What does your rest look like?

[Tamsyn]

Probably all of us with ME/CFS are familiar with notions such as pacing, getting plenty of rest etc. But I'm really curious as to what the word "rest" really means. When I got ME 20 years ago, as well as having many symptoms, I also lost the ability to sleep. After 5 years of awful insomnia, I was prescribed sleeping pills. They allow me to sleep at night reasonably well most of the time (though not always) ... but I have not had a nap for almost 20 years. No matter how fatigued I am, or if I do have a bad night or string of bad nights, I am totally unable to snooze by day. I vaguely remember how, in my healthy youth, a nice quick afternoon nap (40 winks!) restored me. How when I lay down for a quick nap, I'd get that lovely drowsy feeling and drift off. That's a feeling I never experience.

So, what does "rest" mean? Is it staring into space, fatigued but bored out of my mind? How do you rest? Do you read? Deep breathe? What exactly is "rest"??? I'd love to hear what people here mean by this word and what you actually and specifically do when you are "resting".

 

[Larry]

Rest means (or should mean) to allow or encourage the sympathetic nervous system to reduce its activity. This can be described as parasympathetic. It's like a seesaw, when one is active, the other is equally inactive. While sleeping is considered rest, it is only restful to the extent the parasympathetic system is engaged. It is possible (as you well know) to sleep only long enough to stay alive, but not to restore optimal function. Your body is on high alert...you are mostly in a sympathetic response. The longer this goes on, the more ingrained this becomes as feedback loop that your body will then blindly try to maintain as a homeostasis. So, what can you do. Learn practices that are designed to increase parasympathetic activety. Know that when things get difficult, which they will, that you are on the right path as long as you are working on parasympathetic NOT SYMPATHETIC. When you are able to switch off your sympathetic nervous system, healing from this illness is rapid. Best

 

[jaminhealth]

I don't deal with ME, but probably FM and loads of OA and I'm 81 and living with complications from hip replacement...bad bad stuff.

I rest a lot and stretch my body a lot while I rest. And deep breathing.

I've posted about HGH homeopathic gel here and would Love Love Love for a CFS/ME person to give it a good trial... HGH changes so much in our damaged and aging bodies.

 

[Abrin]

I listen to audiobooks while lying down in bed with a sleep mask on.

I don't find meditation or just being left with my own thoughts to be relaxing so audiobooks seems to be a good middle ground for me.

 

[jaminhealth]

I listen to audiobooks while lying down in bed with a sleep mask on.

I don't find meditation or just being left with my own thoughts to be relaxing so audiobooks seems to be a good middle ground for me.

Glad that works for you, clearing my mind of all outside noises does it for me and for pain issues.

And for those with the troubled sleep, I've got my sleep combo and the added HGH homeopathic just gives me deeper and longer restorative sleep...that's what everyone who uses it reports, best best sleep. i talk about it a lot here.

 

[Apo Sci]

Probably all of us with ME/CFS are familiar with notions such as pacing, getting plenty of rest etc. But I'm really curious as to what the word "rest" really means. When I got ME 20 years ago, as well as having many symptoms, I also lost the ability to sleep. After 5 years of awful insomnia, I was prescribed sleeping pills. They allow me to sleep at night reasonably well most of the time (though not always) ... but I have not had a nap for almost 20 years. No matter how fatigued I am, or if I do have a bad night or string of bad nights, I am totally unable to snooze by day. I vaguely remember how, in my healthy youth, a nice quick afternoon nap (40 winks!) restored me. How when I lay down for a quick nap, I'd get that lovely drowsy feeling and drift off. That's a feeling I never experience.

So, what does "rest" mean? Is it staring into space, fatigued but bored out of my mind? How do you rest? Do you read? Deep breathe? What exactly is "rest"??? I'd love to hear what people here mean by this word and what you actually and specifically do when you are "resting".

I had this at the early stage. What really improved my quality of sleep was curcumin and sleeping with an earthing band (click links for products). My sleep went from poor quality to normal.

 

[jaminhealth]

I clicked earthing band and got nothing. Want to do it again, and show the earthing band.

 

[Apo Sci]

I clicked earthing band and got nothing. Want to do it again, and show the earthing band.

I fixed it. Thanks.

 

[ponypanic]

I listen to audiobooks while lying down in bed with a sleep mask on.

I don't find meditation or just being left with my own thoughts to be relaxing so audiobooks seems to be a good middle ground

I need to start doing this, great tip, Thankyou

 

[JameDiagonal]

I made my room sound-proofed and that's how I go about sleeping peacefully every night

 

[Kerfuffle]

turn off all the lights in my room