Sleep: Does lack of sleep affect fibromyalgia pain?

All of the experts say that not getting enough quality sleep can have many negative effects on your health. If you are a fibromyalgia sufferer, this negative effect can come about as a major increase in pain. This is why it is so important with people who have fibromyalgia pain to get a quality sleep of 7-9 hours. So, knowing that lack of quality sleep is a major problem for people with fibro., how do you get the needed, quality sleep so that your pain doesn't flair?

Keep the bedroom a sleep area:

Your bedroom should be for sleeping only...O.K...and sex of course. But too many people have their television in their bedroom, their computer or cell phone at bedside or are reading a great book until the wee hours of the morning...not allowing them to get that much needed quality sleep.

Leave your computer, cell phones, book etc. out of the bedroom. If you suffer from insomnia, you should be leaving anything that takes your mind or body away from sleep at the bedroom door.

Keep it cool for comfort:

Let's face it...when your bedroom is hot it can interfere with a good, quality sleep. If your bedroom is too hot, try a fan or a one room air conditioner to cool it down to a comfortable level.


Wear comfortable sleepwear:

Forget about impressing your significant other with fancy, uncomfortable nighties. Wear loose, comfortable sleepwear, a large T-shirt or nothing at all. If you do feel the need to start out with a slinky nighty, after it's "use" is done, take it off and get comfy.

Uncomfortable sleepwear will cause wrinkling, pulling, itching and bunching, all of which will keep waking you up during the night to fix.  While over-sized T-shirts and comfortable, soft, cotton jammies will allow you to sleep in comfort all night long.

Lights Out!:

Keep your bedroom dark while you sleep. Even a nightlight can cause some people to stay awake or even "half-way" awake. If possible, try to keep all lights off when you go to bed to sleep. You will be making a good environment for sleep.

Sleep is important for everyone, but those of us who have chronic pain, sleep can mean the difference between mild pain and severe pain. Use the above suggestions to make your bedroom conductive to a good nights sleep. It's hard to get a good nights sleep when your Television, computer and cell phone are on and your reading the next best novel of all-time.