Is There A Connection Between Sleep Apnea And Fibromyalgia?

Sleep apnea and fibromyalgia are two conditions that can severely impact a person’s quality of life. Whether it’s the widespread pain of fibromyalgia or the exhaustion of sleep apnea, each condition can magnify the symptoms of the other. There may be a connection between sleep apnea and fibromyalgia, but there’s also hope. Treating one can often ease the symptoms of the other. Here’s how.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea affects an estimated 25 million people in the U.S., a number that the World Health Organization (WHO) now believes is an underdiagnosis of the actual incidence of this serious sleep disorder.

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This occurs when the muscles of the throat relax back during sleep, blocking the airway. The other two types – central sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea – are less common, but all three share similar symptoms. These include:

• Pauses in breath during sleep following by a gasping intake of air
• Morning headache
• Dry mouth and throat
• Difficulty concentrating during the day
• Daytime sleepiness and fatigue

When left untreated, sleep apnea can also increase a person’s chance of developing heart disease, depression, and stroke.

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is another chronic condition that impacts daily life for the 2-6% of people who suffer from it worldwide. Like sleep apnea, fibromyalgia may be chronically underdiagnosed and is often misunderstood.

Characterized by widespread bodily pain that is often concentrated on symmetrical tender points in the body, fibromyalgia comes with other symptoms that include:

• Fatigue
• Mental complications, known as “fibro fog”
• Digestive complications
• Disturbed sleep
• Mood issues, including mood swings, depression, and anxiety
• Headache
• Difficulty exercising
• Tingling or numbness in the extremities
• Cold sensitivity

Primary (or idiopathic) fibromyalgia usually has no identifiable cause, and secondary fibromyalgia is connected to a comorbid chronic pain condition. Some researchers believe that primary fibromyalgia is caused by slack connective tissues, while others point to chronic imbalances in various chemicals in the brain and body.

Regardless of cause, people with fibromyalgia (primarily women) often suffer for years before diagnosis and proper treatment. In between their first symptoms and diagnosis, other complications may arise, including sleep apnea.

How does fibromyalgia affect sleep?

As a widespread pain syndrome that often flares up at night, fibromyalgia can almost certainly disrupt regular sleeping patterns in those who suffer from it. Fibromyalgia patients report restless sleep or sleep that is unrefreshing. They also have high rates of insomnia and restless leg syndrome.

One of the hallmarks of a fibromyalgia diagnosis is evaluating whether or not symptoms impact a person’s quality of life. In the case of fibromyalgia and sleep apnea, the vicious cycle of pain that leads to poor sleep, and poor sleep that intensifies pain, is profound and difficult to break.

Pain that leads to poor sleep can make fibromyalgia patients more sensitive to pain and diminishes coping skills. Poor sleep includes not only quantity but also quality, with fibromyalgia patients spending less time in restorative, slow-wave sleep.

How prevalent is sleep apnea and fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia and sleep apnea are bidirectional; that is, sleep apnea can contribute to the development of fibromyalgia and vice versa. At the very least, each condition intensifies and exacerbates symptoms of the other.

When researchers checked for sleep apnea secondary to fibromyalgia, their results were alarming. Obstructive sleep apnea was found in 50% of patients with fibromyalgia, with 42% of those suffering from severe sleep apnea (30 or more pauses in breathing every night).

How can treating sleep apnea help me manage fibromyalgia pain?

If you suffer from fibromyalgia and find yourself waking exhausted every morning, there is hope.

A sleep study (or an in-home sleep test) can help determine if your sleep problems are linked to sleep apnea. Even if you do not have sleep apnea, or if your sleep apnea is mild, a holistic treatment approach to both fibromyalgia and sleep apnea can help improve symptoms of both.

Start with exercise

A primary treatment for fibromyalgia is physical activity, but exercise has an important benefit for those with sleep apnea too. Obesity is the main risk factor for sleep apnea. If your fibro pain has reduced your activity level, you may find yourself gaining weight, which increases the chances of developing sleep apnea.

Gentle, regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and promote restful sleep while at the same time managing some of your fibromyalgia pain.

Exercise outside

Another study of fibromyalgia treatment options found that getting proper amounts of vitamin D was crucial to manage pain. A review of research found a correlation between lack of vitamin D and pain as well as a vitamin D deficiency in the majority of fibromyalgia patients.

Exercising in the daylight also helps to properly calibrate your internal clock, signaling your brain to sleep when it’s dark outside.

Practice mindfulness meditation

A 2018 study found that fibromyalgia patients with disordered sleep experienced a reduction in pain-related disruption to sleep as well as less depression or mood disorders when they regularly meditated.

This study also noted an increase in the hours of sleep among meditators, an indication that sleep was less disrupted by sleep apnea than the control group.

Treat your sleep apnea

Unlike fibromyalgia, a serious chronic disease that is not fatal, sleep apnea increases your chances of a variety of negative health outlooks and may even cause premature death. Treating your sleep apnea can also, as noted, improve your quality of sleep and may decrease pain symptoms.

While a CPAP machine is the first-line treatment for severe sleep apnea, many fibromyalgia patients may find the discomfort of the mask challenging and discontinue treatment. If CPAP treatment is not possible, your sleep apnea dentist can help create a sleep apnea dental device that is easy to use and comfortable to wear.

Sleep apnea and fibromyalgia symptoms are both treatable. The sleep apnea dentists at AZ Sleep can work with your pain specialist to develop a holistic treatment plan for both. Get in touch today!