Gout can affect your life in a lot of negative ways. The common gout symptoms like pain, inflammation, stiffness, etc. can be difficult for you to endure. Additionally, gout attacks usually strike at night thereby interrupting your sleep. As the pain associated with gout attacks can be persistent, you might not be able to fall asleep again. Therefore, people suffering from gout can commonly experience different problems associated with sleep deprivation.
Not getting enough sleep can affect your health adversely. Additionally, a lack of sleep is also found to make the gout symptoms worse. Therefore, it is important for you to get better sleep if you are suffering from gout.
Why Does Gout Strike At Night?
The changes happening in your body while you sleep can contribute to gout attacks. Some of the common reasons for gout attacks to happen during your sleep are mentioned below:
A Drop In The Body Temperature: Your body temperature decreases slightly when you sleep. This temperature drop can cause uric acid crystals to form in your joints thereby leading to the onset of painful symptoms.
Changes In Breathing: Your breathing slows down when you are asleep. Hence, there will be a reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide expelled by the body in comparison with when you are awake. The additional amount of carbon dioxide in the body can elevate the acidity in your blood thereby triggering the production of uric acid crystals.
Sleep Apnea: This sleep disorder can be a great contributing factor to gout attacks. People with sleep apnea are more likely to develop gout than people who do not have this condition. But some other factors like higher body mass index, history of heart failure, alcohol use, smoking, diabetes, problems with the functioning of kidneys, etc. can also increase the risk of formation of gout in people suffering from sleep apnea.
Tips For Gout Patients To Get Better Sleep
There are certain effective tips that can be beneficial for gout patients to get better sleep by controlling the symptoms of this condition. They include:
- Using medications to control gout pain
- Getting proper rest
- Cold compress
- Following a healthy diet and avoiding foods that are high in purines
- Avoiding alcohol
- Staying hydrated
- Engaging in regular exercises
- Controlling body weight
If you are suffering from gout, make sure to try these tips to improve your sleep and control the symptoms of this condition. If your gout symptoms are getting severe, seek the help of your doctor to take proper treatment.
