Skip to Accessibility Menu Skip to Login Skip to Content Skip to Footer
a woman sleeps under a comically over-sized weighted blanket

5 Tips to Help You Sleep Through The Night With IBS

Elizabeth Alvarez's avatar image

By Elizabeth Alvarez

3 min read

Let’s face it, IBS can keep us from sleeping well. Especially if you are experiencing a flare, the constant running to the bathroom, the non-stop tossing and turning due to bloating, and just feeling overall uncomfortable can seem unending. And of course, things always seem to be the worst in the evening, when it’s time to rest.

And although sometimes it is just inevitable that sleep will suffer due to IBS, over the years I have come up with a couple of things I do to at least help with the idea of catching more zzz’s.

So here are some tips I’d like to share to help get you dreaming again:

Use a weighted blanket

Okay, this isn’t something everyone likes so I recommend trying it out first. But I just recently started using a weighted blanket and it has been a total game-changer. Basically, if you aren’t familiar, a weighted blanket is a blanket that has a subtle weight to it.  I bought mine in a twin size and it weighs 15 pounds. You wouldn’t think, but this subtle weight makes a huge difference in helping put you to sleep.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I absolutely love my weighted blanket. I find that I sleep deeper and longer when I use it. It is also amazing when I have a moment to nap during the day. The idea behind the concept is that the subtle weight offers a sense of comfort to the sleeper. You feel almost like someone is hugging you. I highly suggest trying it out. It’s a great tool to help get you sleeping longer!

Essential oil diffuser

I love candles, however, lighting one before bed is just not a good idea for safety reasons. So a great option to get your room smelling divine for a night of deep sleep is to use an essential oil diffuser. I buy oils that are therapeutic, so at night I strategically diffuse oils that aid in sleep. It is amazing how powerful these oils are. I always notice that I sleep longer and deeper when I diffuse oils like cedarwood and lavender.

White noise

I am a light sleeper. Not only that, but sometimes my thoughts get the best of me and I can’t calm my mind to sleep. An amazing solution to this problem is to use a sound machine. Nowadays you can just get a free app on your phone and play it from there, which is what I do. You can choose from white noise which is what I love, or have rain, a thunderstorm, or waves play throughout the night.

I absolutely swear by this option. I put my noise machine on high so that no other sounds bother me and I can get to sleeping ASAP!

Black-out shades

If you don’t have black-out shades, get on Amazon and order some right now. They are amazing. Especially when you need to sleep in from an awful night dealing with IBS, black-out shades can really save the day. You can sleep into the morning with the sun glaring outside and not even know it’s morning. I highly recommend using this as a tool to help get extra sleep and there are so many budget-friendly options online to choose from.

Eat safe foods for dinner

This is a huge tip that everyone with IBS should follow. For dinner and any snack before bedtime, make sure you stick to safe foods. If you experiment with a food that you aren’t sure about, chances are you will be up all night dealing with symptoms and getting zero sleep. So be smart and if you decide to cheat with food, make sure it is during the day and not for dinner which is the last meal before bed.

Any tips you’d like to add that help you get better sleep with IBS? Share below, we love to hear from you.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The IrritableBowelSyndrome.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.