ephas
8 March 2021
Not sleeping well lately? Join us now to learn more about things that can help you in this situation!
We all know that sleep is essential for our well-being. However many people find it difficult to sleep through the night when they are stressed or anxious! If you have trouble sleeping, you might appreciate this text about ways to improve sleep!
The capitalist society which we live in, makes us play what seems an endless game of catching up on something. In this situation of constant rush, we are trying to make the most of our lives. We focus on things that are important for us, such as career, family, friends, etc. And even if we know that life is unpredictable and that things can easily disrupt it we tend to not think about that. Why would we?
Yes, we were like that! Before last year, the idea that in the 21st century, a virus will conquer the world within weeks sounded like science fiction, didn’t it? But then again, here we are in 2021 and it appears that for the past twelve months we have been stuck in Steven Soderbergh’s movie Contagion.
The SARS –CoV 2 pandemic brought a myriad of things we were not prepared to deal with. Governments all over the world agreed that “life needs to stop, to preserve life”! Bizarre formulation, isn’t, it? Odd or not, all of us, regardless of the location, found ourselves in the situation that we have to live without seeing our loved ones and friends, without bars and restaurants, travel, shops, etc. Suddenly, our homes became everything – office, classroom, gym, restaurant, etc.
All of this, plus insecurities ad fears that came along with it, naturally affect our mental health. In our case, it disrupted the quality of sleep. Before the pandemic, we struggled, with acute insomnia. But we have to say it was nothing compared to what we are going through now.
No matter how early we go to bed and how soon before we stop using all the gadgets, it is simply impossible to fall asleep. And when we finally do, we wake up a couple of hours later in a panic. Little to say, we were continually exhausted, and it affected our lives in multiple ways.
After months of hoping that the situation will calm down and things will return to normal, we decided to discuss this with a friend who is a writer at gym–expert.com and try to understand how to improve sleep during the pandemic. He explained what is happening in situations such as this one and provided us with tips to improve sleep.
How COVID 19 disturbs sleep
Stress and anxiety
In these crazy times, we have more than a hundred reasons to be stressed and anxious, and this undeniably negatively affects sleep. Maybe you are worried about your own or the health of your loved one and friends. It is also possible that your anxiety comes from the economic crises that are certainly ahead of us or the inability to be with your partner if you are in a long-distance relationship.
Disrupted daily routine
The fact that we can’t go to school or work, see friends, go to the movies or for dinner, etc., creates chaos. Of course, we understand that public health threats such as this one require that we make some sacrifices. But, understanding is rational, whereas our reactions to this situation are purely emotional.
More screen time
Everyone knows that using electronic gadgets disrupt sleep. But under these circumstances, when we are working remotely and have nothing to do but eat and watch movies and series, it is more challenging than ever to limit the screen time.
Drinking
During this period, many of us find drinking alcohol to be a good way to relieve stress. The problem with this is that even though alcohol helps us fall asleep, it also disturbs the sleep cycle. That is why we wake up many times after drinking in the night and feel like we didn’t have enough sleep.
How to improve sleep during the pandemic
Create daily structure
Maybe the structure you are used to has been taken away, but this doesn’t mean that you cant create your own. The first thing you need to do when you want to improve sleep is to develop a routine. Even if you don’t have anything important to do, make sure that you get up each morning at the same time. If you are working from home, doing what you can do to maintain your schedule will significantly improve sleep at night.
Set a bedtime
Since you are spending most of the time at home, it is expected that you don’t feel tired at the same time as you would in normal conditions. However, if you want to improve sleep efficiency, it is recommended that you go to bed at the same time as if you are going to the office the next day. Your body is used to a certain routine, and it is essential to stick to it to improve sleep quality during a pandemic.
Practice breathing and meditation
If not before, now it is clearer than ever that we are not getting rid of this virus easily. That also means that all the reasons that create stress aren’t going to go away. Fortunately, we can help ourselves to deal with this and improve our sleep routine. In our experience, practicing meditation and techniques of breathing to improve sleep are quite significant.
Cope with worries
We know that you are worried about a myriad of things! It is expected! However, living in fear and worries is not healthy in any way, and particularly not when you want to improve sleep. If you find yourself waking up every night worrying about all the things that can happen, look for some techniques that can help you postpone the fears.
It is unlikely that you will find a solution to whatever is bothering you in the middle of the night. Hence, it is necessary to find something that can improve sleep patterns.
Be active during the day
With all of the things happening in the world, it is easy to forget about exercise. But regular physical activity significantly improves sleep and health. Yes, there are restrictions and all, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t go for a walk in the park, etc. If this is not an option for you, we recommend that you consider practicing yoga or other exercises that you can do at home.
Final take
The importance of having quality sleep is often overlooked. However, the lack of sleep adversely affects different aspects of our lives. We are sure that most of you noticed that you feel cranky and not motivated to work if you didn’t get enough sleep the previous night.
That is why it is essential to monitor the quality and apply techniques to improve sleep if necessary. Have you noticed changes in sleep patterns since the pandemic began?
About the author
The article was written by Thomas Nemel. He is an enthusiastic writer, passionate sportsman, and motorbike rider. Thomas loves to motivate people to engage in healthy living.
