When you get a little older, life has a way of creeping up on all of us, and it can often be noticed in our muscles and joints. If you miss the days of waking up and jumping out of bed to start your day with no thought of aches and pains, but only on what your day had in store, you can get back to this with proper management strategies.

If you suffer from arthritis you probably have a more difficult time sleeping at night, it’s probably harder to get out of bed and get on with your morning. Having arthritis can limit your ability to move, so making breakfast, and getting in your car can be uncomfortable events, whereas before they were unnoticeable. So how can we beat the arthritis blues? Because we sure aren’t going to let them dictate our lives.

We have made a list of different ways you can start your day off right, to ease the pain of arthritis.

    1. Try a heated mattress pad or heated blanket – It’s a proven fact that sleeping in a cooler room is better for your health. Except arthritis sufferers find it hard to bear this, as the cold can wreak havoc on joints. Electric heated blankets and mattress pads are great at localizing and controlling heat, so you won’t have to have your heat turned up. If this is something you want to find out more about, here are some guides to help you choose heated blankets or heated mattress pads.
    2. Take your arthritis medication as soon as you wake up – You want to have your medication kick in as soon as you start moving right? Well, try this out. Bring a glass of water (or bottle) to bed, along with your medication, placing it somewhere safe on your bedside table. As soon as your alarm goes, sit up and take your medication, then lay back down and rest for an hour, or until your second alarm goes. When your meds have kicked in it will make getting out of bed easier, and you will be able to move around more easily.
    3. Compression or heated gloves – Numerous arthritis sufferers wake up with painful hands, you can either slip on compression gloves, or heated gloves. They both provide support for circulation and inflammation, and provide support as you begin your day. If you need help deciding on heated gloves or compression gloves check out these handy guides.
    4. Gentle stretching – Is a good way to get moving before you even get out of bed. Take a few minutes, stretching your neck by carefully turning it in different directions; your back by giving yourself a hug; your smaller joints like wrists and ankles can be moved in different directions as long; and you can gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
    5. Keep your feet warm – To warm up your feet and ankles you can get nice socks, slippers and well-insulated footwear. They have heated versions of socks, insoles, and slippers which can be great for keeping your feet warm and aching less.
    6. Have a hot bath or shower – To ease into your day having a hot bath or shower is a good way to warm up your muscles and joints. You will want to stay in the bath or shower for at least 10 minutes, giving the warm water and steam enough time to heat your afflicted areas.

Bottom line: We want to your arthritis pain to feeling better

Having aches and pains caused by arthritis, or anything else for that matter can be tiresome and debilitating trying to live your everyday life. This list is meant to provide a holistic approach on how to tackle arthritis pain, it is not meant to replace the advice of your doctor, it is meant to coincide with it, and give you lifestyle recommendations to help reduce your discomfort. Many of the methods listed above are based off of The Arthritis Foundations recommendations for heat therapy We wish you well and hope that some (or all) or our recommendations make your life less painful.