Experts agree that improving sleep is one of the most important elements of treating ME /CFS and Fibromyalgia. If our sleep improves, so they say, it’s likely that many of our other symptoms will improve as well.
If your sleep improves, it’s likely that many of your other symptoms will improve as well.
So how do you go about improving your sleep?
That’s what you’ll learn by reading this article. I will focus on new, groundbreaking ways for improving sleep that have become available in this form only recently through the invention of smartphones.
First – Find out What’s Going On Once You’re Asleep
To best address sleep issues, you first want to find out as much as you can about what is actually happening in your bedroom once you’ve fallen asleep.
Your smartphone is ideal for that purpose. Answers to the following questions – which your smartphone can provide – will tell you volumes about the quality of sleep you’re getting.
- How often and at what times do you wake up during the night?
- How much of your sleep time do you spend in the desirable deep sleep state?
- How long do you usually sleep for?
- Do you snore, which is a risk factor for a treatable condition called sleep apnea?
As an added benefit, answers to these questions over time will tell you whether the strategies you try to improve your sleep actually work.
Simply place a smartphone with the Sleep as Android app installed next to you on your mattress when you go to sleep at night to get these questions answered.
The motion sensor of the phone picks up how much you move around at night, which the app translates into your deep sleep cycles and wake times. The phone’s microphone records your snoring as well as any sleep talk. By tracking when you activate and stop it, the app also records the length of your sleep.
You can conduct a mini-sleep study with the help of your Smartphone and the Sleep as Android app
Upon waking, you have the option to rate how well you slept and you can take notes that might help you sleep better.
If you want to get extra fancy, you can also learn whether your body is generally relaxed at night by measuring your heart rate with the Endomondo app and this smartphone-compatible heart rate monitor.
I gained the following valuable insights from my own mini-sleep study.
Edit after a reader comment:
Note that I conducted the sleep study at a time when I had already significantly improved my sleep compared to when I first got ill, because I had already been using the techniques in this article (and other techniques) for over a year.
- I sleep well for the first seven hours and much worse afterward. This insight prompted me to only sleep for seven hours at night and add two forty-five-minute or one ninety-minute naps throughout the day. I now feel more energized while sleeping less. Also, I feel much more centered and less frazzled when I wake up in the morning.
- I was able to collect solid data regarding which techniques actually improved my sleep. When I used the techniques that worked, I fall asleep faster, wake up less often, and feel more renewed in the morning.
What is the quality of your sleep? Find out with the help of your smartphone!
“You’re Very Tired”– The Voice That Makes You Fall Asleep
A crucial piece of improving my sleep has been listening to guided relaxation audios just before going to bed. The relaxation recordings that work best for me are the Soften and Flow Technique from the Gupta Amygdala Retraining Program and the free Melt Away Tension and Experience Peace Guided Meditation.
If you’re not already listening to guided meditation to better fall asleep at night, I urge you to give it a try. It cut down my falling asleep time from one to two hours to a normal ten to twenty minutes.
Listening to guided relaxation audios has dramatically improved my sleep
My smartphone has also improved my experience listening to guided relaxations in bed dramatically.
Before I owned a smartphone, I ran into the problem that the relaxation recording would bother my wife who was sleeping next to me. Wearing earphones to not bother my wife didn’t work either, because they were uncomfortable.
My smartphone, though, is small enough to fit underneath my pillow. By sleeping on my side with my smartphone underneath my pillow I can perfectly the calming voice while my wife hears nothing.
If you’re worried about radiation from your smartphone, rest assured that you can switch off your smartphone’s radiation by switching it into airplane mode. If you use the Sleep as Android app I mentioned earlier, this app can switch your phone into airplane mode automatically for you as you begin tracking your sleep.
One note of caution, I noticed that smartphones that are not as flat as my Samsung Galaxy S3 can be felt under the pillow and cause discomfort. As a solution, I recommend this ergonomic foam pillow from IKEA or this one from Amazon.com. The pillow is thick and stiff enough that you will no longer feel the phone underneath it. I had already begun to use the pillow before I owned a smartphone because it also benefits sleep in other ways.
