Speaking of working from home and the importance of routines in my last post, I thought it would make sense to follow it up with the importance of a night time routine when battling any chronic condition, but I’ll be keeping PCOS, endometriosis, adenomyosis, ehlers-danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, MCAS and chronic fatigue in mind while explaining more here… (that’s a bit of a list!)
Firstly, let’s answer an important question…
How Does A Night-Time Routine Help Me?
Various studies (listed in this article) speak about the impact on sleep quality when we have irregular sleep times, studies which tell us how poor sleep increases chances of cardiovascular disease, memory loss, high blood pressure, anxiety, diabetes, fatigue and more.
Whereas when you get good sleep, it’s supposed to improve productivity levels, prevent inflammation, depression and help strengthen the immune system – if you still need convincing then here’s a helpful article by Medical News Today
But when we already have a chronic illness and are already dealing with so much, then sleep becomes even more essential to help rejuvenate – even if it is a little bit, but it’s very important to help our body repair.
Like many chronic warriors, because of my pains I struggle to sleep.
But, I have found that by creating a build-up or a night time routine towards my sleep, I improve my chances of a better night’s sleep and that’s so important especially when you’re dealing with multiple chronic conditions that flareup whenever they wish to.
For many who may not know, I battle with endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, ehlers-danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and MCAS.
All of these challenge my existence everyday and everyday, I do my best to keep up with healthy habits, such as a proper diet, exercise, skin care, hair care and most importantly, rest.
Read Here For:
- My Experience: The Relation Between Endometriosis / EDS and Chronic Fatigue
- My Journey: Being Diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- 11 Ways to Treat Fibromyalgia if You Have Endometriosis
Night-Time Routine for Chronic Conditions
As mentioned above, I have quite a list of chronic issues so my night time routine keeps all those in mind.
Here’s my night-time routine that I have divided into two sections. 1. Skin & Hair Care. 2. Mind & Body Care.
So here’s my routine:
The following routine begins from 9pm-ish onwards after having changed into night clothes and having eaten dinner at 8pm…
Skin & Hair Care
1. Hair Care
Tie up hair for sleeping – having curly hair means, it gets tangled fast, so I need to clip it up better so that doesn’t happen.
If I’m hoping to wash my hair the next day, then I give myself a scalp massage with some oil (this can be coconut, almond or olive oil) to get the circulation going, to provide some nourishment and much needed moisture to my hair.
(pssttt… here’s my Instagram post where I speak about scalp massages and healthy hair and how there isn’t an Indian child I know that hasn’t gone through a bottle of oil being dumped on their hair by a parent and given a crazy head massage while growing up – but it works… 🙂 )
View this post on Instagram
2. Dental Care
I brush my teeth, floss and use a mouth wash. I also wear a mouth guard at night for migraine and jaw issues, so it’s important that I maintain high hygiene levels for my teeth and the mouth guard.
3. Face Wash
I wash my face. I usually use a home-made face wash or a natural one to make sure my sensitive skin isn’t reacting to chemicals.
(The home-made face wash is currently under experimental stages, so as soon as I feel it’s working decently, then I would be happy to share the recipe of it – it’s very simple so it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone to replicate).
4. Face Massage
I have combination skin that’s sensitive and easily acne prone (medicines add my issues too), so I prefer applying a very light natural or a home-made moisturiser which I massage gently into my face and neck to help improve blood circulation.
(Again, home-made face cream is in experiment stages, I’ll share the recipe when I’m all set)
I have issues with my jaw and get skin pain on my face too so on flareup days, I avoid the face massage, but on better days, this helps to keep the nerves and blood vessels nicely stimulated.
Read Here For:
Please note: All four things above don’t take longer than 15-20 minutes.
Mind & Body Care
5. Creating an Atmosphere
I get into bed and get the side lamp on – not being exposed to direct or bright sunlight helps the mind to prepare for a sleepy atmosphere.
Some days, I light a candle bedside for a soothing aroma. If you like to use an electric aroma diffuser then that’ll work well too.
If I do wish to be exposed to aromas at night, then I prefer it to be light. I trigger very easily with strong smells and on days when I am triggering easily, then I’ll avoid it completely.
6. Stretching
After this, I stretch my neck, shoulders, arms, lower abdomen, lower back, and legs all very gently.
The reason to stretch is – I’m going to be in bed for a long time in the same position for a few hours at a time and this makes me extra stiff when I wake up – it means I take longer to get the body moving, so to help reduce such stiffness, I prefer to stretch a bit at night.
(I love my side of the bed…)
View this post on Instagram
7. Reading
I’ve slowly gotten into the habit of reading 20-30 minutes, so I do that next.
