Bedrooms
It is important to make your bedroom as beautiful and comfortable as possible. Spending so much time in it means that you should make it interesting to look at.
Have lots of pictures up on the walls - use pin boards, card stands and holders. These allow you to regularly change the pictures or cards. Stand cards on any available surface. You can stick them with blue-tac onto the edges of shelves. Calendars are good because you have a different picture each month and it gives you something new to look forward to.
Have a music stand beside your bed - this can be used to prop up pictures or photo books. There are beautiful pictures in magazines, especially home and garden ones. Get family and friends to look out for them when they are reading magazines and cut them out for you. There are also a number of art and photography books available. These have large pictures in which you can lie and look at. You can make a game of it by making up a story to go with the picture. Some good books are 365 Days of Earth from the Air, The Milk series (Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship) and the Phaidon Series- check out your local library to see if there are any you can borrow.
Mobiles and crystals make interesting things to look at especially if you are lying down. You can get mirror mobiles, which even sparkle in a darkened room. You can use a torch on them and get someone to make them move for a wonderful light show. Wind Chimes are another alternative if you don’t have a problem with sound.
A Galileo’s Thermometer is fun to watch. It consists of a sealed glass tube filled with water. Floating in the tube are five glass spheres filled with liquid. Each sphere represents a temperature and as the room temperature changes the liquid in the spheres expands/contracts, causing the spheres to rise and fall. It is fascinating to watch, and the movement is very gentle.
If light isn’t a problem there are a lot of new accessories available - different types of fairy lights, lava lamps, mirror balls, fibre optic lights. All add variety to a room.
Have lots of cuddly toys and soft cushions (you can get lots of different shapes and colours now) around the room.
A variety of duvet covers give you something to look forward to, especially after having to use a lot of energy to allow bedcovers to be changed. You can even get some that glow in the dark.
Ornaments around the room are good - if there is something you like, i.e. Winnie the Pooh suggest it to friends and family for gift ideas.
Water fountains and bubble machines are nice to watch; but the noise can get too much for people with sound sensitivity.
For someone who is lying on their back for a lot of the time, it is important for the ceiling to be interesting - get someone to stick pictures or glow in the dark shapes on it. You can now get them in various types e.g. stars and dolphins. Use a torch on them to make them glow. You can also put these shapes on the floor.
You can now get Rainbow in My Room which projects a rainbow onto the wall and ceiling. It’s particularly effective in the dark; but isn’t too bright. They also do a Moon in My Room which projects the phases of the moon onto a moon shaped disc. Again this is a great way to bring nature into your room, even with the curtains closed!
It’s nice to have fresh flowers in the room. If you can stand a bit of light you can try growing your own. You can buy some pretty flowers from a local shop. If you suffer from nausea then it might be advisable to stay away from strong smelling ones like lilies. Get friends and relatives to look out for interesting stones, flowers, leaves and feathers to bring you. This is a great way to keep up with the seasons, seeing a snowdrop in spring, a daisy in summer and a leaf in autumn. If it snows get someone to bring a washing up bowl or tray full of snow. You can then enjoy playing with the snow without going outside. You can even make a mini-snowman!
The most important thing about your room is that it is YOURS - at times it will feel like a prison as if the walls are closing in and there is nothing you can do; but try to make it as comfortable and as decorative as possible. Give your eyes lots to look at and try to prevent boredom as much as possible.
If you do start getting bored, get a carer to move a few things around - it’s amazing how you start seeing things as if for the first time.
Have lots of pictures up on the walls - use pin boards, card stands and holders. These allow you to regularly change the pictures or cards. Stand cards on any available surface. You can stick them with blue-tac onto the edges of shelves. Calendars are good because you have a different picture each month and it gives you something new to look forward to.
