When you think of diarrhea, sleep disruption is probably the last thing that comes to mind. However, amongst the ways that diarrhea can disrupt life, the effects of inadequate sleep can continue for weeks after.
Our team of doctors recently sat down with Dr. Breus, The Sleep Doctor, to discuss some of those effects and how they can cause additional bodily stress if not treated.
Diarrhea Keeps You Awake
The most obvious way diarrhea can affect your sleep is by keeping you up at night with trips to the bathroom. Even short disruptions in the night can impact your quality of sleep.
This is one reason why it’s important to replenish lost fluids and seek diarrhea relief immediately. Otherwise, you can lose sleep which leads to stress, anxiety, and a weakened immune system.
Dehydration at Night
When you sleep, you lose up to a pound of body weight, mostly in the form of water vapor from breathing, sweat, and carbon.
When you experience diarrhea, you can lose large amounts of water and electrolytes through your stool and sweat.
It’s easy to see why the combination of the two can result in severe fluid loss, making it even more important to hydrate with water and other fluids.
Family Schedules Can Be Disrupted
It takes 2-3 days for adults and 5-7 days for kids to feel 100% “ourselves” after an average illness. During this time, parents are awake for long hours, tending to kids and making sure they’re getting enough nutrients and rest.
Multiply this effect by your family members, and suddenly, your sleep schedule gets completely altered. This can have a ripple effect and cause stress in other areas of your life.
Foods and Medication Can Interrupt Restful Sleep
As you battle diarrhea and dehydration, you take medicine and consume foods you think will help. Sometimes they do. But sometimes the side effects disrupt sleep. Treating one health issue can affect another, so be careful with OTCs and foods your body isn’t used to.
When possible, choose things like herbal teas, probiotics, and DiaResQ before bed. DiaResQ is a food for special dietary use made from naturally derived ingredients that won’t disrupt sleep. It works to relieve diarrhea quickly by reaching the digestive tract and providing important nutrients.
The quicker you can take care of diarrhea in your household, the sooner you can return to a good night’s sleep.