Things to Try During a Dialysis Session

Let’s be honest: a dialysis session is not exactly competing with a beach vacation, a pizza party, or a surprise day off. In-center hemodialysis can take up a big chunk of the day, and when you are parked in one chair for hours, time can stretch like a rubber band in a hot car. That is exactly why it helps to have a plan.

If you or someone you love is spending regular time in a dialysis chair, the goal is not just to “kill time.” The better goal is to make treatment time feel calmer, more comfortable, and more human. A good session routine can help reduce stress, keep your mind busy, support better habits, and make those long hours feel a little less like watching paint dry in slow motion.

This guide covers safe, realistic, and practical things to try during a dialysis session. Some are relaxing. Some are productive. Some are pleasantly distracting. A few are surprisingly meaningful. The golden rule, though, is simple: always follow your dialysis care team’s instructions first, especially when it comes to eating, drinking, stretching, medications, or anything that affects your access site. Once that part is clear, you can build a dialysis routine that works for your body, your mood, and your attention span.

Why Having a Dialysis Plan Helps

Dialysis is medical treatment, but it is also part of daily life. That means the session itself affects more than lab numbers. It can shape your mood, your energy, your patience, your sleep, and even how much control you feel you have over your week. Walking into treatment with no plan can make the hours feel longer. Walking in with a few comforting, enjoyable options can make the session feel more manageable.

A simple routine also helps on days when your energy is lower than usual. Some sessions may feel easy enough to read, chat, or organize your calendar. Others may be better for resting with headphones on and doing absolutely nothing productive. That counts too. There is no gold medal for being the busiest person in the dialysis unit.

Start with a Dialysis Comfort Kit

Before you get creative, get comfortable. A small dialysis bag can make a big difference. Depending on your center’s rules, many people bring a few favorites that help treatment feel less sterile and more familiar.

Good items to pack

• Headphones or earbuds
• A charged phone, tablet, or e-reader
• A long charging cable or power bank if allowed
• A light blanket or shawl
• A small pillow or neck pillow
• Lip balm and hand lotion approved by your care team
• A notebook and pen
• Glasses, reading glasses, or blue-light filters

The right comfort setup can turn the chair from “medical furniture” into “my weird little treatment office,” which is not glamorous, but it is progress.

Things to Try During a Dialysis Session

1. Listen to music that matches your mood

Music is one of the easiest and most effective things to try during a dialysis session. Some people build calming playlists for needle placement and the first part of treatment. Others go for upbeat songs that make the hours move faster. Instrumental music, familiar favorites, worship music, old-school hits, movie scores, and lo-fi tracks all have their fans.

You can also use music intentionally. A “start of session” playlist can signal your brain to settle down. A “last hour” playlist can help you finish strong. It sounds small, but routines matter. When treatment feels repetitive, a little structure can be surprisingly comforting.

2. Switch to podcasts or audiobooks when your eyes are tired

Some treatment days are not ideal for reading tiny text or staring at a screen. That is where podcasts and audiobooks come in. They are perfect for low-energy sessions because they give your mind something to do without asking your body to do much at all.

Comedy podcasts can lighten the mood. True crime can make the hours disappear. Memoirs, novels, history shows, and short educational episodes are all strong options. If your attention span is shaky, try episodes under 30 minutes. Four short episodes often feel easier than one giant one.

3. Read in whatever format feels easiest

Reading remains a classic dialysis activity for good reason. Books, magazines, e-readers, short articles, newsletters, and even long-forgotten saved essays on your phone can make treatment time feel purposeful. The trick is to match the reading to your energy level.

On focused days, dig into a novel or biography. On tired days, go light: sports, celebrity profiles, travel pieces, recipes, comics, or short devotionals. This is not the moment to force yourself through a dense 400-page book that already makes you feel like you are being punished.

4. Try simple brain games

Puzzles are excellent when you want distraction without overstimulation. Crosswords, word searches, Sudoku, trivia apps, memory games, and logic puzzles can keep your brain active and make time pass faster. They also work well when conversation feels like too much effort.

If you love structure, you can even create a “dialysis puzzle ritual.” Maybe Tuesday is crossword day, Thursday is trivia day, and Saturday is “pretend I can finally solve Sudoku without guessing” day.

