and medical professionals taking care of sleep hygiene, eating your night meal at least 90 minutes before bedtime, avoiding drinking caffeinated drinks near bed time and meeting the screen time at night can help improve your sleep quality even if you;re experiencing lupus symptoms. These problems or symptoms get worse during lupus flare-ups. So there are some medications which can help you in managing these medications and also help lessen the severity and frequency of pains and flare-ups of lupus. 

All these preventive measures result in improved sleep quality. However, talk to your sleep doctor before using any medication for the treatment of lupus. They may help you identify the underlying cause and suggest an effective treatment plan.