Rest is important. It’s a universally understood truth. Rest is even more important when you have Lyme.
The longest recorded time that a human has gone without sleep is 264 hours, or 11 days. That came with major issues, such as hallucinations and paranoia. However, let’s say that this extreme example of sleep deprivation is one end of the scale, and the other end of the scale is an adult who consistently gets 7-8 hours of sleep a night. What about the many people who sit somewhere in the middle – rest deprived and showing the signs?
The problem is, how many of us have actually been shown how to rest?
What Is Rest, Anyway?
It’s easy to think that rest consists of the time you spend sleeping at night, which poses some issues. If we begin to look at rest as something that we allow and prepare for throughout the day, then we stand a much better chance. This is because when our daily lives are not conducive to sleep at night we set ourselves up to fail.
Physical rest, although important, is only a small part of getting the rest we need. I like to think of a good night’s sleep as the result of laying the groundwork in my daily routines.
Types of Rest
Physical
- Sleep
- Inactivity (sitting, laying)
- Learning to say 'No'
Mental
- Emotional Regulation
- Enjoyable Activities
- Stress Management
The Importance of Mental Rest
If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you’ll know that here at TOWL we advocate a holistic approach to healing. That means that we don’t rely on a single tool to fight Lyme, but we use a variety of techniques to restore the body. The same applies to rest – if you don’t ensure that you have mental rest then you will struggle to get good physical rest.
The most important aspect of mental rest is the emotional component. When we are stressed or angry, cortisol (the stress hormone) begins to circulate. High levels of cortisol have multiple negative effects on the human body. These include blood sugar imbalance, immune system suppression & gastrointestinal problems. The purpose of cortisol is to funnel glucose (energy) to muscles and increase the heart rate, triggering the Fight or Flight response. From an evolutionary perspective, this is extremely useful when faced with a tiger, but not so useful when faced with consistent work or family stress. It’s vital to manage your stress levels.
A Quick Note on Mental Health
Having a chronic illness is hard. Depression, anxiety and irritability are all common. However, many of us also heap guilt upon ourselves for feeling that way. We beat ourselves up because we can’t do what we used to do, we feel guilty for needing help, we feel shame for being ‘lazy’. All this leads to a vicious cycle of stress, guilt & shame which has our hearts pumping, minds racing and bodies on high alert. Be kind to yourself. You’re dealing with a debilitating illness which can affect every bodily system. It’s completely understandable to feel down at times. And if depression or anxiety get too much, please seek help from your doctor or an organisation like Mind. There is no shame in having a helping hand, either through medication or talking therapy.
Psst… Speaking of helping hands, feel free to sign up to our newsletter. You’ll also get a handy copy of our Habit & Herx Trackers to aid in tracking.
Strategies for Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation is so integral to giving yourself the rest that you need. With intense emotions come some potent hormonal changes which fire the body up. Which is the complete opposite of what we need.
Effective strategies will vary from person to person. You’ll need to experiment a little to find what works for you but here’s a few ideas to get you started:
- Mindfulness App
- Gentle Yoga/Stretching
- Bath or other comforting activity
- Deep Breathing
- Journalling
Routines
Routines are incredibly important for someone with Lyme, for both mental and physical reasons. Your routines prepare your mind and body for a certain activity or state. Routines can become a self-care ritual, vital to your mental health on those days when all seems lost.
Morning Routines
Your morning routine could be as simple as washing your face, brushing your teeth, getting dressed and having a cup of tea or coffee. Keep it simple and something you know you can manage most days. Following a simple routine every morning will prepare your body & mind for the day. This is especially important on those days when you’re struggling and need to go straight back to bed as it provides you with a mental break between night-time and daytime.
It may be a struggle on some days, but in my experience following your routine on those days is even more important. There is also the added benefit of shoring up your mental health – it really is wonderful what a simple act of self-care can do.
Evening Routines
Much like your morning routine – be consistent with your evening routine. It has a huge impact on mentally preparing you for sleep.
This is also a great time to take a little bit of time to yourself, to show your body & mind some care.
Sleep Hygeine
I don’t know about you, but the instruction to avoid all screens for 2 hours before bed is really, really difficult to stick to. Our whole lives are usually in our phones. The problem is that the artificial light given off by phones & laptops has been shown to interfere with our brains natural ‘power down’ routine, which is tied to light levels.
The key is to find replacement activities for those last couple of hours of the day. Reading, crafting (if that’s your thing) or some calming TV is better (the light from a TV is not as disruptive as your phone/laptop). Since I started putting my phone on Do Not Disturb every night at 10pm I’ve found I fall asleep quicker and have deeper sleep.
Another aspect of Sleep Hygiene is ensuring that your bedroom is conducive to sleep. Your room should be cool and have good air circulation, and you should ensure that you get total darkness at night.
How to Rest with Lyme: My Top Tip
Finally, and most importantly, ensure that you go to bed & wake up at the same time every day. If you adopt anything from this article – let it be this! We rely heavily on hormones such as melatonin and cortisol to go to sleep & wake up. Having a consistent sleeping pattern is the single best thing you do to influence this. There are obviously exceptions to this. Life has a habit of happening and some nights I go to bed/wake up later. Someone with Lyme will likely feel the effects of a routine change more intensely than an otherwise healthy person, though.
What do you think? Do you have any daily routines that help you to establish a rest routine? I’d love to hear from you – let me know in the comments below!
