6 Tips To Getting More Sleep During Coronavirus Quarantine 💤
Getting a good night's sleep is getting harder and harder during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We've seen more people worried, more people with anxiety...and more insomnia. Of course, not logging enough hours in bed can fuel anxiety too, creating a vicious cycle: You're stressed, so you can't sleep, which makes you more stressed" says Seema Khosla, MD, the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep.
Here's 6 tips so you can kick you Covid-19 insomnia:
1) Exercise
Working out is a great for your body and mind and it can also help you get a good night's sleep, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“We have solid evidence that exercise does, in fact, help you fall asleep more quickly and improves sleep quality,” says Charlene Gamaldo, M.D. , medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital.
Exercising for at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity will help you sleep better that same night. So you don't need to train for a marathon to see a difference, simply pick exercises you like or do a yoga class and stick with it.
2) Avoid Alcohol Before Going To Bed
Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that drinking alcohol to fall asleep interferes with your body's sleep-regulating mechanism. So try to avoid that glass of wine before going to sleep.
3) Try Not To Work In Your Bed
Working from home can be challenging as there's no boundaries and working from your bed is convenient and cozy. "The work day has vanished. There are no boundaries anymore, and so people are working late into the evening and staying up too late," says Dr. Khosla. If you work from your bed, you will start associating work to you bedroom space and therefore carry all of the day's stresses into you bed.
4) Take A Break From The News
Limit stress and anxiety by reducing the time you spend watching or listening to media coverage. Take a break from watching the news and focus on the things that are positive in you life as well as the things you can control. Keep things in perspective.
5) Talk To Someone
"People are feeling isolated and alone and maybe their mental health is not doing well, and insomnia is a symptom of that. It's important to look at it and be honest with ourselves and say, 'Maybe I'm not as okay as I'm putting out there." says Dr. Kholsa.
6) Try CBD
Anxiety and stress relief, are the main reasons that people turn to CBD. CBD calms the nervous system by working on the neurotransmitters regulating nerve cells in our brain, called GABA receptors. It tells your body it's time to power down.
People living with coronavirus-related anxiety due to fear of one's health or the health of loved ones, isolation, entrapment from quarantining, a disrupted routine, or simply uncertainty of the future might turn to CBD as a useful tool to get them through this difficult time.