10 Sleep Tips for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[@elspethkerr5931]

I often say sleep is coming to me and it does when you repeat it often Also do breathing and say thank you after each breath Gratitude changes a pattern and promotes calmness t u

[@mycreativeheart4159]

Oooh... I like that.... "sleep is comming to me."❤ I often say... "I surrender to deep sleep." (Which doesn’t necessarily happen.) I do the Ho'oponopono prayer before sleep.

[@CFSHealth]

Thanks for sharing!

[@shaunnarochelle]

something I do is I avoid laying on the couch and instead lay on a small futon mattress on the ground for my day time rest. it keeps my body becoming a crippled mess. I also try to avoid laying on my side until I'm actually ready to sleep, chest pain from extensive contraction from side laying use to keep me awake at night. its also far more conducive woth meditation rather than feeling like a sorry sack in fetal position. when I lay on my back I keep a folded jumper under my knees to them a bit off slack, really helps with knee pain. my posture is now better than before I got sick and I have zero muscle and joint pain at night. my sleep has greatly improved.

[@Aubree360]

ThAnk you

[@sarahbrown4456]

omg ive had 6 years of lack of sleep thank you soooo much xxxxx Docs know nothing you are awesome

[@paulinedevaney3028]

I learned that I should not have any caffeine after 2 pm. I have been doing mostly everything else. Thankyou also I suffer with fibromyalgia

[@homemakersheart3614]

This was so great Toby. I have never put all these together for quality sleep. I will vouch for the "not eating dinner late". When my husband gets home late and we eat about 7 and go to bed about 9 or 9:30, I will ALWAYS wake every 2 hours. And often hot through the night. Also, your day dictates your nights sleep. I learned that and have been telling that to people for years. Even people with non CFS. Thank you so much. I am working on eating earlier (even if my husband is not home yet), also monitoring my day. I am recovering to the point of being able to go out and about a couple times a week, but I get into doing too much in town, or too many times going to town. Again, this comes back to managing your day in a more balanced manor. Not all, but not stopping all. Balance.

[@Alice-vh4sk]

Thank you this is very interesting! I’m at the beginning of my recovery and I spent some time bedridden. I’m a bit better now but I still need to go in my bed when I feel a bit poorly (so not to sleep). I also have a very low baseline and after dinner I go to bed almost directly… most days I feel « good tired » but I can’t fall asleep. I tried doing yoga nidra, putting some calm music or audiobook, but it doesn’t work. And if I get up or do an activity sometimes it’s just too much for the day and I trigger symptoms. This is quite a challenge for me…

[@katarinamiklec7899]

5 years ago after one viral infection I got running down by CFS/ME, My autonomic nervous system was completely shut down and I had 3 viruses in my body Epstein Barr one of them, my sleep still hasn't recovered and I do all this practices and I were doing it before I got sick.it was my way of life. No matter what I do I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain is wide awake

[@dougmoody4092]

Thanks Toby i find that having a sleep just after a light lunch during the working week for about 45 min on average,seems beneficial in the sence that the sleep is a better quality compared to night time sleep .

[@CFSHealth]

Thanks for sharing

[@caseyslove]

Thanks for the insights for improving sleep. It was useful to me to get your entire list as they are so integrated . I have a number of things I need to change. My biggest challenge is getting into a routine.

[@CFSHealth]

Yes! This is a huge piece many are missing! This is what we help our clients with! It’s structured over set modules as it’s not just one thing! It starts with creating your specific baseline for you, then based off that we help you create your perfect imperfect daily routine (one of our most popular trainings). From there as your capacity grows so does your routine/structure accordingly! Hope this helps as an insight! If you’d like help implementing this and getting accountability along with it reach out to the team at [e-mail] and we can get you started when you’re ready!

[@marydugan4120]

Great tips Toby my problem is pain increasing at night .I find having a cold shower before bed helps with restless legs.but at times pain and discomfort means I cannot even lie down have to walk aboutI have fibromyalgia of course.So I'm battling all of this right now Any tips ????

[@Building_a_dream]

Thank you so much Toby (& team)! There's still room for improvement and the tips in here are so much more specific for cfs/me than I thought!

[@CFSHealth]

Our pleasure!

