Great question but it is hard to give an answer that would help everyone because we all are unique. For me I have big mixed bag of medical problems. To name the most relevant ones to this question they would be narcolepsy, chronic fatigue/myalgic encephalomyelitis, sleep apnea and insomnia. I have tried the sleep hygiene method of going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same. Didn’t work too well because of the narcolepsy and insomnia. Neither did the c-pap machine. I would fall asleep before I could get the c-pap on or would be up for several days then crash. The “crashing” goes with the CFS/ME. It can last hours to days. Sometimes I am asleep and can’t wake up or I’m so physically tired I can hardly move. Now sleep is supposed to be restorative but for me and lots of other people it is not.

Please don’t think that this an all negative and depressing. I just wanted to set the scene so people can understand where I am coming from.

To deal with or get through the ups and downs it takes a bag full of tricks. You need that because sometimes one thing will work then it won’t. It could take more then one trick. So don’t get upset or down on yourself if it takes different tricks at different times. Getting upset will only make things worse.

So the best thing to do is make a list of things that have worked, new ideas to try and suggestions from others. Be open and try different ones more then once at different times.

I have tried CBT supplements that didn’t really help. Yes I took my own advice and tried different brand several times. I had more success with Valerian Root supplements. They help probably 70% of the time. Other supplements that are combined with Valerian root have worked about 80% of the time. Sleepy Time tea or camomile tea helps some. Warm showers not hot help. Dimming the lights, noise canceling head phones/ear plugs do a pretty good job. Blackout curtains a great. Getting off electronics aka blue lights at least and hour before you want to go to sleep can help. Soothing music played down low can help. Venting to others that understand or are going through the same struggles always helps too. A combo of all of these things, if you are really hurting, will do it.

Best advice I have is this. Keep calm. Take care of yourself emotionally, mentally and physically. That is always a positive thing! There is only one you and you make a difference in this world.

So just sit back get ready to ride the waves of this life. You are not alone. You can do this. Most of all Laugh!! There is always something funny going on. If you can’t find it just reach out there are lots of other people riding the waves with you.

Eat a light breakfast.
Manage stress, and avoid carbs when possible.

I agree with the common consensus, it is a very complex battle we fight on a daily basis. My doctor, a narcolepsy specialist, informed me that on waking every day, I should consume no less than 2 cups of black coffee and take my Armodafinil on an empty stomach. With Type 1 Narcolepsy with cataplexy I do take a fairly high dose of the medication broken up through the day every 5-6 hours. This has helped me quite a bit but the sleep attacks still happen. When I have one of those days I try to keep moving (walking/pacing/etc) and I snack on cold raw veggies like baby carrots, cucumbers, celery broccoli you name it! Being an RN and working 12-13 hour shifts can be difficult at times but the emotional reward I get in return helps with my mental health. Just being able to make someone else feel better improves my overall drive each day.

Good luck everyone! We got this! Each day you power through, pat yourself on the back because, against the odds, you did it! Seems like a small accomplishment to others but it can be huge to us.

When I have a bad day like today, then I take it easy and just sleep all day! I still sleep at night! I have to have at least 10-12 hours of sleep to be able to be more awake! Sometimes I sleep 15 hours!

If I can I will sleep for 15-20 if I can. But that being said that's hardly ever doable. In my case I will literally fall asleep into dream sleep while I'm doing whatever it is I'm doing. This is hard to recover from since it makes me look like I'm on drugs talking jabbering. But my only move forward solution is to actually let myself sleep.