What To Do When You Can’t Sleep At Night

Sleep is a constant battle for those of us with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, POTS, and other similar illnesses. We know that we need sleep in order to rest and heal, but we also wonder why it seems so elusive. Sometimes we lay awake for hours unable to drift off. Other times we wake multiple times in the night. Often our sleep is unrefreshing and we might wake in the morning feeling worse than we did the night before. I understand this battle with sleep because for years this was me.

In this blog post, I’m going to share 5 gentle tips that might help you sleep better at night. As with all my posts, not all the tips might apply to you and your situation. That’s okay. This is not a formula. Just take and apply what you think might help and leave the rest.

1. Sync your Circadian Rhythm

This is your body’s natural sleep clock that tells you when to wake up and when to sleep. We want to sync it with the rhythms of the sun rising and setting so our body knows to sleep or stay awake at the right times.

A few ways you can sync your circadian rhythm with the sun are:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
• Go to bed and arise with the sun (not in daylight savings obviously)
• Get sunlight on your skin first thing after waking (if you can)
• Go outside during the day and get your bare feet on the grass (but only if you’re able – please don’t push yourself if any of these things are outside of your energy envelope!).

2. Don’t try to force sleep

Have you noticed that the more you try to pressure yourself to sleep, and the more you lay awake stressing about not sleeping, the more you remain awake? The stress and anxiety in itself can keep sleep away.

Here’s what I suggest. If you can’t sleep, get up, go into another room, and do something quiet. Sorry, no screens because the blue light from the screens will make your brain think its morning time. It’s important to do a task that is restful so no work or study. Maybe you could read a book or do a craft like crochet? Whatever it is, do it until you’re sleepy, and then go back to bed and see whether you fall asleep quicker. 🙂

3. Have a healthy, relaxing wind-down routine

Going to bed while you are hyped or stressed can backfire because the hype and stress can keep you awake. Having a healthy and relaxing routine to wind-down at the end of the day can help prepare our bodies for sleep. We’ll be able to fall asleep quicker if we’re relaxed.

Here’s a few tips that work for me:

• Dim the lights (this tells your body it’s night and time to prepare for sleep)
• Have a warm shower or bath
• No screens in the evening (blue light keeps you awake!!)
• Have a cup of tea or hot chocolate
• Do a quiet activity like reading or craft
• Do deep breathing and relaxation exercises (e.g. guided meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.).

4. Don’t push yourself during the day

Getting stuck in the push-crash (known also as boom-bust) cycle is a core feature of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We’ve all been there. We have a small window of feeling better. We push to do all the things. We overdo it and crash. We are horribly ill for days or weeks. As tempting as it is, the reality is that pushing ourselves and overdoing it will worsen how we feel and make it more difficult to sleep at night. For example, our pain levels may increase. Then maybe anxiety kicks in. Pain and anxiety both keep us laying awake at night. It’s important to do our best to pace ourselves during the day and stick to our baseline. Posts are coming soon on how to do this.

Here are some tips:

• Don’t do more than your body can handle (stay within your energy envelope)
• Stop while you’re ahead
• Intersperse activity with rest breaks
• Lay down where you can
• Ask for help!! (please, please don’t be afraid to ask for help! There is zero shame in it. Everyone needs help sometimes. Better that than a crash, hey.)

5. Create a safe and calming sleep environment

Our environment really does affect us, and more than we realise sometimes. Having a safe and calming room to fall asleep in can make a real difference. What do you need in order to sleep better? Do you need the room totally dark? Do you need an eye mask and ear plugs? Do you need some white noise in the background? Whatever it is that you find calming and relaxing, do it.

For example, my brain likes to race at night so I find listening to an audiobook or podcast as I’m falling asleep helpful because it directs my attention somewhere outside my thoughts. I find that helps prevent my thoughts from keeping me awake. There’s a catch though. It has to be a quiet, gentle one, not one that is hyped up! Don’t ask me how I worked out that one! 😉

I hope there is something in this post that you find helpful. Rather than trying to change your sleep habits overnight, try picking one or two and changing those. I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed because you have enough to deal with already. Start small. But believe me, the smallest shifts can make the greatest difference.

I’m curious, what helps you sleep better? Let me know in the comments. 🙂

With love, ❤

Cait