Physical Activity and Sleep in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Physical Activity and Sleep in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Associations with Symptom Severity in the General Population Cohort LifeLines. This study was done at The University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, Groningen, Netherlands and published online 2018 Nov 4.

Functional somatic syndromes (FSS), including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), are common, disabling, and costly health conditions without known underlying organic pathology.

The main strength of this study is the large population cohort. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates physical activity and sleep duration in patients with CFS and FMS in one large population cohort.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of the study was to compare physical activity and sleep duration between patients with CFS, patients with FMS, and controls and to examine the association between physical activity level and sleep duration with symptom severity within these patient groups.

METHODS:

This study used data from LifeLines, a general population cohort in which 1.0% reported CFS, 3.0%  reported FMS, and 95.7% reported neither CFS nor FMS. 

Physical activity, sleep duration, and symptom severity were assessed by questionnaires and analyzed using ANCOVA and regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, and educational level.

RESULTS:

Patients with CFS and FMS had significantly lower physical activity scores than controls. 

Patients with CFS had the longest sleep duration compared to patients with FMS and controls. 

A linear association between physical activity, sleep duration, and symptom severity was only found in controls, in whom higher physical total activity scores and longer sleep duration were associated with lower symptom severity. In contrast, quadratic associations were found in all groups: both relatively low and high physical activity scores and relatively short and long sleep duration were associated with higher symptom severity in CFS, FMS, and controls.

CONCLUSION:

This study indicates that patients with CFS or FMS sleep longer and are less physically active than controls on average. 

Both low and high levels of physical activity and short and long sleep duration are associated with higher symptom severity, suggesting the importance of patient-tailored treatment. 

FULL REPORT

6 Foods That Could Be Tied to Fibromyalgia Pain: they are not what you expect

We did a survey at FIBRO CONNECT and found that over 30 people had food triggers that made their fibromyalgia symptoms worse. These included gluten, dairy, coffee, sugar and chocolate.

The standard treatment for fibromyalgia usually doesn’t involve dietary changes, yet some patients have found that certain types of food exacerbate their sensitivity to pain or pain symptoms.

We’ve consulted with experts to find the foods that could possibly trigger fibromyalgia pain even if science has yet to distinguish a concrete connection between the two.

Potato Chips  Grabbing for that bag of potato chips, will likely contain one key ingredient that could be linked to pain—glutamate. 
The additive is often used as a harmless flavor enhancer that you’ll commonly find in its salt form, monosodium glutamate (MSG). 

“Some patients notice that their symptoms, specifically musculoskeletal pain, increase when they’re consuming foods that have a lot of MSG,” says Tarah Venn, a registered dietician with the Stanford Pain Management Center. “Glutamate and pain have been linked in studies, which have reported higher concentrations of glutamate in some fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls.” 

This may be because glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter that sends messages within the brain and nervous system. If your pain is sensitive to glutamate consumption, always check the product labels at the grocery store for words like monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and yeast extract. 

Mushrooms
Despite its incredible nutritional value, the edible fungus may trigger pain in fibromyalgia patients because it’s rich in the naturally-occurring form of glutamate. In just a 100-gram serving, 180 milligrams of glutamate are packed into a mushroom, according to the Glutamate Association. Shitake and enokitake mushrooms are the richest in glutamate. 

Other healthy favorites like tomatoes, grapes, and green peas are also good sources of glutamate. But before you entirely cut any foods, especially fruits and veggies, out of your diet, talk to a healthcare professional who will ensure you aren’t missing out on key nutrients. 

Aged cheeses
Sorry cheeseheads, but cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and Roquefort cheese all contain glutamate. In fact, one 100-gram serving of Parmesan cheese packs a whopping 1,600 milligrams of glutamate. But keep in mind that glutamate may not be your issue, dairy could be an irritant as well, at least anecdotally.

Fried chicken
All of that butter, saturated fat, and vegetable oil may give a plate of fried chicken the savory flavor your taste buds crave, but it could wreak havoc on your body and cause inflammation. 

Even though fibromyalgia is not necessarily categorized as an inflammatory condition, inflammation can still cause pain-like symptoms, which is why it’s best to avoid any type of fried foods as much as possible.

Flavoured yoghurt
You may think that your strawberry yogurt is a healthy start to your day, but in reality, it’s packed with loads of sugar from the syrups used for the flavoring. And some low-calorie yogurts even contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame.
Even though there’s no evidence stating that sugar makes fibromyalgia pain worse, some patients have found that cutting out refined sugars improved their fibromyalgia symptoms.

Are these the foods you expected to see listed when you read the title 6 Foods That Could Be Tied to Fibromyalgia Pain? 

Do these foods aggravate your fibro pain? I would love to hear from you... leave a comment please.