Let Your Thoughts Out so Sleep Can Come In
Do you ever have the experience that you have just gone to bed and, all of a sudden, you remember this really important errand you need to do the next day? Having my smartphone next to me is useful because I can write my thoughts into the notepad app, forget about it, and sleep peacefully.
The Night Owl’s Night Vision
I learned from the sleep experiment that I sleep best when I sleep less than seven hours at a time. Hence, I decided to change my sleep schedule so that I go to bed a bit later than Erin, usually around midnight, and wake along with her at seven in the morning.
Your smartphone can serve as a flashlight
My smartphone’s built-in flashlight application comes in handy here. Using this app, the LED flash from the smartphone is turned into a normal LED flashlight which helps me to find my way to bed without waking Erin.
The Biggest Danger of Taking a Smart Phone to Bed with You—And What To Do About It
For the first half year after my friend Florian got his smartphone, he complained about bad sleep.
Why did his sleep suffer?
After going to bed, he would always grab his phone just to read one or two articles on the Internet. This short period of reading would usually turn into one or two hours of reading, which in turn was responsible for his inability to go to sleep.
Here’s how this story applies to you and me: Each time we sit or lie down for a break or want to listen to a meditation, it’s likely that we will also feel an urge to distract ourselves a bit before beginning our rest break.
Learn how to keep your smartphone from consuming your life.
This can be a problem because distracting ourselves doesn’t rest and renew us to the extent that meditation does. While a distraction might permit you to forget your symptoms for a short while, once your distraction loses its spell over you, your symptoms will come back more pronounced than before.
Real, deep, long-term well-being, on the other hand, will enter your life when you can get yourself to rest deeply. Whether it’s meditating, deep breathing, or listening to a guided relaxation, these are the things that will calm down your nervous system, infuse you with lasting positive emotions, and renew your sources of energy.
But how do you actually get yourself to choose deep rest over distracting, long-term well-being over short-term relief?
You need outside help which you can easily get from your smartphone and an app called Perfect App Protector. Once installed and set up, the app makes the choice for long-term happiness and energy for you. It blocks those devilish YouTube and Email apps that try to keep you from engaging in deep rest. You can still access the YouTube and Email apps at the times when you really need them and can be free from distraction when your body and mind need healing rest.
So what’s next? If you ever notice that you choose distraction over deep rest and thus short-term comfort over long-term happiness, revisit this blog post and set up the Perfect Applock in a way so that it can save you.
Note that the App was originally intended for a different purpose and that you’ll need to watch this video to learn how to set up and use it for our purpose:
A Budget-Friendly Phone
Did you know that you can get a perfectly adequate smartphone for less than $60? Read all about it here in my short smartphone buying guide.
What’s Next?
There are more exciting ways to improve your health, happiness, and functionality with the help of a smartphone. In the next installments of this series, learn how to use a smartphone to:
- Help you to quickly adapt to what’s changed since you have ME / CFS
- Counteract reduced functionality
- Support you with exercising within your save limits
- Free yourself from feeling isolated and lonely
Any Questions?
Please share your insights and questions in the comments section below.
Johannes Starke is a health coach for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia who has come a long way in recovering from the illness. He is the founder of the CFS Recovery Project, where he supports people with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia in regaining their health and happiness.
So this author has “bad sleep” because he only sleeps 7 hours straight every single night? And he couldn’t just look at the clock and figure this out?
I’m trying not to feel insulted by reading this article on your blog. Maybe next time you offer advice about sleep, the author could actually have insomnia, and could do some research beyond his friend Florian.
Hi Madelaine,
I hear your concern that these techniques might not work for you because my sleep was already pretty good when I conducted the smartphone-based sleep study.
Let me explain: The reason I slept so good is that I had already been using many of the techniques described in the article (and others, including pacing, mindfulness, meditation, and amygdala retraining) prior to conducting my little smartphone-based sleep study. The sleep study just helped me to bring my sleep to the next level.
In my case, the techniques helped me from taking 1-2 hours to fall asleep to fall asleep right away. Also, they helped me to wake up less often during the night and be more rested in the morning.
