It’s a pleasure to be invited to write an article for Charlotte’s site. And even better that she asked me to share my thoughts about one of the most important elements of anyone’s fatigue recovery plan… how to rest!

We hear a lot about pacing, and it’s true that it’s vital for anyone with chronic fatigue syndrome or Long Covid to find a way to make the smartest choices every day about what they can confidently commit to doing.

But it’s just as important to figure out how to be smart about doing nothing at all! Otherwise known as…resting.

I used to be a bit more advisory about helping people figure out how to rest. But having helped so many people with ME/CFS I now do far more than suggest how they might want to rest – I tell them what to do. Quite frankly, I’ve seen so many examples of what works and doesn’t work that I’ve realised over time that the same approach applies to most people. It’s just tailoring the specifics that varies from person to person.  

So here’s my best guidance.

There are two main reasons why someone rests:

• Because they HAVE to – their entire system is crying out for them to stop and recharge. I call this Reactive Resting
• Because they know they SHOULD. They feel ok, but they know that taking some time out to stop and have a bit of a reset will ultimately help to ensure they stay feeling ok. I call this Proactive Resting.

My guidance is that you should learn how much Proactive Rest you need to do in a day, in order to avoid any instances of having to rest reactively. The goal is to stop yourself getting to that stage where you absolutely HAVE to stop. 

Indeed, one of my suggested markers for knowing you’re at baseline is that you’ve found a pacing/resting approach that means you have zero instances of Reactive Rest in a day. If you’re still having one or more instances a day where you HAVE to stop and rest, this is an indicator that you’re still doing too much. OR that you’re not doing enough proactive rest. Or quite possibly a bit of both!

I try to keep things simple and have split types of rest into three categories – two of which are easy to explain here. The third needs a little more bespoke work, which I’m happy to help you with if you need it.

You’re physically and mentally relaxed – but you are doing something. For example, sitting relaxing in your comfiest armchair listening to a piece of gentle music that you love. Or lying on the sofa listening to a very easy to follow podcast or audio book* 

The point being that your overall state is one of relaxation, but there’s something else going on to keep you entertained.

I suggest someone weaves in a good amount of this type of rest throughout their day. Proactively scheduling it in around your more active tasks, to help to ensure your energy usage is nicely balanced.

*It’s worth pointing out that for many people at the start of their journeys, even listening to audio books can feel like a sizeable task. Do gauge this carefully and make sure that active rest really does feel effortless.

You’re resting. No doubt about it! You’re probably lying on the sofa, or on/in bed. Perhaps the curtains are drawn to make it even more restful. 

This type of rest is really important, but ideally you shouldn’t have to do more than one or two instances of it during the day. Certainly once your journey has started to move forwards and you’re starting to feel at least small improvements in your fatigue symptoms, once or twice a day should be plenty.

Again, learn how much of this type of rest you need to do to feel as though you can comfortably get through the day without feeling your symptoms flaring up, or your energy completely disappearing.

This is where it’s tricky for me to give specific guidance, as this type of rest requires a bit of bespoke tailoring and explanation.

The aim is to ‘empty out’ the sensory overwhelm that can build up throughout the day as your nervous system gets more and more stimulated. This can often be done by performing very simple and short mini-rests throughout the day – the trick is finding out which type works best for you. For many people, just simply sitting with their eyes closed for a few minutes works wonders!

These mini restorative rests really can be very short (2-5 minutes) and when performed properly, and at the right time, they can help you get through the more demanding parts of your day without feeling negatively impacted. 

The wonderful thing about these mini rests is that they can be performed anywhere, and are so short in duration that they don’t really get in the way or feel a chore.

Perhaps be curious about what types of short restorative rest feel as though they’re helping your nervous system reset a little. What intuitively feels right? Give it a go and see if it helps! And if you want more guidance get in touch.

Now that I’ve explained a little bit about when you should rest, and the different types you should try and incorporate, it’s over to you to start weaving them in to your daily routine.

You won’t get it right straight away. This stuff takes a bit of trial and error. But as a starting point, how about focussing on something along the following lines:

I haven’t talked about sleep yet. If you feel that you need a nap throughout the day in order to keep you going, do it! I’m in favour of naps if they’re needed. But keep them short (no more than 30 or 40 minutes, ideally) and try not to get into a deep sleep. Many people find that if their nap turns into a deep sleep, they can feel much less refreshed afterwards.

Tip: if you find yourself dropping into too deep a sleep during these scheduled naps, try lying on the sofa rather than lying in bed. If you’d rather nap in your bed, lie on top of the covers with a light blanket over you, rather than properly getting into bed. This will stop your system thinking that you’re settling down for a full-on sleep. Finally, try moving your pillow to the other end of the bed and sleeping in that direction instead. It will feel different enough to your brain that it stops it going into auto-deep sleep mode.

One final word on naps – as I say, I’m far from anti-nap. BUT make sure it’s not messing with your nighttime sleep. If napping during the day means you don’t sleep well at night, this is an indicator that it’s no longer needed and can be phased out.

I hope this article helps – please feel free to contact me with any questions about anything I’ve shared here. 

Pamela offers a variety of programs from online group coaching to one-to-one support. You can find more information on her website.

• Gaining control with planned rest – CFS Self Help
• My secret weapon, pre-emptive rest – Bruce Campbell
• In depth review of pacing – ME Action via ME-pedia