5 Fun Ways to Fight Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Treatment regimens for fibromyalgia are generally best when they're multi-layered. But those layers don't all have to involve medications, supplements, and endless appointments with some medical practitioner. Some of them can actually be fun. Here five enjoyable ways to ease your symptoms. A quick note, though, these aren't replacements for other treatments. They're little extras that can take the edge off when you need it.

Music: Listening or Singing

a young woman singing, using a hairbrush as a microphone — JGI / Jamie Grill / Getty Images

Just 20 minutes of calmly listening to relaxing music, or even just relaxing sounds, may ease your fibromyalgia pain, according to some research. Other research shows that it can make you less depressed and more active, as well.

It may even help with your cognitive function. A 2015 study (Sarkamo) showed that singing every day for 10 weeks improved working memory and executive function in people with Alzheimer's disease. Fibromyalgia doesn't involve dementia like Alzheimer's, but they can impair those two types of brain function.

The great thing about music is that we can listen to it just about anywhere. And you never go anywhere without your singing voice!

Laughing

It's not just a column in those old copies of Reader's Digest lying around your grandma's house. Laughter really is good medicine! You know that it feels good and can brighten your mood, but what's going on in your brain and body is kind of amazing. Studies on laughter in general and for multiple ailments (but not specifically fibromyalgia) suggest that it can:

Lower pain,
Relieve stress,
Improve your immune health,
Improve blood flow,
Mimic the effects of exercise.

Playing Video Games

You hear a lot about the negative health effects of video games, but studies show that they can have a lot of benefits as well. Yes, researchers actually study this quite a bit. With good reason, too. Video games appear to have a big impact on our brains. For example, in research on neurological illnesses, they're shown to:

Improve multiple types of memory,
Lessen symptoms of depression,
Improve motor skills,
Speed up response time,
Improve multitasking.

On top of all that, in fibromyalgia, they also appear to distract our brains from the constant bombardment of pain signals. They don't stop the pain, but they make you less aware of it. That's good for us because our brains are hyper-alert to pain. Motion-controlled video games may also offer a form of low-impact exercise that we can tailor to our own abilities.

Having Sex

Gay Couple in Bed — Image Source / Getty Images

Oxytocin is often called the "love hormone." It's released during sex, and it's linked to relaxation, feelings of trust, and psychological stability. Endorphins are the "happy chemical." You release a lot of them during sex, especially orgasm. The really interesting part of endorphins, when it comes to therapeutic value, is that they work on the same receptors in your brain as opiates. That's right – they're painkillers. Free, natural, no-side-effects-or-overdose-risk painkillers.

Meditation

a woman sitting with legs crossed, meditating — Tetra Images / Getty Images

OK, so compared to sex and video games, meditation doesn't exactly sound "fun." However, it can be a really enjoyable activity, especially once you get the hang of it and start to feel the benefits. Meditation helps with a lot of things, including:

Stress reduction,
Lowering blood pressure,
Lessening pain,
Improving sleep,
Boosting visual memory,
Alleviating depression.

Meditation, especially a type called mindfulness meditation, is getting more research attention and showing some promising results.

Sources

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