And, I did do research beyond my friend Florian. One of my clients just had two really good weeks (still doing good, touch wood) at 90% recovery from being sick with ME/CFS for over 12 years. One of the key elements she attributed this improvement to is her improved sleep she got from listening to a meditation on her kindle fire each night in bed to fall asleep.
I am sorry that you feel like the techniques in this article might not help you to cure a complete insomnia. I agree that it might need more than what I covered here–even though you might still want to try this to see how much it helps.
If you want, you can book a free consultation with me (http://cfsrecoveryproject.com/free-consultation/) and I am happy to share other ideas, specific to your personal situation, for overcoming your insomnia. I have helped others overcome really bad sleep problems (4-5 hours of sleep per night with lots of waking in between), and I might be able to help you, too.
In any case, whether we speak or not, I wish you well on your healing journey!
Johannes
Hi,
No need to stuff your phone under your pillow. You can get something called SleepPhones, which is a soft headband with very flat speakers positioned over your ears and cords coming out the back to connect to the headphone port on your phone. Works great and very comfortable!
Could you please clarify in your article whether you are talking about all smart phones: iPhones plus android phones, or just android phones? From the links going to the Google play App Store, I suspect (realize) the latter, but it could be certainly confusing for iphone people who don’t realize why they can’t install an application you are recommending.
Thanks for sharing the SleepPhones resource, Sue!
The apps I name only work on android smartphones. For most of these apps, iPhone equivalents exist. Just google, “[name of application] for iPhone”.
For example,
If you google SleepasAndroid for IPhone, you will quickly find a good iPhone alternative in the search results.
If you find a good one, please post about it in the comments!
The only app that might be difficult to find on an iPhone is a Perfect App Lock equivalent (the reasons for it are complicated). Therefore, I would definitely recommend buying an Android phone to someone with FM or ME / CFS who is just about to buy a smartphone.
Hope this helps 🙂
You have *GOT* to be kidding! A smartphone???? *ALL* cell phones emit RF radiation (RFR), one of the worst things to which someone with CFS/CFIDS/ME can be exposed. *NO ONE* should be exposed to RFR, particularly when trying to sleep. It causes oxidative stress and injury to the brain and all body organs. During sleep is when the body repairs itself, including the brain. RFR exposure during this time prevents repair and sleep. I suggest the author reads the BioInitiative Report (http://www.bioinitiativereport.org) before making such dangerous and absurd recommendations. Anyone who has CFS/CFIDS/ME, MCS, FM, PTSD, GWS should remove *ALL* sources of RFR from the home: all wireless devices, cordless phones, Wi-Fi, Smart Meters, cell phones, tablet computers, etc. In fact, I strongly recommend reading Dr. Martin Pall’s latest paper “Electromagnetic fields act via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels to produce beneficial or adverse effects” found at:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcmm.12088/pdf
More can also be learned about the dangers of RFR at http://www.stopsmartmeters.org
RFR greatly upregulates the NO/ONOO- cycle. Even healthy people are getting extremely ill from the RFR-saturated environment being created by all the newly installed Smart Meters world-wide. Check out all the research going back 70 years on the harm caused by RFR. Beware though, because the industry hacks and the government will brainwash you into believing it’s all safe.
I can alleviate your concern:
Your phone will be in airplane mode if you follow the techniques in this article, which means that none of the radiation you describe will be emitted.
I believe that even if the radiation you describe was emitted, which it isn’t when your phone is in airplane mode, it would only make very few people with ME / CFS or Fibromyalgia sicker. If someone got sick from cellphones or WiFi, they would already know before reading this article, simply by how they feel when they are near a radiation source.
None of my clients have reported any adverse effects, and last time I read the literature, it also seemed like, while RFs can be harmful in theory, the doses and exposure emitted by cellphones and WiFi’s has proven not to be harmful.
In essence, I believe “cellphones and WiFi is bad for you”, with the exception mentioned above, is one of those theories that can only live because we have not yet found the real cause of ME / CFS and Fibromyalgia.
Johannes,
It’s great that these techniques have helped you and some of your CFS clients. But charting the pattern of one’s insomnia and gaining control over racing thoughts…….these are basic interventions, like sleeping in a dark and quiet space. I was just surprised to find
‘mild insomnia 101’ on this blog.
