Sleep

Lots of people living with ME/CFS, Long COVID or Post Viral Fatigue experience issues with sleep  

Sleep is so important for our health and wellbeing, and when we are experiencing other symptoms of ME/CFS, Long COVID or Post Viral Fatigue it becomes even more important to try and get the right amount of good quality sleep. Generally, the amount of sleep needed is between 7-8 hours for adults, but everyone has different ‘sleep windows’. If you are sleeping well, and you wake in the night, you should be able to get back to sleep quickly. 

If you are struggling to sleep in the night time, instead of staying in bed tossing and turning, get up and do something relaxing, and come back to bed when you are feeling sleepy again. 

Sleep hygiene is the term for behaviours and routines in relation to sleep. Good sleep hygiene is about giving yourself the best chance to get good quality restorative sleep. The Primary Fatigue Service can advise on sleep hygiene and work with you to establish some routines and strategies that may help you improve your sleep. 

In ME/CFS, Long COVID or Post Viral Fatigue, fatigue is really common (see page on Fatigue). Even if you are fatigued, try to avoid sleeping in the day time where possible – day time sleep is known to decrease the quality of your night time sleep. If you do need to sleep in the day time, try setting an alarm or asking a family member to wake you after 30 minutes. If you are falling asleep regularly in the day time and can’t seem to avoid it, you may need to speak to your GP for further sleep studies. 

More information can be found at: https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/ and on the link below.  

In this video, we will discuss sleep. What sleep is, the benefits of healthy sleep and the effects of poor sleep. I will give you tips on how to improve your sleep and signpost you to where you can get more in-depth information.