google pedometer is my friend.
May. 30th, 2006 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rootofnewtI am going to go for daily walks. This is an attempt to straighten out my sleep.
When the "experts" say that exercise is a necessary component in the treatment of fibro, they aren't kidding. Yes, if you have other disorders, things get complicated, but if I don't exercise, I can't sleep. My sleep is crappy, I wake up, I can't fall asleep, the pain bleeds through every attempt to sleep. Exercise affects how well we sleep by affecting that alpha-delta sleep anomaly most fibromites have. And unlike work, I don't have to think to walk. I have to watch out for cars and poison ivy, but I don't have to interact with other humans unless I'm in the mood for it.
The two-three weeks of iron infusions kept me away from the gym. The vein pain affected my ability to use my arms effectively and I was just plain worn out by the sitting still for two hours. So I opted for minor walks. It wasn't enough. My sleep got crappier and crappier and I started worrying about a CFIDS crash (I've been in a CFIDS remission for several weeks). The five-mile hike I did Saturday has done more for my sleep than anything else. I slept that night. Not perfectly, but better than usual.
So, starting today, I'm walking at least two miles a day. Now, I may switch this over to biking at the gym when the weather decides to remain oppressively hot and humid. I'll also be doing hydrotherapy, because I can't walk without it.
Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. And I won't lie--my walks do entail rest breaks, reading breaks, camera breaks, water breaks, etc. Sometimes I'll carry a bamboo mat to throw myself down on the UVA lawn for awhile. I like to sit in the pavilion gardens and read. I just walk to get there. And if I get too exhausted, I hop on a bus or call boy and ask for a ride. But I'm just trying to WALK. It can be on city streets, on the rivanna trail, or in the mountains. Heck, I'd settle for the indoor track at ACAC. And water walking at the ACAC pool is always an option, too.
Who's in?
When the "experts" say that exercise is a necessary component in the treatment of fibro, they aren't kidding. Yes, if you have other disorders, things get complicated, but if I don't exercise, I can't sleep. My sleep is crappy, I wake up, I can't fall asleep, the pain bleeds through every attempt to sleep. Exercise affects how well we sleep by affecting that alpha-delta sleep anomaly most fibromites have. And unlike work, I don't have to think to walk. I have to watch out for cars and poison ivy, but I don't have to interact with other humans unless I'm in the mood for it.
The two-three weeks of iron infusions kept me away from the gym. The vein pain affected my ability to use my arms effectively and I was just plain worn out by the sitting still for two hours. So I opted for minor walks. It wasn't enough. My sleep got crappier and crappier and I started worrying about a CFIDS crash (I've been in a CFIDS remission for several weeks). The five-mile hike I did Saturday has done more for my sleep than anything else. I slept that night. Not perfectly, but better than usual.
So, starting today, I'm walking at least two miles a day. Now, I may switch this over to biking at the gym when the weather decides to remain oppressively hot and humid. I'll also be doing hydrotherapy, because I can't walk without it.
Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. And I won't lie--my walks do entail rest breaks, reading breaks, camera breaks, water breaks, etc. Sometimes I'll carry a bamboo mat to throw myself down on the UVA lawn for awhile. I like to sit in the pavilion gardens and read. I just walk to get there. And if I get too exhausted, I hop on a bus or call boy and ask for a ride. But I'm just trying to WALK. It can be on city streets, on the rivanna trail, or in the mountains. Heck, I'd settle for the indoor track at ACAC. And water walking at the ACAC pool is always an option, too.
Who's in?