Well, I can use it :). Alot of these interventions (not the smartphone ones) I’ve heard of but haven’t really practiced perhaps because I can get by without practicing them. When I do practice them I’ve found that practicing them can help. I guess what I’m saying is that I need constant reminders to do this kind of stuff.
I’m surely appreciate reading this article! Thank you for your knowledge and for sharing it with us. Since becoming ill with ME/CFS/FMS, I have felt unable to truly relax. It’s like some neurological hum keeps me on edge. And, of course, the day after little or no sleep is a day lost to misery.
I’ve suspected that the blinking lights from television and surfing the web that I use to distract myself when I’m trying to go to sleep (usually a 2-hour affair) may be overtaxing my already buzzing neurons, but I haven’t known what to do about it. Your practical solutions give me hope that perhaps I can learn to deeply rest again.
I’m also interested to learn that I can get a smart phone for a one-time fee and that it can perform the functions you describe in the article just using our home wifi and without being activated with a monthly charge. (Did I get that right???)
Thank you, Johannes, for all of your expertise. And thank you, Sue, for letting us know about SleepPhones. I can’t wait to try this out!
From how you describe you situation, Sarah, using the techniques from this article are ideal for you. I’d love to hear how it’s going for you once you’ve tried them. Also, feel free to post your questions here if you need any guidance along the way.
Yes, you got it right, you can use the phone over WiFi only without a monthly charge if you follow the instructions in the smartphone buying guide I linked to. You simply don’t insert the simcard into the phone when you receive it.
Way cool, thanks! Yep, I’ll let you know.
Hi Johannes
First I would like to thank you for something off-topic: your video on how to overcome the bitterness of “missing out” on life, by identifying to people whom we love and who can have a life. I recommend it to all.
That was genuine help to me. It truly was, I mean it. I even showed it to my girlfriend whom I often bitterly envy when she goes out with her friends… so you can surmise she liked what you said as well (albeit for very different reasons than mine!)
But I have to ask, I really do and I want to be constructive: what is this thing about smart phones and ME/CFS? This is the second time around! I don’t get it. Sure, they can be convenient for this or that; but do they have beneficial effects on us to a point that they should deserve such attention here?
I am having a hard time connecting the person who spoke such words of love-based wisdom on that video, and the one who wrote today on …smart phones. Forgive me!
Or help me understand…
Hey Christian, I think you have to try it and see. It may help or not…
These practices have helped Johannes and others. For myself I see them as taking small bites out of this illness that could turn into something bigger over time for some. For others they may have no effect but that’s the way of virtually every treatment I can think of in this disorder. I also think of them as quality of life improvers.
I think of ME/CFS as a disease that is best to attack from all directions…and see what works. Hopefully something will 🙂
Johannes: where would I find that video? I think it would also help me.
I have listened to “Melt away tension” many times. I am always amazed at how much it relieves the pain. Thank you for that!!
Here is the link to the video:
http://cfsrecoveryproject.com/how-to-turn-the-bitterness-of-missing-out-into-healing-happiness/
Glad you like the Melt Away Tension and Experience Peace audio. Your kind words mean a lot to me.
PS – I am surprised that I have not seen any conversation here about sleep apnea and having a sleep study done.
I know that we are all different, but when I read about Johannes having difficulty in his 7th hour of sleep, it made me question what might be going on in his sleep cycle at that time.
I had sleep studies done about two years ago, and found that I have both obstructive and central apnea. I have been on a version of CPAP since then. I cannot tell you what a difference it has made for me!
Pre-cpap I would often get up to go to the bathroom 4-6 times a night. I thought what in the world is my hubby complaining about, getting up 2 or 3 times. Turns out this is one of the indicators of sleep apnea.
I now sleep 9 + hours a night which I consider to be very healing, and I no longer fall asleep watching a movie.
Turns out hubby has sleep apnea too. He had been having chest pains and cpap has all but eliminated them.
Having a sleep study done is a pretty easy thing to do.
Glad to hear that and thanks for mentioning it.