There are days when my wrists are going through a flareup and holding a book is tough, so I don’t read, instead I go onto my next step.
8. Relaxing the Body & Mind
I lie down straight, on my back, arms by my side with palms facing upwards all cosy under my duvet.
I then work to relax each area / muscle of my body.
I start with my toes, soles of feet, ankles, calves, shins, knees, thighs, hamstrings, lower back, hips, lower abdomen… working my way up to my face and end at the top of my head.
I was taught this in a yoga class around 14 years ago and I remember wondering – “What am I supposed to do to relax each muscle? What does it feel like?”
As we practiced this form of relaxation, I discovered the answer to my question.
Here’s the answer:
1. What am I supposed to do to relax each muscle?
You need to breathe slowly, calmly and naturally while focussing on each area.
2. What does it feel like?
As you breathe slowly and focus on on each muscle, the muscle will loosen, feel a tad heavy and sink slowly into the floor (in my case, it’s my bed).
You’ll find that as you sink in further which each breath, your body and mind start to relax.
This can be tougher to do on severe flareup days, but even then, I still do my best to relax however much I can.
Considering I struggle with sleep because of pain, which then agitates my mind, practicing this form of relaxation has eliminated the angst I have with my body.
I now work together with the body – understanding it, helping it rather than letting my mind force it – the mind and body then does its best to work in harmony during my bad nights.
For those curious to know and wish to research more, this particular practice and asana (pose) in Yoga is called śavāsana – also known as the ‘corpse’ pose.
The whole point of of this pose is to surrender.
During my yoga classes, some would feel sleepy, some would sleep off, some would struggle to relax and others felt relaxed and fresh.
So you may feel all those things at various stages and all of it is normal, but just remember that it’s a practice that has a process – for some it can take time, but it’s worth keeping up with.
The reason I do this practice is that it helps me drift off and sleep.
My own struggle is that I wake up multiple times during the night because of stiffness, a subluxation of elbow while moving at night, or sudden attack of pain from my ehlers-danlos or endometriosis or even skin pain courtesy fibromyalgia – so I may not have found the perfect solution.
But the days when I don’t follow a routine, or at least not relax my body, my struggles are far greater and I prefer to avoid medicines that induce sleep so the option of some self-care before sleeping is far better than me going down a route that makes me feel more fatigued the next morning.
In this night routine that begins from tying my hair and ends in the savasana, I have done the following positive things which help my mental state too:
- I have given my teeth, skin, and hair love, care and attention.
- I have stretched and helped improve my chances of a better morning.
- I have read a few pages of a book – it keeps me away from browsing on my phone and losing track of time.
- I have meditated by relaxing my body and mind helping me focus solely on myself – giving it undivided attention with reduced thoughts – some days, there are no thoughts, but that comes with practice.
This is my ideal night – and I understand there will be nights when I may get nothing on this night routine list done, there will be nights where only a few methods will be achieved.
But that’s okay. I believe I also need to listen and respect what my body needs. I don’t want to push it and cause more pain.
For example, if stretching is going to hurt me further, then I will skip it. If reading is going to annoy me, I skip it. If my fingers and wrists are swollen and I cannot massage my face then I don’t – instead on bad flareup nights, I get my hot water bag out and keep it on areas of pain.
This is my routine and I adjust it only if I need to, for example, if I step out that evening then I may sleep later, and that’s okay – I’m not going to deprive myself of some time out with friends or family because it’ll mess up one night.
But yes, I know my body will not allow me to have regular nights out – the flareups are too horrendous for me to take such a chance.
We all have to figure out what works for us, but I do believe a night time routine is essential in preparing us for a better nights sleep and hopefully a better morning.
What do you think?
Do you have a routine that works for you? Please do share in the comments below so that we can all learn something from it and possibly incorporate in our own routines.
Thank you for reading 🙂
O’ I’m also active on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and my Pinterest – in case you wish to follow 🙂
View this post on Instagram
~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.
I’m very impressed with your commitment to establishing and maintaining such an extensive nighttime routine! I’ve been letting mine slip a little, probably due to pandemic stress. Trying to reincorporate meditation and body scans back into my routine. Thanks for helping to motivate me 🙂
Thank you Jason. I slip up too and when I do that a few days in a row, I have to pull myself back, and remind myself how beneficial it is for me. The important thing is to incorporate these healthy routines slowly and enjoy them, be present and somehow it becomes easier. Thank you for reading and sharing 🙂
That’s a very good night time routine Shruti. I have been doing this in bits and pieces. Relaxing the mind and body is very important especially in times like these.
Thank you Ashfina. You’re so right – very easy for these lockdown times to feel like one long day and can be quite overwhelming. I’d love to know what routines you’ve been trying to follow 🙂