Have a music stand beside your bed - this can be used to prop up pictures or photo books. There are beautiful pictures in magazines, especially home and garden ones. Get family and friends to look out for them when they are reading magazines and cut them out for you. There are also a number of art and photography books available. These have large pictures in which you can lie and look at. You can make a game of it by making up a story to go with the picture. Some good books are 365 Days of Earth from the Air, The Milk series (Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship) and the Phaidon Series- check out your local library to see if there are any you can borrow.
Mobiles and crystals make interesting things to look at especially if you are lying down. You can get mirror mobiles, which even sparkle in a darkened room. You can use a torch on them and get someone to make them move for a wonderful light show. Wind Chimes are another alternative if you don’t have a problem with sound.
A Galileo’s Thermometer is fun to watch. It consists of a sealed glass tube filled with water. Floating in the tube are five glass spheres filled with liquid. Each sphere represents a temperature and as the room temperature changes the liquid in the spheres expands/contracts, causing the spheres to rise and fall. It is fascinating to watch, and the movement is very gentle.
If light isn’t a problem there are a lot of new accessories available - different types of fairy lights, lava lamps, mirror balls, fibre optic lights. All add variety to a room.
Have lots of cuddly toys and soft cushions (you can get lots of different shapes and colours now) around the room.
A variety of duvet covers give you something to look forward to, especially after having to use a lot of energy to allow bedcovers to be changed. You can even get some that glow in the dark.
Ornaments around the room are good - if there is something you like, i.e. Winnie the Pooh suggest it to friends and family for gift ideas.
Water fountains and bubble machines are nice to watch; but the noise can get too much for people with sound sensitivity.
For someone who is lying on their back for a lot of the time, it is important for the ceiling to be interesting - get someone to stick pictures or glow in the dark shapes on it. You can now get them in various types e.g. stars and dolphins. Use a torch on them to make them glow. You can also put these shapes on the floor.
You can now get Rainbow in My Room which projects a rainbow onto the wall and ceiling. It’s particularly effective in the dark; but isn’t too bright. They also do a Moon in My Room which projects the phases of the moon onto a moon shaped disc. Again this is a great way to bring nature into your room, even with the curtains closed!
It’s nice to have fresh flowers in the room. If you can stand a bit of light you can try growing your own. You can buy some pretty flowers from a local shop. If you suffer from nausea then it might be advisable to stay away from strong smelling ones like lilies. Get friends and relatives to look out for interesting stones, flowers, leaves and feathers to bring you. This is a great way to keep up with the seasons, seeing a snowdrop in spring, a daisy in summer and a leaf in autumn. If it snows get someone to bring a washing up bowl or tray full of snow. You can then enjoy playing with the snow without going outside. You can even make a mini-snowman!
The most important thing about your room is that it is YOURS - at times it will feel like a prison as if the walls are closing in and there is nothing you can do; but try to make it as comfortable and as decorative as possible. Give your eyes lots to look at and try to prevent boredom as much as possible.
If you do start getting bored, get a carer to move a few things around - it’s amazing how you start seeing things as if for the first time.
Claire Wade. Studio 17659, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
This site is written by someone who is severely affect with ME and is compiled as a result of personal experience and research of other people with ME and their families. It is intended for information and guidance only. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Readers are strongly urged to consult a professional medical practitioner for a proper diagnosis or assessment before trying any of the treatments or medications outlined. As with all medications, always consult your GP, specialist or pharmacist and tell them about other medications or herbal preparations you are already taking; always read the label and patient information leaflet.
The contributors to this website are not medically trained but all live with or have significant experience of ME. The tips may not be suitable for everyone. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement in this work can be accepted by the author.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (photocopying, electronic, recording or otherwise), except for personal or non-commercial use without the permission of the author.
Claire Wade has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
The contributors to this website are not medically trained but all live with or have significant experience of ME. The tips may not be suitable for everyone. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement in this work can be accepted by the author.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (photocopying, electronic, recording or otherwise), except for personal or non-commercial use without the permission of the author.
Claire Wade has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.