You can find a similar story of a person with ME/CFS who’s sleep apnea diagnosis proved to be very helpful here – http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2013/07/31/when-its-not-all-me-cfs-fm-how-a-sleep-study-turned-one-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-patients-life-around/
It sounds like sleep studies might be a good idea for everyone who can get one.
My sleep study showed how the alpha waves (awake) will interfere with the delta waves (deep sleep) & rouses you out of the deep sleep. The Dr. said this occurs in all people with ME/CFS/FM & people in constant pain, & that is why we don’t get a deep sleep which repairs the body. A second study with a CPAP machine showed these rousals were less & it has really improved my energy.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comment, Christian.
Regarding the question about whether smartphones really deserve so much attention, here are my thoughts:
For me, smartphones have made an incredible difference. I seriously believe that I wouldn’t function nearly as good without them as I do now.
That said, I am a bit geeky, and for someone without that inclination the technology might be too much of a turnoff to really reap it’s benefits. I’m a bit biased there, and therefore it’s very good for me to hear your perspective.
Before I used it to overcome, ME/CFS, I despised smartphones. How my friends used it, it didn’t really make their life better. But since I saw how they can help my brainfog, sleep, functionality, and well-being, I believe they deserve to have a few articles written about them.
That said, don’t worry, I’ve not turned into a man-machine 🙂 I still think smartphones are just a small piece of a sophisticated mind/body approach to ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. Mindfulness, reducing stress, pacing, meditating, etc. are still undiminished in their importance.
If there is interest, I will write one more blog on how smartphones have helped me to function better every day, and then I will shut up about them for a while. Promised 🙂
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Johannes
I’m a little with Christian on this. I’m not a complete technophobe but I’m concerned that devices such as smartphones are potentially the worst thing for our already overloaded ME/CFS brains
In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the constant needing to access social media, apps etc doesn’t contribute to ADHD tendencies even in the ‘normal’ population. Better for us plagued with ‘overload’ to do one simple thing at a time, slowly and fully, in the real world.
I’m a also a few generations behind on these things and just sorting out the choosing, buying and setting up of the thing would probably knock me off my feet for a week : )
I’m sure though that you address these issues elsewhere.
Just thought I’d mention a ‘no-tech’ technique I tend to use for sleep problems. For many of us (for me anyway) the main barrier to sleep is the constant barrage of intrusive thoughts of re-running events of the day, things to do next day, ongoing health or financial worries etc. Naturally getting over to sleep and having a restful night’s sleep is impossible if your brain continues on high alert.
I use an imaginary box, with a lid, that I ‘keep’ under the bed (an old style sleigh bed with room underneath – you might have to imagine another place for yours). Rather than constantly mulling these intrusive thoughts over and over again I carefully place each one into my box and close the lid (literally putting a lid on them). I know then that I can go to sleep and any concerns haven’t been forgotten about and will still be there in the morning when I’m better able to deal with them (and usually come morning time they don’t seem quite so pressing or overwhelming).
This technique doesn’t work 100% of the time and doesn’t completely eliminate the wired feelings that prevent sleep but I find that it does more often than not take the edge off the problem.
Worth trying and no batteries required?
Hi Johannes
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Marco.
Here are my thoughts with regards to your concerns. I hope they will be helpful.
Yes, there is a risk here. I’m trying to addressing the overload effect with Perfect Applock app I mention in this article. For example, I have social media apps blocked because they overload my brain. Also, I have set my email so that I can send emails, but not receive any. The web-browser is blocked as well. I wish I could handle my phone without these “limitations,” but I just can’t.
My smartphone did take me out for a week when I first got it. In the long run I’ve found it to be invaluable, however. Thanks for pointing out this risk.
Love your low-tech technique for better sleep!
No criticism Johannes – whatever works for you and horses for courses and all that.
Just a little suggestion for us Luddites!
It’s harder to teach old dogs new tricks. (I know :)).
For iPhone Sleep Cycle is a great app.
It charts quality of sleep, how often you wake up, and how much time you spent in bed, and how you feel on waking up (happy, neutral, bad). You can also add your own parameters to track, for example if you drank tea, ate late, rested enough during the day, “exercised”, meditated. Which eventually could maybe show a pattern where if you do X you will not sleep well, and if you do Y sleep improves.
