More about Sleep

My name is John Pepper. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1992.

Insomnia is a very common symptom of Parkinson’s disease. It has a very real affect on patient’s lives, which can prove to be very difficult to treat!

Why is insomnia so difficult to treat?

Medication is the obvious route to use, when faced with the inability to sleep! The problem that I faced was that my body became accustomed to whatever type of sleeping tablet I took, with the result that I had to continually increase my dosage, in order to be able to sleep. That was no good for anybody. There was also the problem of possible addiction, which I did not want or need.

I did find that there are some off-the-shelf medications that worked, but I was not happy about taking any regular medication for sleeping, because all medication is toxic, and the body has to cope with enough problems without any unnecessary medication.

I found that when I cut out any daytime ‘dozing’ or ‘cat-napping’, my night time sleeping became a lot better. I have now got to the stage, where I get five to six hours a night, without any medication, and that appears to be enough for me.

I have to avoid watching TV during the daytime, as that sends me to sleep very easily. I also have to avoid anything else, which causes me to fall asleep.

I did find that if I read a book, during the night, when I was unable to sleep, I often was able to go back to sleep again. I organised my bedside light to be positioned above my head, facing away from the other side of the double-bed. I did the same for my wife’s light. In that way, I did not disturb her, when I read during the night.

I found that walking also helps me to sleep better. Walking also helps in other ways with the progression of Pd. 

Why not get a copy of my book, ‘Reverse Parkinson’s Disease!’, and see what other methods I used to overcome movement and other problems?