As lockdown continues we are really starting to see how much the current crisis is affecting mental health and sleep in particular.
We need a strong immune system to fight illness and viruses and one of the best ways of strengthening our immune systems is to get a good nights sleep. It has so many benefits.
Whether you are NHS staff, a key worker or a member of the public, the chaos we find ourselves in has meant that many people’s sleep is being disrupted.
Reasons for this change
Healthcare and other key workers may be feeling increasingly threatened and scared for themselves and their loved ones and anxious of unwittingly passing the virus on during a symptomless phase. You may well be feeling guilty if you have to quarantine when someone in your household is unwell: feeling you have let colleagues down if you are away from work. It’s all new; it’s all unknown and it’s all terrifying. But you are not alone.
Front line healthcare professionals are working in indescribably stressful circumstances. Many are in unfamiliar clinical environments and are working against an invisible enemy. They are often working for incredibly long stretches and then having to isolate themselves from their families, so there is no respite.
We are all worried about the virus: questioning whether we will get it or pass it on to loved ones. We are concerned about food, medicines, jobs, the vulnerable, our individual and collective future and so many other facets of our lives now and in the future.
Its no wonder we can’t sleep.
Most people have had a huge change to their routine. We may be going to bed later as we don’t have to get up and out to our workplace or we are lying awake absorbing the late night news in all its horror.
Its no wonder we can’t sleep.
Days are more stressful as many of us have had to adapt to working from home plus taking on home schooling or caring for pets (and children!) who aren’t getting enough exercise!
Some of us may be drinking more than usual.
Our usual exercise routine may well have fallen by the wayside. So even if we started out with the good intention of doing a workout every morning, as time passes and stress increases those good intentions may well have disappeared.
Its no wonder we can’t sleep.
Lack of downtime. Nowhere to escape from family members. New stresses every day. Or in self-isolation and cut off from family and feeling increasingly lonely.
Its no wonder we can’t sleep.
What we can do to create good sleep habits?
This isn’t going to be easy because none of this is going away anytime soon. But there are a lot of tricks and tips and changes we can make to try and get a decent night’s sleep and all the mental and physical health benefits that brings.
Create a schedule – going to bed and waking up at the same time every day sets the body’s internal clock to expect sleep at a certain time night after night. Aim to stick to this as closely as possible – even at weekends or days off – to avoid that Monday morning hangover.
Exercise is important but it can be difficult to change your exercise habits at the moment especially if you were reliant on a gym, club or pool. It does, however, play a very important role in maintaining physical and mental health so do what you can. Exercise promotes restful sleep if done several hours before bed but as it stimulates the production of cortisol, which activates the alert mechanism in the brain, it is not ideal near bedtime – better to train in the mornings if you can. Order a skipping rope; download a HIT app that needs no equipment or find an online yoga class. There is so much you can do in a limited space and with minimal kit. Check out www.thebodycoach.com; www.fitwithfrank.co.uk and www.yoga.co.uk
Try to avoid stimulants.
We all know the prime culprit is caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola and some pain medication) and its effects can take as long as 8 hours to wear off.
Nicotine is another stimulant that causes light sleeping and early waking due to the withdrawal effect.
While alcohol may initially help you get to sleep, after a few hours it acts as a stimulant and will increase the number of times you wake-up as well as decreasing the quality of that sleep.
Don’t eat a big meal late at night as its absorption and integration interferes with sleep.
If you’re going to have a nap make it short (less than 20 minutes) and take it early because after 3 pm it can interfere with the sleep drive making it harder to fall asleep at night.
Relax before bed. Take an evening bath because the rise then fall in body temperature stimulates the feeling of wanting to sleep as well as relaxing you.
Turn your bedroom into a sleep inducing environment. Create a quiet, dark, cool (temperature wise!) well ventilated and gadget free environment (leave your phone outside on the landing). A comfortable mattress and pillows will help as well.
Keep up to date with what’s going on but not in the lead-up to bedtime and definitely not while in bed – scrolling through alarming news will lead to anxiety and panic.
Get daily exposure to sunlight. Natural light keeps your internal clock on a healthy sleep/wake cycle. Let the light in first thing in the morning and aim to spend at least 30 minutes in natural daily light ideally. This might mean sitting by a window if you can’t get out but that does work.
And once you’ve woken up – get up.
If you are waking during the night then try to accept your worries. When we are in bed our brains reflect on our problems and a good way to deal with this is through acceptance of those worries. Identity your stressful thought and give it a label because by labelling the thought and the emotion that goes with it, they will lessen. If you accept the thought and let it pass then sleep may come and if it doesn’t just accept this and allow yourself to rest.