engage in deep or upsetting
conversation three hours before
bed. Seriously, if this is
something that happens in your
house, make a new rule. You
want to begin creating a relaxing
environment, and engaging
in stressful situations will not
help you fall asleep. Understand
that once youre in bed,
youve done all you can do for
the day. Let it go. Tomorrow is
another daywith a brand new
start and a brand new set of
stressors.
Keep a notepad by your bedside.
I dont know if you are like me,
but the second my head hits the
pillow, my brain kicks into
high gear. I tally up all that I
hadnt done for the day and all
I must do for the coming day. I
think about things I did wrong
in middle school. I cycle
through all my future fears. In
other words, I annoy myself to
no end. So, I now keep a notepad
on my nightstand. Whenever
something pops into my
brain, I jot it down and consider
it taken care of for the night,
and the truth of the matter is,
by morning, I am on to a new
set of anxieties.
Kick the clock out of your
room.
I know when I am dealing with
insomnia, I lay there looking at
the clock and say, If I go to
bed right now, I will get six
hours of sleep. If I got to bed
right now, I will get four hours
of sleep. If I go to bed right
now, I will be able to take a
three-hour nap,and so on. So,
I decided to move the clock
into my master bathroom (I
mean, its weird, but it works!)
Skipnaps.
Okay, listen, as chronic pain
and chronic illness sufferers
avoiding naps may be difficult.
Pain in all its forms is tiring - I
know for me, there are some
days where naps are absolutely,
100% unavoidable. So, if you
are going to take a nap, follow
these rules:
Limit your nap to an hour
–most professionals say
25-30 minutes, so I am
being generous by suggesting
an hour.
Try not to make napping a
part of your daily routine –
instead, try cutting your
naptime down to 2-3 days
a week.
Remember, stopping bad habits is
best done by replacing them with
new healthy ones. Be patient with
yourself and, most importantly,
your illness. I will leave you with
one last secret of mine regarding
living life in a body that has failed
you: Chronic pain and chronic illness
are all about perspective and
adaptability.
Christina H Chororos founded
Kairos Chronic Pain Coaching in
the fall of 2017 after obtaining her
Integrative Wellness Life Coaching
certification from the Integrative
Wellness Academy. Christina graduated
with honors from Lynchburg
University with a Bachelor of Science
in Human Development and
Learning in 2002. Recently, Christina
was accepted into the University
of Connecticuts Pain Management
Graduate Program. Christina
is a decade-long deep infiltrating
endometriosis sufferer, speaker
and, suicide prevention + chronic
pain patient advocate. For more
information about Christinas credentials
or Kairos Chronic Pain
Coaching please visit, kairoschronicpain.
com
References:
Staffe, A. T., Bech, M. W., Clemmensen, S., Nielsen,
H. T., Larsen, D. B., & Petersen, K. K. (2019). Total
sleep deprivation increases pain sensitivity, impairs
conditioned pain modulation and facilitates temporal
summation of pain in healthy participants. PloS
one, 14(12), e0225849. doi:10.1371/
journal.pone.0225849
Whibley, D., AlKandari, N., Kristensen, K., Barnish,
M., Rzewuska, M., Druce, K. L., & Tang, N. (2019).
Sleep and Pain: A Systematic Review of Studies of
Mediation. The Clinical journal of pain, 35(6), –
558. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000000697
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine
and Research; Colten HR, Altevogt BM, editors.
Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet
Public Health Problem. Washington (DC): National
Academies Press (US); 2006. 3, Extent and Health
Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and Sleep
Disorders. Available from: https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961
/NBK19961