Can sleep cure vitiligo? Part 2

Last Updated on 2nd August 2023 by Caroline Haye

Healing skin by switching on our self-repair system

In part 1 of this blog I posed the question “Can sleep cure vitiligo?“ Or more accurately, “might lack of sleep be a factor in the development of certain chronic disorders, including vitiligo?” And the answer was almost certainly yes. What prompted the question was a video that a vitiligo friend recently invited me to watch. The video is about vitamin D, deep sleep and gut bacteria (thanks for sending the link, Mira!). And what I learned from watching it is fascinating.

I have blogged a few times in the past on the impact of both vitamin-D deficiency and digestive disorders in relation to vitiligo. But I had never given much thought to the role of sleep in this context. If you had asked me – prior to seeing the video – how important I though it was for vitiligo sufferers to get a good night’s sleep, I would have said that it was no doubt very important for health in general, and possibly even more so for anyone with chronic health problems. And that would have been the extent of my insight into the topic.

But once I listened to sleep expert Dr. Stasha Gominak describe her experiments and observations relating to the involvement of certain nutrients (especially vitamin D) and the communication that has to take place between the gut and the brain in order for therapeutic, deep sleep to occur, I began to appreciate that there is an awful lot more to the subject than I ever imagined. ​

We are designed to be completely self-healing

I began to wonder if sleep disorders might play a part, not only in the development of vitiligo, but also in its generally poor response to most treatments. In other words, could a lack of deep sleep be one of the triggers for de-pigmentation? And might this also hamper attempts at reversing the condition? If this were in fact true, it could be very good news… Because improving a vitiligo sufferer’s quality of sleep ought then to improve their vitiligo. And it ought to increase the effectiveness of vitiligo treatments too. According to Dr Gominak, we are indeed designed to be completely self-healing. (What a wonderful concept that is. I love it and I only wish that modern medicine would open its mind to this view. I am sure that it would revolutionise our health systems and the health of entire populations.) 

The link between poor sleep and chronic illnesses like vitiligo

During sleep all kinds of fascinating things happen. Our muscles become paralysed – in effect, we shut down in order for repairs and maintenance to take place. Scientists involved in brain stem research have discovered that the neurochemical “on/off switch” for this state of paralysis, which is located in our brain stem, contains vitamin D receptors. This indicates that the presence of vitamin D is required before deep sleep can occur. So what does that mean for those of us with low levels of vitamin D? (As many vitiligo sufferers are.) Well, Dr Gominak notes the strong correlation between rising vitamin D deficiency (mainly due to our modern indoor lifestyle) and the increase in sleep disorders. And she also points to the parallel increase in “modern” illnesses like Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, IBS and Coeliac (Celiac) Disease.

Her experience with her sleep disorder patients has shown that raising vitamin D levels in many cases significantly improves the quality of their sleep. And this boosts their ability to self-repair… Resulting in the reduction or complete elimination of a whole host of chronic symptoms. (She also goes on to explain the role of vitamin B supplementation, and of pantothenic acid in particular, in sustaining this recovery after the first couple of years. So I recommend watching the video if you want to understand the whole picture.)

Do you know how well (or otherwise) you sleep?

It is worth mentioning that many people with sleep disorders don’t realise they have one. You don’t even have to have a recognised sleep disorder to suffer from insufficient deep sleep. I have always thought of myself as someone who sleeps fairly well. But one of my earliest memories is of lying awake as an infant in my cot because of stomach cramps. (Due, I now realise, to digestive issues). And there have been many times, as an adult, when I have suffered bouts of insomnia for the same reason. Even when I get a full night’s sleep, I have no way of assessing the quality of that sleep. But the fact that I suffered with chronic fatigue for most of my life does make me wonder.

It seems logical that long-term sleep disorders might be one of the causes of chronic fatigue. After all, they prevent the body from completing its re-calibrating and repairing routines each night. Interestingly, all of my symptoms improved – simultaneously with my re-pigmentation – after I adopted my nutrition protocol. So does that mean that my digestive problems were causing me to sleep poorly or that poor sleep was causing the digestive problems? And which of these (if it wasn’t both together) might have been a trigger for my vitiligo? In a sense, it doesn’t really matter which came first as long as the cure for both is the same. But it would still be interesting to know.

The relationship between sleep and vitiligo

I can find no research into the relationship between sleep and vitiligo specifically. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that stress can trigger and aggravate the condition. And there can be no doubt that lack of sleep increases stress levels. What is known is that sleep deprivation contributes to the development of chronic illness generally. And this scientific paper points to possible links between sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases. (Of which vitiligo is considered to be one).

It would be helpful to know if there is a higher incidence of sleep disorders among vitiligo sufferers than the rest of the population. (Or indeed if there is a higher proportion of vitiligo cases amongst sleep disorder sufferers than might be expected). It would also be interesting to know if lack of quality sleep just makes vitiligo worse or if it is actually part of the disease process itself. For example, might faulty digestion and poor nutritional status, as experienced by many vitiligo sufferers, be due to certain critical, sleep-time processes simply not occurring? I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that question. (And I’m not sure that anyone else has thought to ask it). But this blog might be an opportunity for readers to share their own experiences and perceptions on the subject.

So, please feel free to leave comments below about the quality of your sleep and whether or not you feel there is any connection with your vitiligo. Maybe, between us, we can shed a little more light on this topic… Or, at least, share some useful tips on how we might all improve our sleep.

I will keep an eye on incoming comments. But please forgive me if I sometimes reply belatedly. When it comes to blog comments, I tend to check them once a week rather than every day, so if I don’t answer to specific questions straight away please don’t think that you have caught me napping!

​Night, night – sleep tight 😉  ​