Sleep Disorders Could be Signs of Early Parkinson’s Disease

If you've had particularly vivid or troubling dreams lately, or tend to thrash about in your sleep, you may want to speak with your functional doctor about your potential risk factor for neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson's. Sleep problems can be an early clinical sign of Parkinson's disease, occurring months or even years before other motor symptoms become apparent.

Let's find out what kind of sleep patterns may be early warning signs of Parkinson's so you can recognize the risks and take action if necessary.

Parkinson's disease is movement disorder that stems from the brain, causing uncontrollable motor movements like shaking or stiff muscles. In later Parkinson's disease, symptoms worsen and people may have trouble talking, walking, or maintaining balance. Because it's a neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson's is also known to cause sleep problems, mood changes, memory & cognitive issues, and fatigue.

Learn more about neurodegenerative disease treatment at CentreSpringMD.

How a sleep disorder could be linked to Parkinson's disease

A study published in the journal Parkinson's Disease found a potential new connection involving stool testing and very early signs of Parkinson's (1). 

For background, Parkinson's disease is characterized by the presence of unusual clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein in cells. Researchers in Germany have found the presence of these alpha-synuclein deposits in the stool of people with a condition known as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) (2). 

The presence of these proteins and being able to detect them could help doctors diagnose patients earlier, which would improve treatment effectiveness.

RBD causes people to experience particularly vivid and/or disturbing dreams and they may move around or thrash in their sleep as they attempt to act out the dream. This frequently involves injuring oneself or an unlucky bed partner.

RBD is strongly associated with certain neurodegenerative disorders, so much that about 70% of people who have idiopathic RBD will have Parkinson’s disease or other type of dementia within 12 years of diagnosis (3). But the discovery of the same protein deposits in the stool of both Parkinson's disease patients and those with RBD is a major step toward early detection (4). 

Related: The Neurodegenerative Disease That May Actually Begin in the Gut

What's RBD?

REM behavior disorder is a type of sleep disturbance involving very vivid dreams and movements while sleeping. While we dream, which occurs during REM sleep, our muscles are typically temporarily paralyzed to prevent us from reacting to things happening in our dreams.

The symptoms of RBD can be mild or severe. While they’re asleep, a person with RBD may:

• Have small muscle twitches or move their hands, arms, or legs
• Lash out while acting out a bad dream to kick, punch, or grab the air or their bed partner
• Talk, mumble, yell, or scream
• Jump or fall out of bed

Most people who have RBD symptoms aren't aware of their yelling or movements during sleep. In fact, many people only find out they have symptoms when their bed partner tells them about their behavior or when they wake up with unexplained injuries.

Read: The Unexpected Connection Between Vitamin D and Sleep

The importance of REM sleep

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is one of the five sleep stages. It’s the only stage where we dream, characterized by rapid eye movements, bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing. This level of sleep is thought to help consolidate memories and strengthen motor skills, though the purpose of the sleep stage isn't completely understood. Interestingly, it appears to not be essential to survival, unlike other stages of sleep (5).

People normally go through 4 to 6 REM cycles each night about every 80 to 100 minutes, on average. This stage of sleep makes up about 25% of a night’s sleep.

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