Rest

So to start off with rest is a major component of my day. Within my daily plan I alternate between rest and some sort of activity period or the odd time for a meal/snack, or 5 minutes of physio or my AM routine etc.

I was prompted to write this post because today I didn't rest enough and that has Big consequences. Not getting enough rest means that my symptoms get markedly worse. Also on the M.E side of things you needs energy to sleep and though a huge part of having M.E involves chronic fatigue you might be surprised to know that another aspect of the condition is sleep difficulties. This is because your body needs energy to sleep and when you don't have enough energy your body can struggle to sleep. Normally I settle down to bed at 9pm but it's now 11.56pm and today I don't rest enough so I can't sleep which will mean that I'll struggle tomorrow so all can try and do tomorrow is take it easy, do more low-level activities and of course get plenty of rest.

Rest is different for different people. For me it's structural. How we rest is is also different which is something that I came across when I did my day in my life Instagram story. When I first started to have rest periods I'd say listen to a podcast but I soon realised that for me that was still too stimulating for me. Equally I can't engage in pure neurological rest and just lay there for 30 minutes or an hour. For me what I find works for me is listening to meditations especially visualisation, breathing exercises or mindfulness. Sometimes I can do body scanning meditations but it depends as some when I'm doing them magnify my pain and other physical symptoms and I find them too uncomfortable. As well as meditations I also enjoy listening to soundscapes but not the repetitive kind - I like ones in which I can tell myself a narrative.

From when I did my Instagram story I know some people commented that resting in this way would make them nod off (there's a difference between napping and resting) and they preferred what I would class as more active rest or low-level activity. Activities such as colouring, reading, listening to a podcast the radio or an audiobook, flicking through a magazine, completing puzzles in a puzzle book, diamond painting, doing a jigsaw puzzle as a few examples.

However you rest if you're unwell wether it be temporarily or more chronic I suggest building time into your day to rest, preferably a time when you start to tire and your body is saying to you 'STOP I need time out!' - this may be before the time your body is screaming for a nap because it's so overtired. For some people this may just be once a day and for others having a rest may be several times a day, there's no such thing as too much rest.