In last week’s BMJ there was a short piece on ‘How to write your own wellbeing prescription’ and the top piece of advice was to improve your sleep. Sleep is the most important performance-enhancing agent we know so you have to find a way to optimise your sleep. We know poor sleep is the elephant in the room. Most studies on sleep in MS show that over 70% of pwMS have a sleep disorder of some kind. The following figure summaries the results from a survey we did many years ago of our blog readers. I doubt much has changed.

You know what it is like if you wake in the morning and you have had a good night’s sleep; you feel energised, your mood is better and you are prepared to take on the world. In contrast, when you wake from a night of tossing and turning, legs jerking, getting-up to go to the toilet several times, with a hangover from too much alcohol the night before, etc. you find it challenging to get through the day; you are irritable and your mood is low.

The study below in people with MS shows that restless legs syndrome, which is commoner in pwMS, not only affects sleep quality but is associated with poor cognition. So if you have RLS bring it to the attention of your HCP so that you can get it treated.
The following is a simple self-help guide to improve your sleep hygiene:
1. Make sure you spend an appropriate amount of time asleep in bed; a minimum of 6 hours. Some people need more than this to feel refreshed.
2. Limit daytime naps to 30 minutes. Please note that napping does not make up for inadequate nighttime sleep.
3. Avoiding stimulants such as caffeine, modafinil and nicotine close to bedtime.
4. Only drink alcohol in moderation. Alcohol is well-known to help you fall asleep faster, but too much disrupts sleep.
5. Exercise helps improve sleep quality. As little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise per day can improve sleep quality.
6. Don’t eat before going to bed. Heavy foods and fizzy drinks can trigger indigestion or heartburn/reflux that disrupts sleep.
7. Ensure you get adequate exposure to natural light; exposure to sunlight during the day, as well as darkness at night, helps to maintain a normal sleep-wake cycle.
8. Establish a regular relaxing bedtime routine, which helps the body to recognise that it is bedtime. This could include taking a shower or bath or reading. However, avoid reading or watching emotionally upsetting content before attempting to sleep.
9. Making sure that your sleep environment is pleasant. Your mattress and pillows should be comfortable. The bedroom should be cool for optimal sleep (16-20°C). The bright light from lamps, smartphones and television screens can make it difficult to fall asleep, so turn those lights off or adjust them when possible. Use the blue filter mode on your smartphone and other devices that reduces the inhibition of melatonin from light. Consider using blackout curtains, eyeshades, earplugs, white noise machines and other devices that can make the bedroom more relaxing.
10. And if you have pain, nocturia, restless legs, sleep apnoea, etc. get these adequately managed via your HCP.
Please let us know what strategies work for you to improve your sleep. An important role of this blog is to share best practice and alternative practices as well. We like it when our patients hack their own physiology to come up with solutions that work. Don’t forget our treatment aim is to maximise your brain health and part of this philosophy is the holistic management of MS including sleep.
Cederberg et al. Restless Legs Syndrome, Sleep Quality, and Perceived Cognitive Impairment in Adults With Multiple Sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2020 May 18;43:102176. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2020.102176.
Background: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a prominent sleep disorder that often worsens sleep quality and perhaps cognitive function in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study examined the relationships among RLS prevalence and severity, sleep quality, and perceived cognitive impairment in adults with MS.
Methods: Participants (N=275) completed the Cambridge-Hopkins Restless Legs Syndrome Questionnaire, the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLS) Scale, the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire (MSNQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS), and a demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire.
Results: Persons with MS who had RLS (i.e., MS+RLS; n=74) reported significantly worse perceived cognitive impairment compared with those who did not have RLS (n=201; p=0.015). Bivariate correlation analyses within the MS+RLS group indicated that greater RLS severity was significantly associated with more severe perceived cognitive impairment (r=0.274) and sleep quality (r=0.380), and worse perceived cognitive impairment was significantly associated with worse sleep quality (r=0.438). Linear, step-wise regression analyses indicated that RLS severity significantly predicted perceived cognitive impairment (β=0.274), but the inclusion of sleep quality (β=0.391) accounted for the relationship between RLS severity and perceived cognitive impairment (β=0.126).
Conclusions: Our results suggest that sleep impairment may be an intermediary factor in the association between RLS severity and cognitive impairment in persons with MS who present with RLS. The diagnosis and treatment of RLS symptoms and other effectors of sleep quality could improve neuropsychological consequences of MS.
CoI: multiple