I really love how the alarm clock of the app works too.
You set a half hour (or different amount) window in between which it should wake you up, and it decides the best moment to do so. As in: not in the middle of a deep sleep moment, but when you’re naturally more close to waking up.
Also – no loud adrenalin inducing beep, but soft music that gradually gets louder until you shut it off or hit snooze (it will auto-snooze if still within the wake up window).
For iPhone Sleep Cycle is a great app.
It charts quality of sleep, how often you wake up, how much time you spent in bed, and how you feel waking up. You can also add your own parameters to track, for example if you drank tea, ate late, rested enough during the day, “exercised”, meditated. Which eventually could maybe show a pattern where if you do X you will not sleep well, and if you do Y sleep improves.
I also really love how the alarm clock of the app works too.
You set a half hour (or different amount) window in between which it should wake you up, and it decides the best moment to do so. As in: not in the middle of a deep sleep moment, but when you’re naturally more close to waking up. Also – no loud adrenalin inducing beep, but soft music that gradually gets louder until you shut it off, or hit snooze. It will auto-snooze if it’s still within the wakup window.
Ugh! Complaining again!
I just got an email from you, Johannes, linking to this article and to your CFS Recovery Project. At the bottom I see that I have to unsubscribe if I want to stop email from you.
I would like to know how you got my email address.
Dear Madelaine,
You entered your email address on my website to subscribe to my newsletter on the smart-phone give-away page:
cfsrecoveryproject.com/smartphone-give-away/
It states clearly that by entering your email, you’re subscribing to the CFS Recovery Project newsletter:
“To enter [the give-away], simply sign up to the ME/CFS Recovery Project Newsletter by entering your email address below or click “like” on the CFS Recovery Project Facebook page.”
I would never subscribe anyone to my newsletter without their permission.
Hope this helps,
Johannes
This is all a bit ‘infomercial-y’ to me. ‘Overcome’ CFIDS? Seriously? ( rhetorical question, no reply desired )
About electromacnetics, radiation, etc. I can tell you that i spent the night un a mexican jungle hotel, where at nine or ten p. m. Even electricity was cut and was surprised at the quality of sleep I had, I slept like the proverbial baby and woke feeling so refreshed, after about 25 years of CFS and fibromyalgia it was incredible and was convinced of the harm we are doing to ourselves.
Smartphones are «lifesavers» for the sickest and most light sensitive amongst us. Without my iPhone I would not be able to be on the internet at all, and I would miss out on useful apps (like heart rate monitor apps, symptoms variations apps, notepad apps, notification apps, social media apps etc) and not be able to keep track of research, treatment options, other patients’ experiences etc. Before I bought my iPhone I was isolated and had no opportunity to be up to date at all. It was actually several years wasted since I missed out on so much useful information and guidance that only the internet and the technology can provide.
PM, Thank you for bringing up the issue of smart phones and isolation. Without my iPhone, I, too, would be almost completely isolated. My sensory overload issues are such that a large computer screen or even a laptop is just too much. Even my iPad is too bright. So my iPhone is a lifesaver and my window to the outside world, which I mostly only get to see on the way to doctors appointments.
If you have your iphone jailbroken, you can install “Dimmer” through Cydia, it lets you make the screen a LOT darker than the darkest built-in setting.
I found the built-in darkest setting quite bright in the evening/at night, but with Dimmer it’s great.
Dimmer does make it so dark that the screen can seem black/turned off in daylight – there is a ‘panic’ key combination to make the screen switch back to normal brightness (press volume up 4 times or something) so that when you accidentally lock yourself out with a too dark screen, you can easily reset it.
Thank you for the tip, Kate.
I am a bit scared of jailbraking my phone because it seems technically advanced and would disable my phone’s warranty.
Might wearing sunglasses be an alternative?
Hi, I use F.Lux for my laptop. It changes the lighting to coordinate with the time of day set to where you live. It has 5 different lighting options, daylight, Tungsten, Halogen, custom etc.
The bright blue daylight screen lighting at night was a big problem for me before I used it. It has helped me a lot with being able to use my laptop at night without messing with my sleeping cycle, or causing headaches. Perhaps they also make a version for smart-phones.
