Tips to help you sleep better

If you’re a spoonie like me (or even if you’re not) sleep is very important. It’s the time of the day your body recovers and rests ready for the next day. So when you struggle with sleep, it’s good to know the things you can do to sleep better.

Due to ME/CFS, I spend my whole day feeling exhausted, achey and basically like I need a week of sleep. It’s very sacred to me, and bedtime has quickly become my favourite time of the day, because it’s the time I truly get relief from my symptoms.

But being tired all the time doesn’t mean that sleep comes easily. In fact, insomnia is quite common for people with ME. My mind doesn’t shut off easily, my body can get sore from lying on the same part for too long, and if I’ve not done enough during the day (because of the exhaustion) my body isn’t tired enough to actually sleep.

It’s a difficult cycle to live with really. Spending the day being too tired to do anything, and the night not tired enough to sleep.

But there are some things I’ve found to help me sleep better at night in spite of my ME symptoms, so I thought I would share them with you.

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Tips to help you sleep better

You may have heard many of these tips before, and for good reason: because they can really help you sleep better.

I too have been sick of hearing some of them, but the reason I am sharing them now is because they have helped me in a big way.

Avoid blue light

Blue light is everywhere now, and our eyes weren’t really designed to deal with it. We spend our whole day basically looking at screens (especially if, like me, you work on a computer all day). It can have a huge impact on your ability to sleep.

Most people recommend not using your phone for a while before bed, and honestly I find that really hard. I use my phone as a journal, to read my bible, and to run my blog and pinterest more easily. I also use my tablet for the same things.

I’ve actually now invested in anti-blue light glasses, and I’ve turned on the anti-blue light features on my devices. I thought at first it was a bit of a fad, and that I was being sucked into something that doesn’t really work. After working all day on my computer with my glasses on though, I was already able to sleep better. It has made the world of difference.

It’s a very simple change, that takes no effort at all. Anti-blue light glasses are quite affordable, and most devices now come with anti-blue light settings. It can’t be as good as just not using anything that emits blue light, but it is a great and effective substitute!

Be active enough

As someone with CFS/ME I know this one is easier said than done. But as I said before, even if you spend your whole day feeling tired (or exhausted in our case) if you’ve not done enough to actually make your body tired it can be difficult to sleep at night.

My ME is quite mild compared to some, so I try and make sure I move around and do a short yoga routine at least to try make sure my body is able to sleep. I am well aware though that not everyone is able to do that.

On days when my body just cannot function, I turn to trying to make my mind tired instead. I read or write, I watch TV or listen to podcasts, I knit or crochet, or doodle. I try to do something, at least one thing, each day that will help to wear me out enough to be able to sleep at night.

If you really can’t though, that’s absolutely fine. There are plenty of other things you can do to help you sleep better that may be more suited to your symptoms.

Only use your bed for sleep (and sex)

This tip has taken me a while to accept myself, because I love being in my bed, it’s so comfy. We also haven’t got any spare rooms in our flat so if one of us needs some space or some quiet then the bedroom is the only place we can go.

But a great way to really get your mind in the mood to sleep is to avoid using your bed for anything other than sleep (or sex). By doing this, you are allowing your mind to associate being in bed with sleep, and you will find it easier to sleep at night.

Now I try to at least move from my bed to my sofa if I can, and spend my day there. It feels almost impossible some days, but I really try to do it for the sake of my sleep hygiene.

So, if you can, try to keep everything else you do out of your bed, so your mind can form that assocation and you can sleep better!

Use essential oils

This one is not for everyone, I am aware, but it is one that’s helped me a lot, so I wanted to share it with you.

I love my essential oil diffuser. It looks like a little plant that blows steam out of the top, and easily fills the room with the scent of whatever oil you’ve used. It’s amazing. I have even started using it while I do my yoga so I can relax more.

Most people use lavendar to help with relaxation and sleep, and lavendar is a really great scent to use. But for me personally I also mix peppermint oil with it.

I constantly have colds, and have a blocked nose. It can make it difficult for me to breathe when I lie down and my nose can make weird noises which keep me awake – not great for sleep. Using peppermint oil really helps open all that up and make me feel refreshed.

It’s the best essential oil for me to use for sleep, but there may be a better one for you, so feel free to experiment and find what works for you!

Drink enough during the day

It may sound like an odd one, but it’s definitely one that bares thinking about.

I try really hard to drink enough water during the day, but what usually happens is that I get to dinner time, or even bed time, and I’m trying to finish what’s in my water bottle. I also feel very dehydrated during the night and so have to drink more water while I’m in bed.

That in itself isn’t bad, but when you need to go to the toilet every couple of hours during the night it can get old fast. It takes me a long time to fall back asleep so a disturbance like that can feel fatal.

So, I am putting more effort into drinking water during the day, instead of drinking more at night and unneccesarily disrupting my sleep.

Avoid napping

Again, this is easier said than done when you have a chronic illness that causes tiredness and exhaustion, but it does help.

For some reason my body has no trouble falling asleep during the day, it’s just night time that I struggle to sleep. And this is made even harder when I’ve had a nap.

If I am really in desperate need of a nap I do allow myself to have one, there’s no point sitting and suffering when I can do something to help my symptoms. But I avoid it where I can in order to sleep better at night.

So there you have it. My top tips to help you sleep better. There are many more out there, but these are the ones that have helped me the most.

What things do you find help you to sleep? Feel free to share in the comments below, I’d love to hear them!