How do you rest?

[Nightingale]

Hey guys!

We all know rest is important, but I was interested in how you guys rest. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions below.

-Do you rest with your eyes closed, or do you rest while watching tv?

-Do you rest while listening to music or a podcast?

-Do you rest lying down, or sitting in a recliner or comfy chair?

-How often in the day do you rest, and do you have to schedule it for yourself? How long do you rest at a time?

-Do you find it hard to rest, or switch off your brain?

Thanks!

 

[jesse's mom]

-Do you rest with your eyes closed, or do you rest while watching tv?

both

-Do you rest while listening to music or a podcast?

yes

-Do you rest lying down, or sitting in a recliner or comfy chair?

in my bed

-How often in the day do you rest, and do you have to schedule it for yourself? How long do you rest at a time?

I am mostly bedridden, but I can watch movies and read for a few minutes at a time

Do you find it hard to rest, or switch off your brain?

I do practice meditation in the mornings... my mind races when I am tired.

sorry for the short answers. long day

 

[AnnaDove]

I take a nap every afternoon about 1pm. I shut the blinds and curtains, turn off the phone, turn on soft music, and Sash, my cat comes and snuggles beside me. We are both fast asleep in 5min. Wish I could do that at night. I sleep from 1 to 2 hrs according to how I slept the night before.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I rest while watching tv and then sometimes I nod off. Resting for me can be just disconnecting and watching TV or it can be a nap. Something that keeps my attention off of pain or health issues. I try to take naps.

I find it very hard to switch off my brain and I am wide awake at night and dead in the AM. Adrenals.

Some days I need much more rest than others. Yesterday I spent the day in pajamas and took a major nap. Today I did get out. Every day is different.

Music usually winds me up unless it's classical.

I have to take a lot of medication to get to sleep at night.

 

[percyval577]

When I worked for two hours each in the morning and in the evenning I rested in between like so: Half an hour doing somethiing, half an hour resting in bed. (After a longer rest when having come home.)

For a long time I could rest while listening music. When I got worse I couldn´t do it anymore. Instead I watched tv every evenning. i used headphones for the music and tv.

When I suddenly got worse again I couldn´t sleep for three months (but could still go to work). Then I often looked with open eyes into the dark. But otherwise I more often close my eyes.

Before I got ill I was already a bit afflicted (say mentally to activity level nine). Here I could come to rest, if needed, when doing some yoga, or also some push ups and things like that. This was later not possible anymore.

"Before" my illness I was also familiar with not able to sleep and then these awful days.
All my life I was pacing, mostly in a four month time (so I can do many hobbies a bit but nothing good).

 

[Rebeccare]

Out of curiosity, what prompted your question?? I'm also curious about people's responses, mainly to see if I should consider my resting habits 'weird' or not!

-Do you rest with your eyes closed, or do you rest while watching tv?

-Do you rest while listening to music or a podcast?

Usually I rest with my eyes open, often watching TV or reading something on my computer. But sometimes my eyes get too tired so I just close them and listen to the TV or turn on some music

-Do you rest lying down, or sitting in a recliner or comfy chair?

I have to rest lying down--sitting up in a chair or even a recliner still sucks energy out of me. Usually I can rest in bed while propped up on pillows, but sometimes when I'm really exhausted I have to go full horizontal!

-How often in the day do you rest, and do you have to schedule it for yourself? How long do you rest at a time?

I spend most of my day propped up on pillows and working in bed, so I can take a moment to lean back and rest whenever I need to. Some days it's every 10 minutes or so, and other days I don't need dedicated rest time if I'm in bed. If there are days when I need to go in to work or be out of bed for some reason, I usually get right back in to bed the minute I get home and rest for a while. The amount of time I rest depends. Sometimes I just need 10 minutes or so, other times just about the entire day is devoted to resting. Usually my days go better when I can devote two or three hours to resting right after waking up, and then another hour or so after bathing.

-Do you find it hard to rest, or switch off your brain?

Usually that only happens if there are a lot of things I'm trying to remember and concerned about forgetting. That's where making lists has been helpful for me. But usually when I'm tired my brain feels like it's covered in cobwebs anyways, so that isn't often a problem.

 

[jesse's mom]

I am interested in everyone's answers as well.
I am at a point in life where all I am really responsible for is spending time with my daughter.
I just love hearing about her day, her friends, her music, her art.
I sleep late nowadays, I make sure to lay down and just pay attention to my breathing for about a half hour before she comes home from school.
On days I can't get out of bed, she sits in a chair and talks to me. I close my eyes and say, "Keep talking, I am listening. I love the sound of your voice." Then some days she talks and talks.. truly music to my ears!

 

[Seven7]

I rest on complete non stimulus so dark, all sounds off and laying down ( this is importNat becuase I also have POTs so this resitributes the pooled blood.
If I were to feel wired does not matter I tell to myself that I will feel like crap later on so eventually brains turns off ( mine nap is between 12 or 1pm

 

[percyval577]

I'm also curious about people's responses, mainly to see if I should consider my resting habits 'weird' or not!

I am also curious indeed.

 

[jesse's mom]

@RebeccaRe HA, I KNOW I'm weird! thank goodness or I would drown in self pity, humor is my the best defence!

 

[lafarfelue]

-Do you rest with your eyes closed, or do you rest while watching tv?

