Sleep is not easy for everyone. In quarantine, sleep can also become more stressful. With more time on our hands and less busyness in our day, one would think that sleep would become less of an issue. However, for many that has not been the case. Our bodies rely on cues from our environment (levels of light exposure) to produce melatonin so that your body is told that it is time to get tired. With less time spent outdoors and less movement in our day, many of us do not expend the energy we need or notice the changes in light that help give us the drive for sleep. Anxiety and depression can also disrupt sleep, which is additionally relevant during these stressful times. It is only natural to have worries that start to creep into our pillow time and disrupt our ability to fall asleep. Another thing that makes sleep more challenging is our more flexible attitude towards bedtimes and wake times during quarantine. We tell ourselves that we can watch another Netflix episode and sleep in, as there may be no urgency the next morning. While that may be fine for our personal schedule, it is not so helpful to our body’s natural rhythms. This leads to physiological confusion that can greatly alter our natural bed and wake times. In the realm of sleep, consistency is key. So if going to bed late and waking up late is something you want to indulge in, fine, but make sure you are able to maintain that pattern consistently or your sleep will suffer. At times where we all want to stay healthy and keep our immune system strong, it is more important now than ever before to get a good night sleep. For those of you who could use some help with your sleep please continue reading. 10 Tips to Improve your Quarantine Sleep
If you would like to learn more about sleep in quarantine check out the Ted Talks Daily podcast “why sleep matters now more than ever” by Matt Walker. Image used under Creative Commons license. CLICK HERE for the source. Image: Insomnia by Alyssa L. Miller. See side panel for further copyright information.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorJessica is a member of the clinical wellness and learning support team at FLEX Psychology. Jessica started Wellness Wednesday out of a desire to provide further opportunities for her clients to extend their wellness journey to all avenues of their life. You can learn more about Jessica by clicking here or by learning more about her and the clinical team at FLEX Psychology by clicking here. Categories
All
Archives
August 2020
Image Copyright
Wellness Wednesday uses a combination of original, licensed images, and images used through non-revocable creative commons license. While Wellness Wednesday is a non-profit project, we restrict use to Creative Commons licenses that allow sharing, modification, and commercial use under the terms of Attribution (providing appropriate credit), this license, and notification of any changes made. Images are reviewed twice yearly to determine if sources have been removed. While the agreed upon license provided irrevocable rights to use, we chose to remove these photos to avoid any possible misattribution and confusion regarding the nature of the initial license agreement. You can read more about Creative Commons licenses by CLICKING HERE. |