title: Passive body heating improves sleep patterns in female patients with fibromyalgia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of passive body heating on the sleep patterns of patients with fibromyalgia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six menopausal women diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the criteria determined by the American College of Rheumatology were included. All women underwent passive immersion in a warm bath at a temperature of 36 ±1 °C for 15 sessions of 30 minutes each over a period of three weeks. Their sleep patterns were assessed by polysomnography at the following time-points: pre-intervention (baseline), the first day of the intervention (acute), the last day of the intervention (chronic), and three weeks after the end of the intervention (follow-up). Core body temperature was evaluated by a thermistor pill during the baseline, acute, chronic, and follow-up periods. The impact of this treatment on fibromyalgia was assessed via a specific questionnaire termed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sleep latency, rapid eye movement sleep latency and slow wave sleep were significantly reduced in the chronic and acute conditions compared with baseline. Sleep efficiency was significantly increased during the chronic condition, and the awakening index was reduced at the chronic and follow-up time points relative to the baseline values. No significant differences were observed in total sleep time, time in sleep stages 1 or 2 or rapid eye movement sleep percentage. The core body temperature and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire responses did not significantly change over the course of the study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Passive body heating had a positive effect on the sleep patterns of women with fibromyalgia.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andressa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Sandra Souza de
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.forename: Monica Levy
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mônico-Neto
authors.forename: Raquel Munhoz da Silveira
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Suely
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roizenblatt
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
authors.forename: Marco Túlio de
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Mello
mesh_terms: D001452:Balneology / Q000379:methods*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000379:methods; D007101:Immersion; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D011788:Quality of Life; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome