Arthritis pain makes this disease severe enough for many people, especially at night during sleep. Worse yet, if you toss and turn at night, it can actually increase the pain. There is some relationship between arthritis pain and poor sleep. The worse people sleep, the greater the pain, according to experts. How to cope with osteoarthritis? If a patient with arthritis will improve the quality of sleep, pain can decrease.
Do not go to bed with pains in the joints
Coping with the pain of arthritis, it is important at any time, but especially important to do this before going to bed. If you go to bed with pain, you almost certainly will have problems with sleep. Try to organize your schedule of medication so that they provide the greatest relief around the time when you want to go to bed. Avoid in the evening vigorous activity that causes increased pain. Some people with arthritis, sleep better after taking a hot shower before going to bed or using an electric blanket to relieve pain in the joints
Joint pain - how to understand what is going on?
.
Do not take stimulants before bedtime
It's not news that coffee or other beverages with caffeine late in the day can interfere with sleep. But many people are not aware of other hidden sources of caffeine, including the stake, and in some types of painkillers. Always check the label to make sure that they do not have caffeine. Black tea also contains stimulants that can cause some people to lose sleep. Herbal teas in the evening are the best choice if you're having trouble sleeping. Alcohol may help some people fall asleep, but too much alcohol can disrupt sleep in the middle of the night, causing you to wake up and sleepless tossing and turning in bed.
To deal with daily stress
The inevitable stress of everyday life can also disrupt sleep. You can not eliminate all of them, of course, but you can push them away, at least during sleep. The strategy here is to avoid causing stress
How to beat stress? Create an oasis
activities or thoughts at bedtime. Do not watch the news, if they upset you or cause irritation. Do not pay bills. Do not make a list of things you have to do tomorrow. Instead, do something relaxing for an hour or two before bedtime. Listen to music. Read the book. Take your favorite hobby to calm down. If you are still irritated, try some relaxation techniques such as meditation or progressive muscle relaxation.
Do exercises to relieve arthritis symptoms and improve sleep
Stay active as possible throughout the day. Vigorous activity strengthens the muscles and joints - and this will help to tire myself sufficiently to fall asleep quickly and soundly. Activity has also been shown to relieve stress, which again promotes restful sleep. Of course, being active is not always easy for arthritis. However, activities such as swimming, water aerobics and moderate walking is feasible for many people suffering from arthritis. Common sense tells us to be the most active in the morning, because they themselves exercise invigorate. But some patients like to do something not too heavy, and in the evening - a walk around the neighborhood, for example - to tire yourself. The best advice is - find what works for you personally.
Create the right environment for good sleep
You should have a permanent place to sleep. Thus, you will associate its presence in your bedroom to sleep. Do not watch TV, read, work on a computer or doing other things stimulates the nervous system in the bed. Make the bedroom as much as possible disposing to sleep. Hang thick curtains or install blinds that you are not distracted by the light. Use earplugs if noise is a problem for you.
What is the best type of mattress? Despite advertising claims that some mattresses can help you sleep better, experts say, almost any kind of bed - soft or hard - that's fine, as long as you feel comfortable. If you suffer from knee pain
Living with pain in the knees: a walk to facilitate
, Try placing a pillow underneath or between your knees to avoid pressure on the joints. Pillow under your neck can help align the spine and to avoid pain in the neck during sleep. Experiment to find what is for you convenient.
Do not stay in bed
This may seem paradoxical, but to stay in bed for too long can be bad for sleep. For the treatment of insomnia, experts often limit the amount of time people spent in bed. This assures you that when you go to bed, you're likely to be tired enough to fall asleep. If you find that lying in bed for more than fifteen minutes without sleep, get up and do something that is not too stimulates you until you feel that you are sleepy enough to try to go to sleep again. The point here is that you do not associate the bed with a feeling of anxiety. Over time, this strategy will help you to associate the bed with a calm sleep.
Use sleeping pills moderately
Hypnotics are useful for people who have severe insomnia
. But if you suffer from chronic insomnia, which is often the case with many people suffering from arthritis, primary value of treatment should be the best sleep hygiene
. Medications treat only symptoms
. Behavioral medicine can actually cure insomnia
. In fact, some studies show that behavioral medicine may be more effective for many people,
. In a 2006 study, scientists from the University of Bergen in Norway compared cognitive behavioral therapy with medication sleep
. Volunteers taking part in behavioral therapy slept better at six months longer than the second group, taking pills
. Medicines for sleep often help people get through the worsening of insomnia
. But when people stop taking them, insomnia often comes back - because they have not developed good habits to sleep
.
A comprehensive approach to sleep hygiene
Top tips on how to develop good sleep habits
Dreams: how to understand our dreams
Sometimes called sleep hygiene. However, they can have very good effects for improving the quality of sleep. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2009, elderly volunteers with osteoarthritis who participated in the program of sleep hygiene, reported significantly better quality of sleep and reducing pain. Positive changes were evident even a year after completing the program.
