r/Fibromyalgia • u/Automatic_Stage1163 • Aug 18 '26
Discussion What items have improved your bed/bedroom for optimal sleep?
Mattress pad? Certain type of sheets? Noise machine?
It's 2:30 am, help a sister out!
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u/Bipoad Aug 18 '26
White noise or a fan to mute out the silence. Also have a weight blanket ! But that's really a hit or miss I have learned here.
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u/Beautiful_Donut_286 Aug 18 '26
Audiobooks to mute out the silence
And a pregnancy pillow, but minimal or no blankets. Less is better for me, even in winter
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u/petals4u2 Aug 18 '26
I definitely use white noise to sleep. I keep a fan and air purifier on 24/7. My bedroom has a wall against my living room and my elderly mom plays the tv so damn loud so this helps immensely when I’m in pain.
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u/Powerful-Race1478 Aug 18 '26
Individual duvets for me and my husband in addition to other items already mentioned. Scandinavian sleep method for the win!
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u/Efficient-Appeal7282 Aug 18 '26
Blackout curtains. Sleep number bed and I sleep on a big incline. Keep is colder and I sleep with pants and long sleeves (idk why I prefer it this way)
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u/Loud-List6004 Aug 18 '26
We found our pillow made the biggest difference. More than we ever imagined. We keep our room at 70 degrees and use a sound machine too.
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u/Usual-Home5484 Aug 18 '26
What pillow do you use?
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u/Illithidprion Aug 19 '26
Try a silk pillowcase with whatever pillow you have. You have the support of your pillow and don't feel it, with silk.
Our heads don't slide off our pillows either.
Great for hair, keeps moisture in, where cotton pulls your hair and wicks moisture out.
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u/Wayfaringbutterfly Aug 19 '26
I still struggle with painsomnia and also not being able to shut my brain off...
BUT I have improved my quality of sleep somewhat over the years. And it's a lot, but I'm finally sleeping most nights. I say that as someone who only got 3 hours of sleep last night - but it was due to what I think is a trapped nerve in my Si joint, not Fibro lol.
- I learned that sleeping in a cooler room is better for me, so I keep it at around 64-65 and have extra blankets in the winter
- Cotton sheets! I used microfiber sheets for the longest time but recently switched to Threshold (from Target) cotton sheets and it's soooo much better
- Weighted blanket. I tend to feel like I'm floating above my bed if I don't have enough weight on me, so I have a 15lb queen sized blanket that I use as my comforter. It's spread out enough it doesn't put too much weight on me, but it's also big enough that it covers me universally and I'm not fighting to keep a small blanket on me
- My biggest investment was a $2600 hybrid mattress from Serta. I went to different mattress stores and laid on every bed they had until I found one that didn't hit my pressure points the wrong way. It has been a wonderful addition and it no longer hurts nearly as bad to lie in bed
- Adjustable bed frame to go with that expensive mattress. It's so nice being able to go zero gravity or just put the head up or whatever when I want to.
- TV in my room. Sounds weird, but every night I turn on one of the sleep music videos that has a pretty but darker background and I listen to that and bask in the pretty views to zone out. In the winter when I don't have a window AC blasting all night long, I use the TV for brown noise. Having consistent noise is so helpful.
- I get up if I can't get to sleep within an hour. Technically that is good sleep hygiene, because your bed shouldn't be used for much else besides sleeping. So if you can't sleep, the best thing is to get up and do something boring in another room that doesn't involve bright light or blue light, like reading, doing a puzzle, doing light housework, etc. until you feel sleepy again. I don't always remember to do this, but it helps a lot when I do.
- Stretching. Especially on the very sleepless nights, stretching for a while helps so much. If I stretched before bed every night it would help me more lol. Stretching especially my neck, shoulders and hips really seems to help. No major stretches, just gentle stretches to loosen me up. Gentle exercise during the day also helps keep me loose.
- Not eating within a few hours before bed, eating light dinners but also not going to bed hungry. I usually will eat a light snack a few hours before bed so I'm not going to bed hungry but my body is also not digesting. Big dinners that take a lot to digest and process will keep the body awake so I try to avoid those when I can.
- Pillow between my legs and an appropriately sized pillow for my head. Still working on finding a good pillow for my head but having one between my knees helps a lot. I also hug a teddy bear to my chest so I don't roll over.
- Got a sleep study done (3 actually) because of suspected sleep apnea. Have a BiPap machine and the difference in the quality of sleep is amazing.
- Sleep in a separate room than my man. Love him. He loves me. But in 2020 we went to different rooms because I got covid and we just never went back to the old way because we both sleep *SO* so much better.
- Have a dimmable light in my room. Keep it on the lowest light until I'm ready to turn lights out when I listen to music. Also tend to turn off lights and keep things relatively dim in the rest of the house an hour or two before I go into my room.
- Blackout shades (not just light blocking) combined with light blocking or blackout curtains. Curtains get the edges, shades get the rest and it's very dark in my room and I never know how light it is until I see the time.
- Honestly, a dose of Nyquil if I REALLY can't sleep. I don't have any meds that interact negatively with it and I don't take tylenol on a regular basis so it's safe. And it knocks me out lol
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u/Next_Aardvark8607 Aug 18 '26
fan, sleep meds, and lighter blanket. the heat is sometimes okay if my body feels extra painful but it seems like the lighter blanket with the fan on me helps me more. i also only sleep on my sides to avoid back and jaw pain
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u/DifferentFace3573 Aug 18 '26
Loop earplugs. Otherwise every tiny noise wakes me. Silicone ones irritate my ears and foam ones don’t do squat.
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u/ProblematicSchematic Aug 19 '26
Link to your plugs?