Daytime resting can be with my eyes closed or watching shows/an easy going film. It needs to be in the dark either way. Sometimes I will meditate for a set 20min. With POTS, it doesn't really matter what I'm doing, but for what I've determined to be ME/CFS fatigue, I try to do very little, including using any sense or my brain. (Unsure if that makes sense!)
At work, I will actually lie on the floor at my desk with my legs up for about 10min, or go lie on a couch for 15-20min. This can be 1-4 times in a day. I tend only to rest at work when I'm feeling particularly bad.

-Do you rest while listening to music or a podcast?

If I'm not watching something, I need something on in the background to help stop my mind from racing, unless specifically meditating.
At work, I will pop headphones in.. often I'll play music, but it's mostly to stop people from talking to me while I'm resting.

-Do you rest lying down, or sitting in a recliner or comfy chair?

Always lying down, either in bed or on the couch. If I can elevate my legs slightly, that helps with getting back to baseline with POTS blood pooling.
At work, on the floor or a couch, legs up every time.

-How often in the day do you rest, and do you have to schedule it for yourself? How long do you rest at a time?

It depends on how poorly I'm doing day by day. I can sort of tell if it's more POTsie or ME/CFS fatigue, and will try to rest accordingly.
At work, I'm trying to rest more regularly, irrespective of how good/bad I'm feeling. It all helps!

-Do you find it hard to rest, or switch off your brain?

Sometimes? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how active my brain is, but I find that taking GABA at nights helps me rest better the subsequent day (if I need rest).

 

[Chelby]

I rest whenever I feel I should. I spend most of my day, laying on the couch with my feet up and browsing my laptop...

To be resting I need to have my feet up, closing my eyes doesn't make much difference to me. I just roll into a fetal position every now and again and drift in and out of naps. I don't find it hard to switch off, because I rest whenever I start feeling drowsy.

On a normal day I like been in the lounge room, with my family/dogs. When I get tired, I will nap through whatever is going on

If I am feeling pretty tired I go to bed for a proper sleep, shut the blinds, and just wake up when I wake up.

 

[DoggerFisher]

I need to have a 20 minute lie down around 2pm mostly. And 11am as well. I lie down and put eye mask on. Doing anything like watching TV or reading for me is not a rest it's an activity that sometimes I'm too tired for. I use a marvellous free ap called insight timer. It's great! It rewards me for doing nothing. Activity is my addictive vice. Was going to start a thread see if anyone else used it... Maybe I'll do that. Have been finding the binaural beats SO useful they really switch my brain off. Sometimes it's a refreshing 20 other times reveals how tired I am. I sometimes use them as a decision maker as learned over the years that when most want to do something is probably the worst time!

 

[Malea]

Doing anything like watching TV or reading for me is not a rest it's an activity that sometimes I'm too tired for. I use a marvellous free ap called insight timer. It's great! It rewards me for doing nothing. Activity is my addictive vice.

This resonates so much with me and I thought about starting a thread about it some weeks ago.

I often feel like I‘m kind oft addicted to reading/ keeping the mind busy even though I would really need so much more rest.

(But with rest comes anxiety and agitation.. so I keep distracting myself more which... in the end leads to (surprise!) more anxiety and agitation. Havn‘t really found a way out of that cycle yet.)

That app looks good, thanks!

 

[DoggerFisher]

Havn‘t really found a way out of that cycle yet.)

That app looks good, thanks!

@Malea it's a life saver. my favourites are Guenther Georg 20 minute tunes. listen low volume on headphones and you don't have to do anything else. Have other favourites if you get into it we will start that other thread

 

[nettle_tea]

Lately I've been spending about half the day in bed. On better days, I can be up & about (including sitting on the sofa) around my house for most of the day, but I still need a few rest breaks in bed. Other days, I alternate between doing a chore & lying down. I often browse the internet or listen to audiobooks while I'm resting, but I also try to get some time with the blinds closed & no mental stimulation. I can't fall asleep during the day at all, so I don't try.

 

[Dechi]

I rest whenever I feel I should. I spend most of my day, laying on the couch with my feet up and browsing my laptop...

To be resting I need to have my feet up, closing my eyes doesn't make much difference to me. I just roll into a fetal position every now and again and drift in and out of naps. I don't find it hard to switch off, because I rest whenever I start feeling drowsy.

On a normal day I like been in the lounge room, with my family/dogs. When I get tired, I will nap through whatever is going on

If I am feeling pretty tired I go to bed for a proper sleep, shut the blinds, and just wake up when I wake up.

You’re my ME twin... That’s exactly how I do it too.

When I’m not too wired, I nap 1-3 hours on the sofa. Sometimes twice a day. I don’t nap in my bed, in fear that I won’t fall asleep at night if I lay in it during the day too.

In summer, every couple of hours, I get off the couch and go lie in my no gravity chair outside for 15-20 minutes. I look at the dogs play or just close my eyes.

 

[Moof]

I mainly 'rest' during the daytime by watching totally undemanding TV or listening to speech radio. I need enough stimulation to stop my brain going round and round, but not so much that I can't zone out completely if I need to. In the UK, Radio 4 is a lifesaver – the best days, though are ones like today, when there's eight hours of Test Match Special to look forward to.

(For those not familiar, it's a bunch of people allegedly commentating on the cricket, but actually wittering on very entertainingly about life, the universe and everything, for five entire days. Or if it's an Ashes series from Australia, five entire nights.)

I can't lie down to rest, though. The pain is always so much worse in a lying position, often to the point where tramadol isn't strong enough to have any effect. As long as I'm sitting up, I hardly have any pain at all – it only kicks in when I relax my muscles completely.