How Can One Sleep with Fibromyalgia?

Sleeping and fibromyalgia... It's rare to see both words uttered in a sentence without the word "trouble" in between. It's true it is very hard for someone with fibromyalgia to get any sleep at all. Well, in some rare occasion you might be able to doze off for the night but you would probably feel like a piece of dead meat in the morning.

What Causes Sleepless Nights in Fibromyalgia?

If you are a restless leg syndrome sufferer and a fibromyalgia patient, you are in a world of pain. While Restless leg syndrome may be commonly known as an ailment involving the legs but it can cause pain to the other limbs too. You can get some pain relief by doing some light exercise and movement of the limbs.

Beside being a fibromyalgia patient, I am experiencing restless legs syndrome too. Insomnia was one of my earliest annoyance. I went to the doctors and they gave me the advice of consuming Quinine water before bedtime and that is suppose to create pain relief and the RLS symptoms. I followed the doctor's advice to the letter but it didn't do a thing. So I went for some research and it turns out Quinine water is for relieving cramps. With that fact in check, Quinine water would definitely not work as restless leg syndrome doesn't involve cramps but aching, annoying tingling and skin crawling experience that arises upon relaxation. I like to unwind after a long day at work by watching a drama on my couch and after around half an hour my skin would start tingling and this feeling follows me all the way to bed. The only way to gain relief from this is to stand up and walk around my bed. Basically my sleep involves me laying down, getting to move around the room, get back to bed and repeart. You might think the constant pain from the symptoms of fibromyalgia would be the main reason keeping me up at night but you're wrong. It's the restless legs syndrome that is the worst.

Throughout the years I have tried several methods to get a solid 8 hours worth of sleep. I have become some sort of an expert of sleeping. I have discovered several ways that personally help me relax and sleep at night better than before. Remember to follow the tips below and practice them 2 hours before going to bed.

1. Don't drink coffee. Coffee contains caffeine that remains in your body for a long time and prevents you from sleeping.

2. Do not consume a lot of food before your sleep, especially ones that have a high sugar content.

3. You can get into the bath tub and have a nice, warm bath with bubbles and a lovely fragrance.

4. You can try a cup of herbal tea with chamomile to relax yourself.

5. If all these doesn't help, you can try a sleeping pill that contains Melatonin.

6. Remember to have a daily routine and stick to it. If you have a regular routine, your body gets used to certain activities at certain times and this helps you sleep at night with fibromyalgia too.

7. A bed and room that is slightly colder is ideal for sleep.

8. To ease the fibromyalgia pain, I put a memory foam pad between me and the mattress.

Although the methods above don't work 100% of the time, they are enough to make me feel more relaxed and able to sleep. If I have a good nights sleep I can certainly feel the energy and difference when I wake up the next morning.