Studies show that the symptoms of neuropathy are almost always worse at night. But there are ways to hack your routine to still get a good night’s sleep despite the constant tingling and intense nerve pain.
Ever wonder how some people can fall asleep within five minutes of retiring to bed?
Meanwhile, you have to deal with restless nights. Tossing and turning in bed as the pain and tingling on your lower extremities keep you up until an ungodly hour.
You are not alone.
How Neuropathy Symptoms Affect Sleep
The intensity with which we feel nerve pain is deeply rooted in how the body perceives it.
What do I mean?
It’s not that the pain or flare-ups are not present during the day. But when the sun is up, your brain is filled with a ton of other things other than nerve pain—work, meetings, errands, phone calls, and even social media.
In effect, you don’t perceive the pain and discomfort caused by neuropathy.
This is a stark contrast at night when there is hardly anything to distract you from those unwelcome sensations. It’s the reason why many people suffering from the symptoms of neuropathy find it near impossible to sleep well at night.
However, all hope is not lost.
Discover the seven tips to help you sleep better even if you have neuropathy.
The Seven Tips
Living with chronic pain is bad enough without the body getting the rest it craves.
So, here are seven tips on how to overcome the cycle of restlessness and get a good night’s sleep even with neuropathy.
Tip #1. Change Your Sleeping Position
When you sleep in a position where your spine is extended, you can possibly decompress the nerves that perceive sensations in your lower extremities. This will potentially give your legs and feet relief from the usual night pains brought about by nerve flare-ups.
So, try sleeping positions where your back is extended, like sleeping in a recliner or sleeping on your tummy with a pillow underneath the legs.
For this tip to work, you might have to try out a couple of different sleeping positions to find out which position best lessens your pain or discomfort at night.
Tip #2. Drink Sleep-Inducing Tea
Lavender and chamomile tea, among others, help facilitate better sleep due to their calming effects. In fact, they have been used around the world as natural sleep enhancers for centuries now.
Chamomile tea, in particular, is also being used as an organic remedy to inflammation. So, it should help ease your symptoms if you feel some extra flaring before you go to sleep.
However, keep in mind that temperature fluctuations may also have a factor in your body’s perception of pain. So, if you drink hot tea before sleeping in a relatively cold room, it might just heighten your discomfort. I recommend drinking your tea at room temperature instead.
Tip #3. Maintain a Regular Sleep Schedule
Our bodies learn to pick up routines as long as we stick with them for sustained periods of time. That’s why maintaining a regular sleep schedule is a good way to train your body to disregard other factors (like tingling and restlessness) and fall asleep at a certain time each night.
That means after work and dinner, make sure you give your body some time to decompress before actually crawling into bed.
Remember that by the time you start trying to fall asleep, your body and mind should already be in a state of relaxation. If your mind is still abuzz and if your body is still on ‘work mode,’ you won’t fall asleep easily.
Tip #4. Develop a Bedtime Routine
In relation to Tip #3, you must also create patterns around your bedtime to help with your sleep cycle. Nothing too active, though—remember that the goal is to calm or soothe your nerves before it’s time to sleep.
You can try reading a book, listening to calming music, or taking a relaxing bath before bed.
Whatever bedtime routine you come up with, try to do it every single night so your body can acclimate itself to the routine. Soon, you’ll already start getting sleepy the moment you pick up your book, play some music, or draw a bath.
Tip #5. Avoid Smoking
Nicotine is a stimulant that disrupts sleep. So, avoid smoking close to bedtime—if at all.
However, I personally recommend total abstinence from smoking.
Remember that those sinful sticks can also affect your blood circulation, increasing your body’s vulnerability to chronic pain. As smoking also negatively affects your blood sugar levels, it can likewise aggravate your pain, making it much harder to get a good night’s rest.
Tip #6. Avoid Caffeine After Lunch
Just like nicotine, caffeine also keeps you up, and its effect can last very long. So, the cup of coffee you drink in the afternoon might not actually be as harmless as you think when it comes to your sleep schedule.
It’s best if you could avoid caffeine 12 hours before your usual bedtime, but if it can’t be helped, drink your last cup at least 6 hours before you sleep.
Tip #7. Explore the Idea of Taking Supplements for Symptoms of Neuropathy
Finally, you can use supplements that help ease your pain and discomfort at night so you can feel and sleep better. But make sure not to take sleeping pills unless your doctor prescribes them.
What you can do instead is to stick with supplements that actually help with neuropathy, as these are more long-term solutions to your cycle of pain and sleeplessness at night.
Get Better Sleep at Night
Neuropathy is not an easy thing to live with. If not managed, it can take away the things you’ve always loved doing—extreme sports, all-you-can-eat buffets, and yes, even a restful night of sleep.
With the help of Nervitalize, you can keep nerve pain at bay and catch enough Z’s at night. To learn more about this all-natural supplement, check out Nervitalize on our site today.
Resources:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-is-neuropathy-worse-at-night/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/neurology/neuropathy/are-neuropathy-symptoms-affecting-your-sleep/