Hi, I use F.Lux for my laptop. It changes the lighting to coordinate with the time of day set to where you live. It has 5 different lighting options, daylight, Tungsten, Halogen, custom etc.
The bright blue daylight screen lighting at night was a big problem for me before I used it. It has helped me a lot with being able to use my laptop at night without messing with my sleeping cycle, or causing headaches. Perhaps they also make a version for smart-phones.
If I could also shoot out the parking lot light that shines into my apartment I’d be all set. 😉
Thanks for the tip on the sleepPhones, I’m going to try a pair. I haven’t made the jump to a smart phone yet, even though my husband (the engineer) is all about new tech. I have been trying new options for getting better sleep though, and have been listening to different kinds of audio tapes at bedtime. I’ve been appreciating this set of articles, I may attempt more adventurous technology in the future. 🙂 It’s also inspiring to read about others who are trying to have the best health they can, using whatever resources are available (even if it seems beyond me). It makes me less likely to get negligent about caring for myself in the best way I am able. So. . . . . bring on the next post!
Your headline is misleading. First of all, $60 or $70 is not “low cost.” Some people may already have smartphones and for them this additional use may be worth trying, but many people with ME/CFS are unemployed or underemployed, or on a fixed income, and cannot afford a smartphone.
Secondly, this application only measures movement, not brain waves. They cannot tell if you are in slow wave sleep. If you are having arousals during sleep, this will not tell you.
I’m glad this worked for you, but I was disappointed in the article. People like me with ME/CFS need real, research-based solutions to our sleep issues.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Vickie.
Hi, Just a quick note because I need to get to bed. 🙂 I agree with Sue in that I find these articles about smart-phones helpful. I’ve heard from one friend with CFS who recently bought one, and she wonders who she got along without one before now.
I’ve been against smart-phones because I don’t need to be available to contact 24/7 or when I’m out and about at least 99% of the time. I use a cheap throw away for emergencies, costs $120.00 a year.
But now that I know I could use one at home *without* activating the phone option/monthly charge and just use it for the apps I’d like to have one. (I didn’t know it was even possible to do that before I read the previous article).
I also want to stay not too far behind the curve of technology, smart-phones are in our lives for good or bad, there’s no avoiding it. And I know there are many great apps out there that need a smart-phone in order to use them.
That was my short note so say thank you for these articles. Please do one more. I learned a lot.
Thank you,
Anna
Sorry for the bad grammar, etc. Sleep is more important at the moment. 🙂
Your note warms my heart, Anna. Thank you 🙂
Amen. 🙂 I really believe the smartphone can bring our functioning and well-being to a whole new level.
I hadn’t even thought of this, which is such a great point.
Johannes
One thing that has greatly helped me with sleep is a sleeping eye mask cover. I found one by Bucky that has raised cups, so that your eyes don’t touch the fabric. It is also shaped to fit around your nose and will cut out all the light. I love it and it greatly improves my sleep. (I found mine at REI.)
Issie
On the subject of the sleep app…does having the phone under a pillow change any results or does a Tempurpedic mattress change anything. The mattress does not ove like a regular mattress so I feel that the results are skewed.
Thanks for any help.
Anne
I’m trying to not use electronics in bed and agree that the smartphone app can’t trace brainwaves where my sleep is messed up and it can’t help those brainwaves, either. That said, I have serious memory issues and use my smartphone to remind me of appointments and many, many other things. Don’t know how I ever did without it…well, actually, I missed a lot of appt’s or would show up a day early, etc. I have learned to be really strict with my sleep “hygiene”, which helps.
Cort, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the work you do. I’ve had rsd for 18 yrs, fibromyalgia for 17 yrs, and recently Dx’d with cfs, too. Thanks to finding your site recently I no longer have to search the web and vet all the info by myself. I hope to be able to start monthly donations soon (are they tax deductible?). Keep up the good work!
Glad to hear the Smartphone is such an aid, Sandra 🙂
We’re not a 501 C 3 Non-profit so donations cannot be tax deducted unfortunately. We’d love the support though 🙂