Dialysis is the most commonly used treatment for patients with kidney failure. But up to 80% patients with kidney failure on dialysis complain about sleep problem. Next, let’s talk about the common causes of sleep problem and how to deal with sleep problem on dialysis.

The common causes of sleep problem.

Restless leg syndrome. This symptom occurs usually when you are sitting and lying in the bed, especially at night. The legs may feel itchy and painful and sometimes, muscle cramps can occur, which will cause patients staying up the whole night. This happens often during a dialysis session.

Insufficient dialysis. Though dialysis can help clean the blood, but sometimes, dialysis is not completely, which will lead to wastes and toxins building up in blood.The accumulation of the waste products and toxins in blood will contribute to sleep problem.

Sleep apnea syndrome. Many patients with kidney failure who are on dialysis are suffering from sleep apnea. This is a condition that there are more than 10 seconds of breath stop while you are in deep sleep. The sleep will be disturbed by the apnea.

How to deal with sleep problem?

Develop a good sleep habit. Many patients on dialysis will feel sleepiness during daytime. Some patients are accustomed to take a nap. Limit your nap time in daytime can help you sleep well at night.

Do adequate dialysis. Talk to your doctor about your dialysis. Make sure that your doctor tests your dialyzate and do adequate dialysis.

Keep a good mood. Some patients who are on dialysis may feel depressed. The feeling such as sadness and worry are more obvious at night. So you may keep up at night. Talk to your friends or family about your feeling. If you do not want to talk with them, you can chat with our online doctor, they will help you!

Sleep problem heavily affected the life quality of patients on dialysis. If you have sleep problem and want some help, you can send an email to renal-disease@hotmail.com, I will reply as soon as possible!