We all know that getting, and staying active is good for you, so if you are able to exercise daily, DO! I’m not here to preach to you about what you must do. The fact is, not everyone with IBD is able to do regular physical activity. This may be due to fatigue or joint problems, or a whole array of other extra-intestinal manifestations that are common in IBD. It may even be due to a completely different illness as there are many that are associated with Crohn’s or Colitis.
If you have no problems exercising, I urge you to take a look at the NHS’s Physical activity guidelines for:
Older adults (65+)
If exercise is difficult, but not impossible, consider some low-impact activity such as tai chi, Pilates, yoga or swimming. Don’t forget that things like vacuuming the house, carrying shopping and cleaning the car all count!
Sleep is majorly important. We all know that we’re supposed to rack up 8 hours a night, and the chronically ill could likely use a bit more than that, but it’s not always possible. Pain, toilet trips and side effects from medications such as insomnia all play havoc with sleeping patterns. Whilst sleep won’t help with fatigue, it is important for your body and mind to recover and function properly. When you sleep, your thoughts and actions from that day are essentially processed and filed. If you do miss sleep at night, grab a nap when you need to!
Making a conscious effort to listen to what your body is telling you it needs will do you the world of good. I talk from personal experience, as I spent years being hugely stubborn when it came to rest, thinking that if I could just push myself that little bit further, it would eventually become easy. It didn’t, and it was only when I lost 16 months of my life to chronic fatigue that I realised the world wouldn’t stop turning without me. It didn’t matter if I didn’t hoover every day and no one thought badly of me for skipping Facebook for a few days at a time.
REST when your body and mind tell you that you need to!
Obviously, a large part of keeping your body healthy is also dependent on what you put in it. That is a little too large to add here, so check the next blog in the self-care series: What you put in your body matters – eating and drinking with IBD!
Patient Advocacy 
[…] Know your body and when to contact your IBD team What your body needs […]
LikeLike
[…] Learning how IBD affects you personally can be tricky. Just when you think you have identified the symptoms that tell you a flare is imminent, IBD can switch things up and present you with a whole range of new ones! Tracking your symptoms is the best way to keep on top of this. It will enable you to give a good overall view of everything during your appointments, or alert you of the need to book an earlier one. Tips for tracking your symptoms can be found here. Once you have figured out what your new “normal” looks like, it will be easier to recognise when things are not. Knowing when to contact your IBD team could be the difference between a short flare, and an uncontrollable one that ultimately results in surgery. It is always worth reporting anything out of the ordinary to your IBD team. Do not be afraid to get in touch with them because you are not sure if the problem is IBD related. If you’re still not sure, some of the factors to take into consideration can be found here. […]
LikeLike