Lupus and Sleep: don't let the fatigue win

I live with lupus fatigue. 

Not the crushing, debilitating fatigue I used to experience when my disease was active. You can read about that unrelenting exhaustion here. 

But rather, a fatigue that annoys and pesters, and won't go away until I give it what it wants - a decent nap. 

Typically, the fatigue sets in around 1p, but I can sense it getting impatient by 12:45p. It ushers me to bed, appeased only when an eye mask, heated blanket, and white noise fan are involved. 

Here are my napping guidelines: 

If I allow an hour to nap, I wake up rested. 

Less than an hour, the fatigue lingers.

Seventy five minutes? I don't hear from it again until the next afternoon. 

Ninety minutes, and I am powered up and feeling productive. Watch out! 

Even though it's inconvenient, a sufficient nap allows me to function normally for the remaining 14.5 - 15 waking hours of my day. 

I did the math. It's a pretty good deal.  

Factoring the nap into my daily schedule means it's less invasive or disruptive. Like I'm the one controlling the situation. 

Not the fatigue.

I dictate the terms by taking my nap at about the same time every day. That prevents the fatigue from getting unbearable. And it allows me to confidently schedule the rest of my day. With a planned nap, I'm preventing the fatigue from overwhelming me when I least want it to.  When I can't afford it. When I'm not expecting it. 

Today, my nap is as predictable a routine as brushing my teeth. I do it everyday.  I know it has to happen.  I notice immediately if I try to skip. 

So I never do.