Does anyone relate to that feeling of exhaustion that suddenly hits you and it is only 10am in the morning? Or needing a nap every afternoon when you were someone who never napped during the day, let alone on a week day! Well, this is a pretty normal experience when you have had a stroke or head injury.
Often you may only become aware of this overwhelming feeling of fatigue once you have left the hospital or rehab and you are back home. You start to settle into a routine of sorts now that you are back in your own environment and this can often coincide with more visits from family and friends. So, in general, you start to feel like you are getting better.....and then you start a pattern of a daily afternoon nap that lasts up to two hours.
This is a very normal phenomenon and one that you might not always be made aware of while you are in hospital or at rehab. Needing to sleep once or even twice during the day, especially in the first few months after an injury, is very common.
One of the worst things to do is to try and ignore your body's level of exhaustion and just push on through. This might have been something you could do in the days before your stroke or head injury, but it not beneficial to do after you have had a stroke or injury. Your body needs the rest and it is essential time for your energy to be renewed. Sometimes, pushing through and ignoring your body's need for rest can adversely affect your performance, your concentration, your general functioning and your coping abilities.
My advice is to enjoy the naps and treat them like a therapy session. Just like you prioritise time for speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, you can also set aside time for sleep therapy. Do not feel any guilt or shame that you need to nap on a daily basis as you have not done anything wrong. You will find that you can cope so much better once you have had a nap. Your evenings will no longer be a write-off and you can actually enjoy the time with your family.
Over time, your need for rest and a daily nap will slowly start to diminish. Initially, during the first few months you might find yourself sleeping for a couple of hours during the day and still getting in a full night's sleep! But as time progresses, you may notice that you are getting by with a one-hour nap, then a half-hour nap and eventually, you might be able to skip a nap as your body gets stronger and stronger. In time, you will recover to a point where a daily nap is no longer a requirement but more of a personal choice.
So, recognise that there is a lot of internal repair and rehabilitation that is taking place in the months following a stroke or head injury. It is a vital aspect in your overall recovery and the best way to support and facilitate this process it is to nap regularly. Sleep tight!
Often you may only become aware of this overwhelming feeling of fatigue once you have left the hospital or rehab and you are back home. You start to settle into a routine of sorts now that you are back in your own environment and this can often coincide with more visits from family and friends. So, in general, you start to feel like you are getting better.....and then you start a pattern of a daily afternoon nap that lasts up to two hours.
This is a very normal phenomenon and one that you might not always be made aware of while you are in hospital or at rehab. Needing to sleep once or even twice during the day, especially in the first few months after an injury, is very common.
One of the worst things to do is to try and ignore your body's level of exhaustion and just push on through. This might have been something you could do in the days before your stroke or head injury, but it not beneficial to do after you have had a stroke or injury. Your body needs the rest and it is essential time for your energy to be renewed. Sometimes, pushing through and ignoring your body's need for rest can adversely affect your performance, your concentration, your general functioning and your coping abilities.
My advice is to enjoy the naps and treat them like a therapy session. Just like you prioritise time for speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, you can also set aside time for sleep therapy. Do not feel any guilt or shame that you need to nap on a daily basis as you have not done anything wrong. You will find that you can cope so much better once you have had a nap. Your evenings will no longer be a write-off and you can actually enjoy the time with your family.
Over time, your need for rest and a daily nap will slowly start to diminish. Initially, during the first few months you might find yourself sleeping for a couple of hours during the day and still getting in a full night's sleep! But as time progresses, you may notice that you are getting by with a one-hour nap, then a half-hour nap and eventually, you might be able to skip a nap as your body gets stronger and stronger. In time, you will recover to a point where a daily nap is no longer a requirement but more of a personal choice.
So, recognise that there is a lot of internal repair and rehabilitation that is taking place in the months following a stroke or head injury. It is a vital aspect in your overall recovery and the best way to support and facilitate this process it is to nap regularly. Sleep tight!
RSS Feed
