MS PERSPECTIVES: The Value of Sleep

By Ed Lash

At age 42, in 1969, I was working the evening shift and said to a coworker, “Would you believe it? I got myself a part-time job three months ago and have been living on five or six hours sleep and feel great!”

He made no comment, but about a week later, I said to him, “I can’t understand it. If I hold an ice cube in my left hand, it feels ice cold. If I hold it in my right hand, it feels lukewarm.”

A few days later I was in the hospital with complete immobility on the left side of my body and not able to feel pain or temperature on my right side, all from my neck down to my toes.

When finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), I was told by my neurologist to eat a healthy diet, stay moderately active, and get adequate rest with 8 hours regular sleep. There was no medication for MS in those days, and I followed his advice. In about 6 months I was relatively normal.

After that, I had a few mild flare-ups. Up fairly late one evening I decided to do some reading before going to bed. I sat down with an open book, rested my head on my left hand, and discovered that the left side of my face was completely numb. I closed the book calmly and went to bed. Although it was a good night’s rest, the next morning showed no change, the numbness was still there. I called the neurologist and explained what happened.

“Okay. I’ll put it in your record,” he said.

“Don’t you want me to come in?”

“What for? We know what it is. And I’m sure it will get back to normal shortly. However, if it gets worse, or if it gets unmanageable for you, give me another call.”

At first, I did not understand what caused this, but then I realized that because we had purchased a new home, I began working late into the evening most nights to handle some of the complications of this new home and do work that needed to be done. Grateful that this episode was not debilitating in any way, I went back to regular 8 hours sleep and the MS symptoms went back to normal in a few weeks.

With four boys in our family, we often enjoyed watching the New York Islanders play hockey. One year when, after learning my lesson about not getting regular 8 hours sleep, the Islanders were in the Stanley Cup finals and the crucial game we were watching one evening ended up in a tie after regulation time. That meant overtime would begin after an intermission with no way to predict how late the game would end. It was already 10:45, and in order to get my 8 hours sleep before work, I regularly went to bed at 10:30. I got up off the sofa and said to them, “You can stay up if you like, but I need to get a good night’s sleep for work tomorrow. Tell me what happens tomorrow. Good luck with the game, and good night.”

“I don’t believe you! How can you go to sleep now?” said one son, and the others made similar incredulous remarks, but I went right to bed, anyway.

I sometimes think about this incident and have to laugh about it when I do. It reminds me of the bad sleep habits I used to have, and believe me when I say it wasn’t easy for me to get into the habit of forcing myself to do things like what I just did.

I do occasionally stay up late, for wedding celebrations, New Year’s Eve, etc.-as long as the next day isn’t a work day and I can sleep late. When I do stay up late, I also make sure I get to bed early the next evening.

And I do not mean to imply that everyone with MS needs regular 8 hours sleep; we’re all different. I’m only saying that I’ve learned my lesson. To me it’s better not to take the chance of having MS rear its ugly head, since I’ve learned that “burning the candle at both ends” is a trigger for me.

Today, at age 81, I recently increased my sleep each night to 9 hours. I still eat a healthy diet, take a 20 minute walk each day, and occasionally play golf.

Note: Self-help is not intended to replace medical treatment, but should be used together with the help of all appropriate professionals in a team effort.

Ed Lash is a United Spinal member who lives in Trumbull, Connecticut. For more information, or to order his book (Multiple Sclerosis – A Patient’s View) call 203-445-0118, or e-mail him at elash@unitedspinal.org.