[@jezasfour897]

Great content as always

[@alexandrecouture2462]

Very useful, thank you! Monday is the day, with a CFS Health video and a Raelan Agle video!

[@CFSHealth]

You’re welcome 😊

[@juliaa3vb732]

Great tips, good to have them in a row. I'm already (trying to) incorporating a lot of them. I think the earplug and eyemask would be counterproductive for me, because I live alone and wouldn't feel safe if I'm not able to hear or see if something's wrong. But I'll keep on working on the rest of them.

[@mycreativeheart4159]

I live alone and use both eye mask and ear plugs. With FM... my face has multiple trigger points so eye masks were tricky. I finally tried the goggles you use when using suntan beds. The elastic is really loose so it doesn't feel closterphobic. I blocked out the eye screens with duct tape. As far as ear plugs... you can buy different densities. I was worried about hearing the fire alarm in the middle of the night.... to have enough time to grab my cat. But during a monthly fire alarm test... I was able to test out my ear plugs. I could be woken from sleep and hear just fine. Just some things to consider. Sending you hugs.❤

[@CFSHealth]

See how you go 😊

[@juliaa3vb732]

@@mycreativeheart4159 thank you for the tips and the hugs! Hugs back 🤗

[@ezza1236]

Every time I have a day where I challenge my self, I do well with pacing but then I panic about not having a good sleep after doing an event,

[@sebastianjohns4668]

All true great advice thank you. Dr SJ

[@CFSHealth]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anna-marieeasmus7529]

Hi, I sleep on average 5-5,5 hours a night. I do however find that when I do sleep 6hours or more. I crash majorly with pem for 3 days and then another 3 days of slowly improving back to baseline. I do not know how to handle it.

[@merrittwilson5801]

Any suggestions for a nursing mom with a 6 month old. Going through a horrible insomnia bout on top of having a baby

[@vivienlee610]

You say don't sleep after 3pm but I tend to go downhill around 3.00, even though I try and just rest in between doing things I just can't function during 4pm -6pm and will fall asleep if I'm doing a relaxation tape for example and if I push myself through those hours I suffer for it ... that's my biggest challenge in all these points which are excellent, by the way. Thank you so much for those gems .

[@deanablythe9394]

I can relate because if I am tired and don't rest I cannot sleep at night, but there is room to improve what I am doing overall, important to do what works for you.

[@mycreativeheart4159]

What are your regular sleep hours at night? Do you have a morning sleep or do you try to go without and find yourself sleeping at 3pm? Try keeping your night time hours the same... say from 8pm-7am (only a suggestion)... but keep the sleep and wake times the same. Then in the morning... say starting around 10 or 11am.... do your meditation/relaxation tape... and allow yourself to fall asleep if you need it. No guilty feelings. Set an alarm for 2 hours or so. See if that sleep before lunch... and a good protein filled lunch allows you to stay up between 3-6 pm. Don't forget to allow yourself adjustment time.... as in, don't give up just before it works! Also keep to your night time routine.... devices off by 6pm, unwinding activities like a bath and/or reading, a few stretches. Sending you love and hugs❤.

[@CFSHealth]

We’re not saying don’t rest. But we find that avoiding deep sleep cycles later in the day helps night time sleep quality! Always do what’s appropriate for you and your needs.

[@vivienlee610]

@@mycreativeheart4159 Thank you, I probably have the impression that I sleep every afternoon which I don't...I do rest but maybe about once or twice a week that will happen but I'll take on board the advice.

[@vivienlee610]

@@CFSHealth I understand and I'm going to be working on it...I don't sleep every afternoon, but I'm taking on board the information and yesterday afternoon I rested, did a bit then rested but didn't allow myself to fall asleep properly. I can totally see the benefits in all of this and I know it's going to be difficult but I really want to get better and have a better routine. My husband is a real night owl which has thrown my normal clock out but I can't really blame him as we've been married 32 years!! Thanks for the input.

[@MrTheBopper]

Toby, thanks for the wonderful talk asleep. I am trying to do a lot of those things. I’m sure I could use some more help with it what I run into problems with is either pain from arthritis or my hips and back or the restless leg which I wish I understood more. I take medication for it sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t when it doesn’t me and Elvis Presley have a lot in common because it affects my legs by arms. It seems to be worse if I use my legs and arms too much that’s the only thing I’ve noticed, there is consistent. Any suggestions? I’m all ears thanks.