5. Journal, reflect, or brain-dump your thoughts

A dialysis session can be one of the rare moments in modern life when you cannot jump up and start folding laundry, answering the door, or reorganizing a drawer for no reason. That makes it a useful time to journal.

You do not need to write a masterpiece. You can list how you feel, track symptoms, write down questions for your nephrologist, note what helped during your last session, or simply unload every random thought bouncing around your brain. Some people keep gratitude lists. Others write prayers. Others make grocery lists and call it emotional wellness. Honestly, all are valid.

6. Use the time for light digital organizing

If you have enough energy and your free hand is comfortable, dialysis time can be handy for small digital chores. Delete old photos, organize email folders, update your calendar, make a to-do list, clear out notes on your phone, or finally unsubscribe from that store that emails you seven times a day about socks.

The key is to choose low-stress tasks. Dialysis is not the ideal time to fight with taxes, customer service, or a family group chat that has somehow turned into a debate about casserole.

7. Practice mindfulness or deep breathing

Mindfulness sounds fancy, but it can be very simple during dialysis. Put on quiet audio. Breathe slowly. Notice the chair supporting your body. Relax your jaw. Unclench your shoulders. Count your breaths. Repeat a calming phrase. Let your mind settle a little.

This can be especially helpful if you tend to feel anxious before treatment, tense during needle placement, or mentally worn down by the routine of chronic illness. No incense, mountain retreat, or mystical hand motions required.

8. Watch a comfort show or a downloaded movie

Streaming a favorite show during treatment is a popular move for a reason. Familiar comedy series, cooking shows, sports highlights, home makeover videos, documentaries, and easy-to-follow movies can all help the hours pass. If your clinic Wi-Fi is unreliable, downloading content in advance is a genius move.

Comfort viewing works best when it is actually comforting. A gentle sitcom may serve you better than a tense thriller if you are already physically drained.

9. Stay socially connected

Dialysis can feel isolating, especially when it becomes a major part of your schedule. Using treatment time to text friends, call family, or check in with a support group can help you feel less cut off from the rest of life. Even a short “thinking of you” message can lift your mood.

Some patients also enjoy talking with staff or fellow patients when the setting and privacy allow. Not everyone wants to chat, of course, and that is okay. But for some people, a few minutes of conversation can make the room feel a lot less clinical.

10. Do gentle movement only if your care team approves it

Some dialysis patients are encouraged to do simple, low-impact movement such as ankle circles, foot pumps, seated leg motion, or other approved exercises. In some settings, carefully supervised movement may help people stay more engaged and active. But this is absolutely not a do-it-yourself situation.

Always ask your dialysis team what is safe during your treatment, especially if you have a fistula, graft, catheter, blood pressure changes, cramping, weakness, or balance issues. One person’s “light exercise” can be another person’s “please do not do that near the tubing.”

11. Nap without guilt

Sometimes the best thing to try during a dialysis session is sleep. Not fake productivity. Not forced positivity. Not learning Italian in 37-minute podcast episodes. Just rest.

Many people on dialysis deal with fatigue, and treatment days can be draining. A short nap, eyes-closed rest, or quiet relaxation can help your body recover and make the session feel shorter. Rest is not laziness. Rest is strategy.

12. Turn treatment time into personal planning time

If you like feeling organized, use the session to plan your week. Schedule rides, prep questions for appointments, map out meals based on your diet plan, make a medication reminder list, or create a small goal for the days between treatments. This can help restore a sense of control, which chronic medical routines sometimes steal.

Keep it realistic. “Drink within my fluid limit,” “walk for 10 minutes on non-treatment days,” or “remember my charger next time” are excellent goals. “Completely reinvent my life by Thursday” is ambitious in an unnecessary way.

Ideas Based on Your Energy Level

For low-energy days

Choose music, guided breathing, light TV, a nap, or an audiobook. Keep it soothing and simple.

For focused days

Try reading, journaling, puzzles, digital organizing, or planning the week ahead.

For emotionally heavy days

Go with comfort: a favorite playlist, a familiar show, a short call with someone supportive, or quiet reflection.

For restless days

Ask your care team whether any gentle approved movement is okay. If not, switch activities more often instead of forcing yourself to sit with one thing too long.

What Not to Try Without Checking First

Not every good idea is a good dialysis idea. Before trying something new during treatment, ask your care team if it is safe for you and your access type.

