Patient Education Program 2014

Managing Your Fatigue

Managing Your Fatigue

What is fatigue?

Extreme tiredness that makes it hard to do your everyday activities

A common symptom of arthritis and other chronic diseases

What causes fatigue?Physical Causes

• Inflammation• Pain• Anemia• Too little activity• Too much activity• Disturbed sleep• Some medications

What causes fatigue?Emotional Causes

• Stress / Worry• Depression• Frustration• Feeling loss of control in my life

What causes fatigue? Environmental Causes

•Poor position, uncomfortable furniture

•Poor ventilation •Standing in line-ups

The Pain Cycle

Changes you can make to help fatigue:

• Improve your sleep•Balance rest and activity• Improve posture and position • Improve your general health

To improve your sleep:

•Keep the same bedtime and wake-up time every day

•Avoid caffeine and alcohol

•Avoid eating and drinking too much before bedtime

•Keep a relaxing bedtime routine

•Avoid stressful activities before bedtime

•Finish exercise at least 2-3 hours before bedtime

Sleep in a comfortable bedroom

• Dark, quiet and cool• Supportive mattress • A pillow to keep head and neck in a good position

• Pillows to support sore joints •Talk to your doctor or therapist if pain wakes you up

To Help You Balance Rest and Activity

• Pace• Plan• Set Priorities

Pace Yourself

•Take frequent rests •Switch between heavy and

light activities•Choose the best time of day

for a task

Rest before you are tired!

Plan Ahead

•Try a weekly schedule that spreads out heavy tasks

•Plan for rests and fun too!•Allow enough time for your

appointments and activities•Save steps and reduce extra

trips

Set Priorities

“What activities are most important to me?”

“Is this task really necessary?”

“Who else can do this job?”

How will you spend the energy you have?

Do you have a good balance between activity and rest?

Improve Body Posture and Position

•Use good body posture, poor posture needs more energy

• Adjust height of work surfaces and chairs

• Keep frequently used tools within easy reach

• Sitting to work saves up to 25% of your energy

• Stretch and change your position

often

Guidelines for Working at a Computer

Improve Your General Health

•Eat a healthy, balanced diet•Drink enough water•Exercise regularly•Practice stress

management

My Action Plan

• What do I want to try? “Take more rest breaks while doing chores

during the day”

• How many times each week? Which days?

“I am going to vacuum twice this week, Monday and Thursday”

• Time of day? For how long? “Late morning, once I am less stiff, I will

vacuum for 10 minutes, then rest for ten minutes”

• Who will I tell about my plan? “ I’ll tell my husband and phone my

best friend Betty”

• When will I start? “Next Monday”

How sure am I that I can do this?

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Need help to achieve your goals? PEP Class: Setting Goals you can Achieve

Take Home Messages!

• I will rest before I get tired

• I will try to balance activity and rest

• I will use my energy on things that

are important to me

I can be less tired!

www.education.arthritis.ca