One of the more persistent symptoms that almost everyone with Long Covid seems to experience is fatigue. For me, it feels like when I'm actively sick with the flu or a cold and am so tired all of the time.
Each night I sleep for anywhere between 10-12 hours a night. Sometimes there is insomnia so I can't get to sleep until quite late, but then I sleep in until noon or 1pm! It's not a lot of fun, but I've learned that I can not force it and set an alarm to wake up earlier. When I've tried forcing myself to wake up earlier (after, say 8-9 hours of sleep) I have a migraine and end up "crashing" - which is where I end up sleeping or having very little energy for 3-4 days after the event.
How to combat this? What is the treatment? Here are some options:
- Sleep: allow your body to get the rest it's needing right now, if that means sleeping in or going to bed earlier, that's what I need to do. Practice good sleep hygiene, go to bed at the same time each day and wake at the same time each morning, and turn off electronic devices an hour before bed (for me, knitting is a calming activity that I do before going to bed, and it helps tell my brain that I'm ready for bed. At the same time, I'm terrible about looking at my phone before bed and need to try not to!)
- Limit activity to a set amount each day. Think of your energy as an internal battery - when you deplete it, you have to replace it. If I talk on the phone with a friend for an hour, I'll need to take a nap afterward and/or rest for the day after. Social activities can be related to physical activity - the best way to understand this is through an amazing chart that the Province of British Columbia put out for Long Covid, which shows you the relative energy levels for physical, mental, and social activity. They intended it to be used for patients to track the amount of energy they're able to expend in a day (see the Tool and its instructions here).