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If you are interested in other articles about fibromyalgia and food you may also like:

• An anti-inflammatory diet for fibromyalgia
• Fibromyalgia and diet
• Top tips for healthy eating – The Lucky 13
• Why Omega 3 is so important
• So what reduces inflammation?
• Dietary help for Fibromyalgia: Are you trying simple solutions like Magnesium?

Simple stress management tips at Christmas

There is inevitable and unavoidable stress associated with the holiday season and add this to a life living with a chronic illness, which usually means chronic pain, and the stress is compounded.

I am glad you are here and reading this and I hope you find something helpful and worthwhile to help you or a loved one cope with the added stress at this time of the year.

Remember to take care of yourself. 
The words self-care make me cringe but we just must look after ourselves to even feel vaguely normal at the best of times so this is even more important now in the holiday season.

Whenever you remember take 3 deep breaths. Breathe in the good and let go the bad...
I do this whenever I get in my car to drive anywhere and at other times when I feel overwhelmed and it has become a helpful habit very quickly. It sounds stupid but just 3 deep breaths and I can feel the tension subside.

Choose to see the good stuff.

Try and stay on positive topics and with positive people. When I am feeling overwhelmed gossip and bad news and drama and negative talking really drags me down further. 

Laughing and humor and comedy shows make me feel good especially if enjoyed with others. In some strange way laughter reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort.

Also, listen to your own ‘self-talk' because often we can be in a habit of saying negative things in our heads that just add to our stress. This is unhelpful so try and realize what you are doing and change the tape you are playing  - instead of saying ‘I can't cope' say 'it's time to take a break' or 'calm down' or 'others can help do this too'.  

Nature and being outdoors really can be a breath of fresh air. Being in nature has been proven to help us humans.

Sometimes I am so low I don't want to go out and see people but I have found that going for a walk at dusk or at night is also a great way to rejuvenate. There is no one around where I live, they are all in their houses, and no bright sunlight (which does affect my eye health) and I feel better after just a 5-minute walk. It is also calming to look at the sky, the clouds, the stars, and the moon and feel the breeze or even the gentle rain. 

Find your own joy.

Let go of the shoulds and the old traditions and do what makes you feel good.  Create new traditions that are simple and easy to maintain within your life and your capabilities. As an example, at Christmas do we really need to send Christmas cards, when we can send a group email? Do we really have to have all the relatives over for lunch when we could make a new tradition of meeting for Christmas Carols at the local Christmas event or church? 

Work out what is really important to you and your family and simplify your Christmas. We live in Australia where it is warm and sunny in December so having a turkey with all the trimmings just does not make sense. This year we are letting go of the old English traditions brought to Australia and enjoying seafood, ham, and pavlova. I am happy to say that this menu has been approved by all the family.

So my suggestions are
Take care of YOU as well as everyone else
Do a simple deep breathing technique.
Choose to stay positive.
Choose laughter and comedy (on TV and in real life)
Delegate more.
Take nature breaks.
Work out the basics of what is important to you and create simple traditions around that.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and holiday season from Lee.

You might also find the following helpful:

• My tips for traveling by plane when you have a chronic pain condition.
• What works for me to help fibromyalgia
• Natural Treatments for Fibromyalgia
• Do you allow yourself to ask for support?

What Works For me To Help Fibromyalgia

This question was asked though FIBRO CONNECT the Fibro Blogger Directory newsletter - What Works to Help Your Fibromyalgia? and this is my answer. You can view this on video or read the transcript below the video.



Transcript of video:
On a day to day level the things that help me cope with fibro and all of it's myriad symptoms are:

1. Pacing myself - I can usually do any activity for about 15 minutes - e.g. sweep, or tidy things away or clean, - and if the pain increases I change activities. I use to try and push on through but have realised it does not help in the long run. Pacing has really been a breakthrough for me. The house may suffer but I try and keep the main areas clean and clear so that I can have less pain and fatigue.

2. Gentle stretches - like sitting on the floor and trying to touch toes and holding for 2 minutes. My worst pain is in the stiff ol' hips, so this helps. I also do a few exercises and stretches lying in the bed, usually before I go to sleep.

3. Hot spa of bubbling water or a hot bath or hot shower. It does not last long but it is the only thing that works for me when I am at my wits end and have already taken pain killers and they are not working.

4. Connecting with others who have fibromyalgia on facebook and twitter and through their blogs is a great source of distraction. When I am on the computer I tend to be in my brain and not in my body which means I am not focusing on pain.

5. Taking a constant minimum painkiller helps reduce the pain levels a little.

6. Distracting myself with a book or a TV show, a movie or the computer or suduko takes my mind off my symptoms, as long as I can find a comfy position (which is sometimes difficult).

7. Keeping dairy and wheat out of my diet, as much as possible, helps to reduce my joint pain so, hey, any less pain is good don't you think?

I hope these suggestions of mine help you. Everybody is different. Why not add your suggestions or a link to a blog post about the same topic. What works for you when coping with Fibromyalgia?

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