[@CFSHealth]

Hi there! We don’t give out personalised guidance on social platforms. We can only prescribe suggestions and coaching inside our coaching program. Best regards. Toby

[@chelseadunstan7722]

Hi Toby. I was wondering if you know of anyone with CFS having trouble with seeing static, floaters and squiggles. I developed this at oneset and I am scared I lost part of my vision for life. (21 Female)

[@ianpotter5840]

Really helpful, thank you so much ❤

[@CFSHealth]

You’re welcome!

[@juliewillis2988]

Thanks toby, really useful ❤

[@CFSHealth]

Our pleasure Julie!

[@lindakaye100]

The constant insomnia gives me severe aching arms and legs that don’t go with paracetamol. I know it’s lack of sleep because if I ever do get a respectable number of hours it’s not there. And it’s been this way for years. I get to sleep ok but wake up and can’t get back. This gives rise to my CFS. Do you have any help on this please? I try meditations, hot water bottles etc in night.

[@mycreativeheart4159]

For your muscle pain.... have you tried Magnesium spray? Spray on and massage in. For waking and not being able to get back to sleep.... try alternate nostril breath (start with inhale on left side and finish exercise on same side.) Try a Yoga Nidra (body scan) meditation. Take stress off yourself by realizing that laying there resting.... your body is still healing even though you are not sleeping. To get back to sleep, I use these 2 exercises... 1)inhale, in your mind, dip a paintbrush brush in white paint, exhale and paint a 10 on a black background, inhale the number 10 disappears and dip the paint brush again, exhale and paint the number 9, continue down to 0. 2) ride an elevator from the 10th floor down to the 💤 floor... at each floor you pick up something you need to sleep.... your pj's, a pillow, eye mask, ear plugs, stuffed teddy bear, etc. On floor 1... I always pick up my cat. Floor 💤 opens to my bedroom.... I crawl into bed and go to sleep. Sending you love and hugs❤.

[@beckyculp1471]

Thank you! 😊

[@CFSHealth]

You're welcome Becky!

[@bibisuperstark2294]

Can someone summarize this for me can not look at it

[@editsbydaan6048]

Would it be okay to listen to podcasts with my eyes closed before going to sleep?

[@mycreativeheart4159]

Many people do... as long as it's not to stimulating... like crime podcasts. (Lol... I'm addicted to true crime podcasts). You might consider trying or switching to sleep Yoga Nidra meditations, or specific sleep frequency (hz) meditations. I cannot listen to anything while I sleep.... it engages my brain too much. I will only "surface sleep".... not go into deep sleep. Sending love and hugs❤.

[@kathleendillon1572]

I sweat profusely in my sleep and when I wake up to pee, I am saturated in sweat-it’s disgusting!!

[@inger870]

It was very exhausting to watch you talking with your hands, and freeky too… One should think that a coach like yourself would know that distractions like that may be exhausting for us with ME/CFS. A more calming setting in the future please. Thank you!

[@deanablythe9394]

Yes, I agree with the hands, but I just look away from the screen, as I believe Toby does this because he feels so passionate about helping others on this pathway.

[@videoswelike7764]

Since I do this, I feel he is more relatable when he talks with his hands.

[@mycreativeheart4159]

Just listen to the audio. If Toby puts something of significance on the screen he usually says.

[@inger870]

What if I’m deaf?@@mycreativeheart4159

[@inger870]

Understandable@@videoswelike7764

[@SybilJoy-eu4jz]

Video way too long for M.E/C.F.S person to watch Tips ok for certain recovery stages ONLY

[@thomase13]

Right? This must be for mild CFSers only “Bed only for sleep” Not sure how bedridden people are going to do that!

[@SybilJoy-eu4jz]

Yeah @@thomase13 , just sleep all the time? I remember at a talk near the beginning of this journey, hearing "Never do anything on a good day that you can't do on a bad day" the person sat next to me and I looked at each other and said "We're never getting out of bed again!" Theory is one . . .and then there's real life

[@gat3010]

BLAH BLAH BLAH

[@Lynnedark]

Thank you much 😊

[@CFSHealth]

You're welcome 😊