Beat the Morning Blues!

December 3rd, 2009

For most people with arthritis, mornings are the worst time of day. Joints are sore and stiff after the night and unfortunately, it is the time of the day when you need most strength and dexterity for getting up, getting dressed, making breakfast and getting ready for the day. But arthritis needn’t hold you back on these cold winter mornings. By incorporating a few handy tips, you’ll find that your morning becomes an easier and happier time of the day.

Start your day the night before. Lay out the clothes you plan to wear the next day, set the breakfast table and take care of any packed lunch preparation.

A good way to keep joints more flexible during the night is by sleeping with an electric blanket or an electric mattress pad. When you wake in the morning, turn up the heat on the blanket to warm your joints and help ease morning stiffness.

Keep a glass of water and your medication at your bedside so you can put the medicine to work first thing each day. You may even want to wake up earlier than necessary to take your medication and then go back to sleep until it begins working.

Exercise is one of the best ways to loosen up sore and stiff joints, and you don’t even have to get out of bed to do it. Simple stretching exercises done while you’re still in bed can make getting up much easier and less painful.

Another way to get stiff joints moving is to take a warm bath or shower first thing in the morning. Warm water soothes joints and muscles, and helps your whole body to relax. If you prefer bathing at night but still want to take advantage of warm water’s soothing effects in the morning, try soaking your hands in warm water to improve mobility in stiff finger joints.

Another idea for stiff hands is to take advantage of the heat from your coffee or tea cup. Wrap both hands around your cup or mug and enjoy the soothing warmth. This technique is also easier on your joints than holding the cup in one hand.

Make breakfast easy and enjoyable and remember that easier is always better. Scrambled eggs are a warming nutritious breakfast and can be prepared in a small plastic container and cooked in the microwave so that there is little clean-up afterward.

To look and feel your best all day, don’t take shortcuts on good grooming. If you haven’t already incorporated accessible clothing designs into your wardrobe for easier dressing, then this is a good time to start. A number of companies offer fashionable easy-on clothing by mail with features such as Velcro closures and wider openings for arms and neck.

Organise yourself by making a list of all the things you need to get done during that day. By prioritising, you can conserve your energy and complete the job with less pain and stress.

Be realistic about how much you can do in the morning and leave anything that is not urgent until later in the day when you are less stiff and more able.

These are just some of the tips and hints that can help to make mornings more enjoyable but we all have our own little tricks that we have discovered over the years. Leave a comment below and tell us what you find helps get you up and out on these cold winter mornings!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm |

« Ken Timoney: Reducing the risk of contracting Swine Flu | Ken Timoney: Considering Christmas… »

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.