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A study of 30 patients found that fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be associated with abnormal sleep cycles. Fatigue is the most frequent symptom experienced by MS patients, and it is often the most difficult to treat. During the study, the researchers examined 15 MS patients and compared them with 15 healthy individuals without MS. The results indicated that, of the MS patients, 2 had delayed sleep phase syndrome, 10 had disrupted sleep, and 3 had normal sleep. There were no sleep problems in the non-MS group.
Reporting recently in the Archives of Neurology, the researchers concluded, "There is a significant correlation between fatigue in MS patients and disrupted sleep or abnormal sleep cycles."