Living with fibromyalgia can be very difficult sometimes. It is a disease that is not easily seen from the outside and people may not always understand what challenges are placed on the path of someone who suffers from this condition.

Although most people think that fibromyalgia is a form of arthritis this is not the case. Fibromyalgia is actually a condition that causes widespread muscle pain and chronic fatigue.

Unlike arthritis that is the disease of the joints and causes inflammation and damage to the joints.

Educating ourselves on this disease is important if we want to understand the people who live with it and if we want to find a way to help them.

Most studies show that living with fibromyalgia can lead to other kinds of illnesses as well, and this can be prevented.

Because fibromyalgia causes the constant feeling of fatigue and weakness in the body and for a person this usually leads to social isolation which in turn leads to depression.

We cannot forget that we are social beings and that isolation from our friends, family and society often leads the way to depression.

The type of fatigue that fibromyalgia causes is not the same kind that people feel when they are simply tired and sleepy.

This kind of fatigue is the one that can best be described as the fatigue of the flu, where a person feels as if life is being drained from them and constantly feels exhausted with no way of getting better just by sleeping it off. So functioning normally with these kinds of symptoms can be a very difficult task for any person.

Just try to imagine a week in your life where you were supposed to do all the things that you usually do but with the constant feeling of exhaustion and fatigue hanging over you.

Some of this is caused by the fact that people who suffer from fibromyalgia have disturbances during their the period of deep-sleep and simply cannot get enough rest.

The deep-sleep period of rest is the most important one for restoring the body. During the stages of non-REM sleep the body restores tissue and builds bone and muscle and improves the immune system.

So if this cycle is not working as it should the body does not have a chance to repair and improve the muscle tissue as it should.

People who suffer from fibromyalgia often describe their sleep as very light and not reenergizing enough.

This results with chronic aches all over the body, like shoulder aches and neck pain or achiness in the hips and the knees.

Daytime tasks become increasingly difficult to perform no matter how much sleep you have if the deep sleep phase in not right.

It is clear that our bodies need deep rest if we want to stay healthy and functional. So let us look at some of the things that a person suffering from fibromyalgia can do to fight fatigue and get better.

Practice good sleeping habits to help your body fall into the deep-sleep non REM phase easier. Go to bed at the same time every night, preferably before 11pm and wake up at the same time every day.

It will be helpful to create patterns like these and allow your biorhythm to become stable and healthy. You should also avoid daytime napping because it will interrupt the sleep cycle you have established for yourself.

Make some changes in your lifestyle – don’t drink too much coffee, as caffeine is not that good for you in large quantities, maybe have one cup a day.

If you are smoking you should stop as soon as you can manage. And cut back on the alcohol, so no more beer, wine and champagne.

Good nutrition can be one of the best things you can do to help yourself battle fatigue. Start reading and educating yourself on all the ways you can incorporate healthy natural food into your diet every day. You can also ask for help from a nutritionist.

Prepare healthy balanced meals for yourself and soon you will see the difference. Cut back on all sweeteners as much as you can (like white sugar, maple syrup, fructose, corn syrup and so on).

This can help your sleep cycle a lot, and you will have more energie. Try to eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and to prepare something healthy and balanced every day.

Treat your body as a temple and give it only the best and healthiest things that you can find. Drink more water than you used to, at least 3 liters a day. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated.

Daily meditation is also something that can be useful for you. Try to find at least 15 minutes per day where you give time only to yourself and float into a space with no thoughts and stress.

Because reducing stress is a excellent way to battle bodily fatigue and give you more energy. Meditation will also regulate and normalise your heart rate and blood pressure.

And if you don’t like meditation you can always try other things to help you reduce stress like yoga, or maybe pilates.

Getting regular exercise is also important. First try and find some way of exercising that feel natural and good for you and then incorporate it into your day to day life.

Exercising in water can be better for your joints so think of swimming regularly or going to a water exercise class.

Although life can be difficult with fibromyalgia there are always ways to improve your health and to make your life better even though you have a disease.

Take small steps every day and before you know it you will see that you feel significantly better and have more energy.

So drink more water, try to find and keep a good sleeping cycle and eat more healthy fresh food. Keep a positive outlook on life and meditate and things will get better.