Tips for Getting a Quality Night Sleep with Psoriasis

There are many challenges that come when managing life with psoriasis. One big one? Sleep. Can you imagine going days, weeks, and sometimes months without quality sleep? The struggle is unbearable.

How can a person sleep when their skin is covered with dry, cracked, and raised spots? When the burning pain consumes you and the will to avoid scratching is as strong as ever.

A quality night's sleep is in your future

Getting comfortable may be the most difficult thing to do when managing psoriasis. How can we get comfortable enough to fall asleep? I swear the itching at night is intensified. All I can think about is how much I want to scratch.

It seems like the only way to get me back to sleep, is to cause slight bleeding. Of course, along with that comes more inflammation. Over time, I have tried so many routines and tricks to get my sleep back on track. I am here today with some tips to ease the painful struggle, so hopefully, a quality night's sleep is in your future.

What else can you do?

I think the first and most important thing is consistency. Every day, I made myself go to bed and wake up at the same time. I have noticed that if I followed a pattern in my sleep-wake cycle, my sleep improved and wasn't affected too much by the agony of psoriasis.

I know it sounds like a difficult thing to do but once you get on this consistent track of sleep pattern, your body will get used to it. What else can you do?

Make your bedroom a peaceful place. Most of us don’t pay attention to the place we are sleeping. What worked for me is turning my bedroom into a cool, dark, and serene quiet place. This change allowed me to sleep more peacefully.

Keep your moisturizers nearby. Also, don’t forget to keep moisturizers near your bed. Apply them if you find yourself waking up because of the itch. Keeping my moisturizer close saves me from the trouble of scratching and causing damage to my body.  

Put the phones away. Those electronic devices disturb our sleep. Nowadays, smartphones have become like oxygen to us. I try and stop using any devices at least one hour before going to bed. I know this is not for everyone, but my mind is not racing and I’m able to sleep more easily. I don’t even bring any electronics in the bedroom with me.

Relax your body before bed. I’m a shower girl myself, but I have replaced this with a warm bath or meditation which brings my mind into a relaxed state. This helps me to sleep with a relaxed mind and relaxed skin which is kind of vital for us as psoriasis warriors.