• Question: How does this disease compare to others in its effects of mental health, the ability to do memory tasks and it’s effects on sleep? Thankyou!

    Asked by anon-283688 to Ioana on 9 Mar 2021.
    • Photo: Ioana Stanciu

      Ioana Stanciu answered on 9 Mar 2021:

      Hi Abby! Actually mental health, sleep and cognition have not been studied too much for rheumatoid arthritis which is why I am so passionate about my project. I feel these things should be addressed at the doctor for these people.
      For mental health, I guess it compares to many other long-term conditions and diseases that involve pain and these people are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Their sleep is also poorer (and again this could be because their joints are painful or stiff) and they can sleep fewer hours, suffer from insomnia, wake up unrefreshed, have poor sleep more often and then need to nap during the day. And just like in any other painful disorders, pain can compete for your cognition and you might perform more poorly in attention, memory and reaction time tasks.

      Hope this answers your question! 🙂

Comments

  • Photo: Dennis

    Dennis commented on :

    Hi Abby. I’d like to offer an answer to your question. But first I’m really sorry if I haven’t understood what you were asking. Anyhow, a number of research has already shown that sleep and memory are tied in – if you don’t get enough sleep it affects your memory. Sleep researchers say that NREM and REM sleep play crucial roles for memory consolidation. Another thing – a bit off-tangent but I would also like to add that it’s not only lack of sleep though that can affect how we perform. Time of day for task training also appears to be a factor in memory impairments caused by lack of sleep, which suggests a circadian rhythm aspect to it. Hope that helps. 😃