School/College
Tiredness might affect how much time you can spend at school or college and you may have to cut down your hours a bit. Your doctors or hospital teacher can help to sort out some time off. They can organize some home tutoring for you too if you need it.
Work
You might have to cut down on the amount of time you spend at work, or you might feel too tired to work at all. It can help to talk to your boss and explain that you need time off because of the cancer or its treatment.
Don’t feel that you have to work if you are too tired, but if you do want to carry on working you may be able to find ways of making your work less tiring for a while. Things that your employer can do to help are:
- changing your hours so that you can travel to and from work outside the rush hour
- finding you a parking place nearer to your place of work
- letting you take more rest breaks
- allowing you to work from home, if possible
- finding you a lighter work load
What can help? - Planning
Planning ahead is important when you’re feeling tired
- plan your day so that you have time to rest and do the things you want to do most
- do the things that are most important to you when you are not feeling so tired
- try not to do too much
- pace yourself and have short naps and rest periods during the day as long as you can still sleep at night
- ask other people to help you. An occupational therapist from the hospital can visit your home to help you to find ways of saving your energy
Diet
If you feel tired or have a sore mouth, poor appetite or feel sick as a result of your treatment, then eating nourishing foods can be hard.
Think about having some nutritious ready-meals in the freezer so that you don’t have to cook from scratch when you’re really tired. Talk to your hospital dietitian, who can give you useful tips for eating problems.
Exercise
It might sound strange but it can help to exercise a little, even when you’re unwell. Research has found that light exercise like gentle cycling or a short walk may actually help with tiredness. So although too much exercise might make you tired, so can too little, it’s important to find your own level. The physio at your hospital can give you advice about what might work best for you.
Rest
Try to keep a regular sleeping routine if you can, If you sleep all day it can be hard to sleep at night; then you’ll feel tired again the next day. Try and have some time just to chill-out and relax by listening to music, watching DVDs or just taking it easy with friends.
Sleep
Getting good quality sleep is really important. Too much time in bed might mean your sleep is disturbed and shallow. Sleep just as much as you need to feel refreshed the next day.
What can help?
- Wake up at the same time every day - this helps to strengthen your sleep routine and may help you to go to bed at regular times too
- Exercise regularly if you can - this can help you to have a deeper sleep
- Keep a steady temperature in your bedroom - a room that’s too cold or too hot disturbs sleep. Try to keep your room comfortably warm
- Have a bedtime snack - try having a hot drink or a banana if you sometimes wake up at night because you’re hungry
- Avoid caffeine - it’s best not to have cola drinks, coffee, strong tea and chocolate for a few hours before bedtime as it can keep you awake.
- Know when to say “enough” - rather than lying in bed tossing and turning you could get up and watch TV, listen to music or read a book. Wait until you feel tired again and then go back to bed