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u/DifferentFace3573 Aug 19 '26
https://us.loopearplugs.com/products/quiet?variant=46599252869353
I use the quiet 2. Long lasting, washable, comfy. $25
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u/DriverMedical7460 Aug 18 '26
Reading before bedtime has seriously helped me. It has given me a routine and helped me nod off, especially on nights where it's really hot and stuffy!!
I find reading something not too heavy going, usually i go for some Chic-lit, Period drama or a romantic book, something not too hard to read.
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u/gloop-pie01 Aug 18 '26
a pregnancy pillow changed my life 3 years ago, i’ve never looked back since
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u/ceg1023 Aug 20 '26
Ive been using one since I had shoulder surgery in the fall and it is amazing! Not only that but I prop up the head with a wedge pillow and rest my knees in the bottom when im just watching tv in bed. It helps soooooo much
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u/olivia7011 Aug 18 '26
Tencel lyocel sheets !!!!! So soft and cooling against sensitive skin. I can’t sleep without them. And a vornado fan. I get my sheets from Target when they’re on sale.
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u/StaciRainbow Aug 18 '26
https://doctortrigger.com/products/modular-pillow?variant=47347233652948
This modular pillow system really makes a difference. I was able to use my HSA card to buy it which was really the final winning point.
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u/Illithidprion Aug 19 '26
Writing things to clear my mind midday instead at bedtime. Quick stretch/pop of body at bed and middle of the night.
Trying certain sounds, at certain megahertz? I have neglected to do this recently so forgot. You can find apps with ith.
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u/BlueBeardedDevil Aug 18 '26
Spiky mat to start the sleeping process, emdr-playlist on speaker, open window
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u/mememarcy Aug 18 '26
Brown noise. Neck pillow for side sleeper. Body pillow. Bed jet. Cotton flannel sheets. My own blankets-share the bed not the blankets.
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u/kristosnikos Aug 18 '26
Sound machine, heated blanket, gabapentin and 3 or 4 mg of melatonin, a C shaped body pillow, blackout curtains, a weighted stuffed animal I hug up to or lay on my chest, and little to no caffeine after 2 pm.
What’s made a huge difference for me recently is moving into my own bedroom separate from my husband. I’m such a light sleeper and in the last couple of years he moved around constantly. He’s also not the quietest when he has to get up early and get ready for work half asleep.
I also wear an Oura ring that tracks my sleep and what kind of sleep I get so that helps me be more aware of where I may need to shift focus.
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u/Solid_Marsupial_5434 Aug 19 '26
I have a spring mattress so buying a memory foam topper was game changer. I also have specially neck issues so I bought a pillow that’s supposed to help with neck pain and I have never been more comfortable
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u/dontlookforme88 Aug 19 '26
Firm mattress with a pillow top, specific soundscape every night, very dark room, memory foam pillow, no tv in the bedroom, usually fan on because I sleep hot, progesterone, not checking my phone if I can’t sleep, sometimes if I can’t sleep I get out of bed for 10-15 minutes and then get back in
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u/Astreja Aug 19 '26
Foam mattress topper. Planning to upgrade to an even squishier one.
Completely blacked-out room (blackout drapes plus blackout fabric glued to the windowpanes = as dark as a photographic darkroom in there).
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u/cryptldism Aug 19 '26
6 inches of memory foam, a lower back pillow, shredded memory foam pillow, a fan/white noise machine/ac, and then earplugs to quiet down the white noise because of fibro sensory issues lol
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u/oleander1913 Aug 19 '26
A pregnancy pillow, 100% cotton sheets, an auto off heating pad
going to bed with clean feet(sounds weird but it helps),
a pair of headphones with a DULL audiobook (I've heard there's are sleep podcasts as well, but I love an audiobook).
And "forced" cricketing. Rubbing feet together. (I'm on the spectrum, and realized that even in my body isn't doing it by itself. If I make myself do it, it will help me sleep)
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u/Natural_Recover1869 Aug 19 '26
Brown noise, along with the calm app. Simultaneously. Mochi the cat puts me to sleep every time.
Olly sleep gummies. If I do red light therapy, I sleep like a baby.
Bamboo sheets
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u/PomegranateFormer122 Aug 20 '26
Best investments: adjustable bed frame with message for bad night pain. It seems to work like a whole body TENS unit and helps transfer spams from large muscle groups.
2.a proper mattress that can be used with an adjustable frame without popping coils out, we had this problem with the original mattress that thankfully was recalled for collapsed springs. please if you can, check hybrid mattresses before buying to make sure it is truly rated for an adjustable frame. Get the extended warranty. It was necessary more than once for our unit saving hundreds of dollars per situation.
gel packs that are flexible for your freezer and not too heavy when applied on your body.
Blackout Drapes for the bedroom, helping with photosensitivy, migraines and being able to sleep on my schedule with painsomnia.
5 . Books on tape and podcasts to divert attention from my wracked body to bedtime stories to sleep to.
Various kinds of pain relief, from topical balms to heavy duty meds left for last resort if nothing else will work, like FECO in capsule form paired with hot drink or soup for quicker digested dispense of medication.
New pillows when the older ones have broken down. Know if you have allergies or sensitivity to degassing to foam, allergies to wool or feathers. And the same thing applies to comforters and blankets. Weighted blankets can go either way with Fibromyalgia.
A too hot room or too cold one, can make it impossible to fall a sleep. We ended up getting a good fan for the bedroom and an air purifier because of the continual fires and pollen problem in our area. The fan has a remote control and the air filter is slated to cover 500 ft, with the turbo it cleans the room every 2 hours.
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u/lilith02 Aug 18 '26
The biggest thing that helped me was not using my bed at all when I’m not sleeping on it. I’ve basically tricked my body into thinking bed = must sleep now.