Tips for a good night’s sleep during a pandemic
Since self-isolation and quarantine has started, I’ve seen a lot of posts about poor sleep. Since more people are home and they don’t have their normal daily routine it is beginning to affect people’s sleep. There is bound to be a lot of down time with not much to do. It can leave you feeling crazy or having cabin fever like feelings. This can also start to affect your sleep. Maybe you’re having more restless sleep or having weird dreams or countless things. There are a lot of articles coming out right now how many people are not getting enough mental activity during the day and it is beginning to affect their sleeping patterns. There really is no bright side to having a bad night’s sleep. It can make the next day even worse and become a vicious cycle. Not getting good sleep during this crazy time is maybe more harmful than we realize. Even if you are working from home, quarantined, or in self-isolation and have the option to sleep for a while, if you have bad sleep it isn’t helpful no matter how many hours, you’re in bed. If have had trouble sleeping recently take some time to help yourself during the day to let you get better sleep at night.
One of the best things to do for yourself is stimulate your brain. Doing something creative or actively having to use your brain will be really helpful. If you are binging Netflix all day that might not help poor sleeping situations. Take time to find something you enjoy that will engage your brain. Maybe you like cross word puzzles or solitaire. Reading is always a good option as well. There are plenty of card games and apps that are meant to engage your brain. Finding something that gets you actively thinking versus mindlessly scrolling through feeds and watching tv will help in the long run.
If you need something a little more active, try doing home workouts. There are a lot of videos on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram that will show you what to do and how to it properly. Engaging your brain in physical activities is also really beneficial. Not only are you getting your brain working you’re also getting a nice little exercise in. You don’t need equipment for any of this. You can do body weight exercises, Zumba, yoga, meditation and really just about anything else if you have a little bit of space