• Do not eat or drink during treatment unless your center says it is okay for you.
• Do not start exercises or stretches without approval.
• Do not place pressure on your access arm or access site.
• Do not wear tight sleeves, jewelry, or anything that compresses your access area.
• Do not ignore symptoms just because you do not want to “cause a fuss.”
• Do not change blood pressure medication timing unless your clinician has told you how to take it on dialysis days.

Dialysis staff would much rather answer a question early than deal with a preventable problem later.

Tell the Staff Right Away If You Notice These Symptoms

Some discomforts during dialysis are common, but they still matter. Let staff know right away if you feel dizzy, faint, nauseated, unusually weak, short of breath, chilled, crampy, or if you develop chest pain. Also speak up if your access area feels painful, looks unusually red or swollen, or seems to be bleeding or not working the way it usually does.

This is one of the most useful “things to try during a dialysis session,” even though it is not a hobby: be an active reporter of your symptoms. Your care team cannot respond to what they do not know.

How to Build a Session Routine That Actually Sticks

The best dialysis routine is not the most impressive one. It is the one you will actually use. Try building a short menu of options instead of forcing the same activity every time.

A simple session formula

First 20 minutes: settle in with breathing, music, or quiet.
Middle of session: read, listen, watch, journal, or do puzzles.
Last part: switch to something easy such as a comfort show or rest.

That flexible approach works better than expecting every treatment to look identical. Some days you will feel sharp. Some days you will feel foggy. Your routine should be able to handle both versions of you.

Common Experiences People Have During Dialysis Sessions

One of the most important things to understand about dialysis is that the experience is rarely just physical. It is emotional, mental, social, and practical all at once. Many people describe the first part of a session as the hardest because there is a mental shift that happens when treatment begins. You go from ordinary life to medical routine in a matter of minutes. Even when you are used to it, that transition can still feel heavy.

Some people say the session starts with a little dread and then settles into a rhythm. Once the machine is running and the setup is complete, the anxiety often eases. That is when distractions help most. Headphones go on. A familiar show starts. A crossword appears. The brain gets the message: yes, we are here again, but we know what to do.

Another common experience is unpredictability. One treatment may feel smooth and uneventful, while the next may leave a person more tired, restless, or emotionally thin. That is why many longtime dialysis patients lean into flexibility rather than perfection. They keep several options ready instead of forcing one plan. On a good day, they may read a hundred pages and answer messages. On a rough day, the big achievement may simply be breathing through the session and going home afterward. Both count as getting through it.

Many people also describe dialysis sessions as oddly personal despite taking place in a medical setting. The treatment becomes part of a private routine. Maybe there is a lucky blanket, a favorite gospel playlist, the same mystery novel series, or a ritual iced lip balm that somehow makes the whole day feel more civilized. These tiny habits may sound trivial to outsiders, but for patients, they often create familiarity and control.

There is also the social side. Some patients prefer quiet and keep to themselves. Others build warm relationships with nurses, technicians, drivers, seat neighbors, or family members who check in during treatment. A short conversation, a funny text, or a staff member remembering your usual routine can make a hard day feel much less lonely. Chronic illness has a way of shrinking the world sometimes, so even small moments of connection matter.

Fatigue is another big part of the experience for many people. Not everyone feels it the same way, but it can shape what is realistic during treatment. That is why the smartest dialysis routines are not based on ambition. They are based on honesty. What helps today? What feels comforting? What keeps the hours from dragging? What lets the body rest without the mind spiraling? Those are the questions that matter most.

In the end, many patients find that dialysis sessions become easier to handle when they stop trying to “win” the hours and start learning how to work with them. A session does not have to be inspiring, productive, or cheerful to be successful. Sometimes success looks like calm. Sometimes it looks like distraction. Sometimes it looks like a nap and a playlist. And sometimes that is more than enough.

Final Thoughts

There is no single best answer to the question of things to try during a dialysis session. The right choices depend on your energy, your symptoms, your treatment routine, and your personality. Some people feel better with puzzles and planning. Others do best with soft music and a blanket. Many use a mix of both.

What matters most is creating a session routine that helps you feel safer, calmer, and more like yourself. Start small. Bring one or two things you genuinely enjoy. Pay attention to what helps. Leave room for rest. And keep your care team in the loop whenever you want to try something new during treatment. Dialysis may take time, but it does not have to take every bit of comfort, choice, or personality out of the day.