Hey friends! Thanks for stopping by. I would like to share some information about common problems for us lung patients: sleep issues, tips and tricks to help you improve your sleep, and the equipment you can use at home to help. As you probably know, lung disease, as well as other factors can make it harder to breathe at night. That in turn affects everything else–domino effect. I’m going to share the information I got at Pulmonary Rehab as well as tactics I learned when I was working on sleep training. So, without further ado…
Tips for Sleeping Better
- Pursed-lip breathing and diaphragmatic breathing in bed can help you relax and fall asleep.
- Stop drinking caffeine after noon.
- Establish a consistent sleep routine. This gets your body into the habit. (I’m not great at this, but when I do it, I can typically tell a difference.)
- Don’t nap during the day.
- If your shortness of breath is keeping you awake, use your bronchodilators before bed. You can elevate yourself with pillows or a wedge too.
- Check that your meds are contributing to your sleeping difficulties. If they are, ask your doctor about switching times or meds. I had an issue with this while taking Prednisone and barely slept for a couple of weeks. When I brought this up to my doctor, he told me to take it all in the morning. Definitely slept better that way.
- Wear comfortable pajamas. Usually looser fitting stuff is best. Little to no restrictions = better sleep.
- Make sure the room is dark. Regular blinds and curtains don’t do it for me, so I invested in blackout curtains, and I sleep in darkness.
- If pets (or another being) keep you up at night consider keeping them out of your bedroom.
- Use recordings, white noise, etc. if you’re brain needs something to focus on so you can relax. I use binaural beats, progressive muscle relaxation, guided meditation, isochronic tones, audio stories, whatever seems to work at the time.
- Stretch and/or do tasks that are relaxing to you before getting into bed. I have alarms set on my phone to remind me to shut stuff down and begin my wind down process. I even have a secondary one, just in case I shut it off and get distracted.
CPAP and BiPAP for Sleeping
If you’re like me, you’ve developed sleep apnea after getting your lung disease. It came with waking up exhausted and not having the energy reserves to get through your day. Since most of the time I had to do the things anyway, I was in the negative in my energy bank. I started with my oxygen concentrator, but in the past year or so it just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I’ve switched to a CPAP, which I talked about in previous posts.
I do know of people who utilize a BiPAP, which (to my understanding) is a CPAP with oxygen connected. If you don’t know how these machines work, both send a gentle flow of air through an apparatus on the face, which keeps the airway open.
Tip and Tricks for Your Sleep Machines
- If your mask doesn’t fit or work right, talk to your medical supply company and/or provider and they can get you the right equipment.
- These devices work best if your nose is clear. If you have allergies or something else going on that plugs up your nose, try to get those solved. I have this issue. My nasal passageways are narrow and get inflamed easily, so I use a face mask instead of the nosepiece.
- Keep using it, even if it doesn’t feel good or like it’s working. It can take your body a few weeks to get used to it and feel a difference. However, talk with your provider and/or medical supply people. They are there to help.
We all can benefit for improved sleep, so hopefully this was helpful for you. Do you have any tips or tricks I missed? Did any of these help you? Comment below!
Remember to take care of yourselves and be safe out there! Seeyalaterbye <3
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