1. Take a Sleeping Pill
While sleeping pills are generally considered to be for short-term use only, many doctors are finding that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond positively to long-term use of these pills. One of the most common symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome is difficulty sleeping, or having non-restorative sleep. Taking a nightly sleeping pill will help you get the rest you need, which will lead to you feeling healthier and less tired in the morning. A growing number of doctors who treat chronic fatigue syndrome now believe that the benefits of sleep obtained through sleeping pills outweigh any potential risks from their long-term use. Some doctors are also prescribing tricyclic antidepressants and tranquilizers to help their chronic fatigue syndrome patients sleep and are finding favorable results with the use of these medications.
2. Take a Natural Sleep Aid
There are a number of natural sleep aids available in health food and vitamin stores that can be very effective in helping you get more sleep. Herbal sleep aids such as valerian (the herbal form of Valium), hops, kava kava, and skullcap are all heavy relaxants that can be taken in tea, tincture or capsule form. Melatonin and tryptophan are natural substances that promote sleep. Melatonin is produced by the body, and you can supplement your own dwindling stores of it by purchasing it in tincture form and taking it before bed each night. Tryptophan is found in turkey and can also be purchased in pill form.
3. Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule
Keeping yourself on a regular sleep schedule is essential to developing good sleep habits. If you go to bed early one night, late another night, sleep in till noon the next day and get up at 8 a.m. two days later, your body's internal clock will never set properly. As a result, your body will never instinctively know when it's time to sleep. Set a definite time to go to bed each night and a definite time to get up in the morning, and never vary these times by more than an hour, even on the weekends. Stay in bed for the full amount of time you've set, even if you haven't gotten enough sleep the night before. Within a few days to a few weeks of sticking to your schedule, your body will learn when it's time for bed and when it's time to wake up, and you'll be able to sleep more easily and more soundly.
