How inflammatory bowel disease can affect sleep



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Chronic diseases can affect different parts of a person’s life, including the way they sleep.

A new systematic review published in the Sleep medicine reviews journal examined how living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, had an impact on people’s sleep quality. Sleep quality, according to the researchers, “refers to a set of subjective and objective measures of sleep integrating aspects of sleep satisfaction, sleep initiation, sleep maintenance and amount of sleep.”

42 studies were included in this review. The researchers found that in the studies reviewed, 92 percent of patients with IBD had poor quality of sleep, compared to 88 percent of patients who did not have IBD in the control group. There was no significant difference in the quality of sleep of people with Crohn’s disease compared to people with ulcerative colitis. People with active IBD symptoms reported having more problems sleeping than people with inactive IBD symptoms.

Based on the results of this review, insomnia and poor sleep quality could be considered comorbidities of IBD. “In this meta-analysis, we gathered evidence of moderate to significant impairments in subjective measures of sleep quality in people with IBD,” the researchers wrote. “It is important to note that due to the cross-sectional nature of the included studies, we cannot draw any conclusions about the directionality of the relationship between sleep quality and IBD. “

Some reasons why people with IBD may get poor sleep are as follows, according to Crohn’s & Colitis UK:

  • Chronic pain
  • Bloating
  • Need to go to the toilet
  • Need to drink water at night
  • Anxiety

Previous research has shown how insomnia can negatively impact Crohn’s disease, a form of IBD. An August 2020 study published in the Inflammatory bowel disease found that poor sleep quality in Crohn’s disease is associated with worsening disease activity and an increased risk of hospitalization. “Addressing sleep quality may be an opportunity to improve not only quality of life but also clinical outcomes,” the August 2020 study researchers wrote.

Image via Getty Images / demaerre



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