Staying Productive Today Means Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

So many people are having trouble sleeping right now. The stress of not knowing what is going on for sure, layoffs, a sobering 24-hour news cycle, and a lot of uncertainty about the future leads many to have sleepless nights. A chronic lack of sleep — even in the short term — can lead to anxiety, stress, and a lack of production in both your personal and professional lives. Long-term effects can bring about hypertension, depression, and other severe mental health issues.

According to SleepFoundation.org, some of the reasons people lose sleep is because social distancing, school closures, quarantines, and working from home all bring profound changes to normal routines. That means:

• It can be difficult to adjust to a new daily schedule or lack of a schedule.
• Keeping track of the time, and even the day, can be hard without typical time “anchors” like dropping kids at school, arriving at the office, attending recurring social events, or going to the gym.
• Being stuck at home, especially if it has low levels of natural light, may reduce light-based cues for wakefulness and sleep, known as zeitgebers, which are crucial to our circadian rhythm.
• If you are not working at the moment or your weekly hours have been decreased due to COVID-19, you may be tempted to oversleep each morning. Sleeping more than seven to eight hours per night can make waking up on time much more difficult, even if you use an alarm. Oversleepers may also feel groggy, irritable, and unfocused throughout the day. 

Getting a good night's sleep

As we try to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important we prioritize our sleep and health. If worrying about COVID-19 is stopping us from falling asleep, or keeps us awake during the night, there are things that we can do to reduce the worry and improve sleep. The Sleep Health Foundation recommends:

1. Limit media exposure. Be sensible about what you learn about COVID-19. Check official web sites (such as www.health.gov.au). Do not pay too much attention to gossip and some media reports, which may be exaggerated, or may simply be guessing what might happen.
2. Make time to unwind. Spend some time relaxing and watching, listening, or reading about things that have nothing to do with COVID-19. This is especially important in the hour or so before going to sleep so that you can go to sleep with a relaxed mind.
3. Take care of your body. As much as possible keep a normal routine throughout the day. Get some exercise, eat sensibly, do not drink too much alcohol, and avoid caffeine close to bedtime. Make sure that you do something fun and have a laugh during the day.
4. Connect with others. If you have specific concerns, try to deal with them before going to bed. Simply talking to someone you trust about your worries can often help. Get some advice from a trusted person who might be able to help you solve the problem. Social distancing does not need to equate to social isolation.
5. Take care of your mind. If the worry is still on your mind as you are getting ready to go to sleep, sit down quietly, think about what the issues are, and how you might deal with them tomorrow. It may help to write these things down, including a list of what you plan to do about them during the next few days. You may also like to try using a smartphone app called 'Smiling Mind' which has helpful short mindfulness activities to help you relax.
6. Your bed is predominantly for sleep. You want to achieve a strong connection between your bed and successful sleep (i.e., falling asleep and staying asleep easily). If you go to bed and find that you cannot get to sleep, or if you wake up during the night and cannot get back to sleep because of worries, get up and do something relaxing in the dim light that is quiet and away from the bedroom. Go back to bed when you feel ready to fall asleep.
7. Keep a regular sleep-wake routine. As much as possible we should keep a normal sleep routine. Going to bed at the same time each night, and getting up at the same time each morning is important for getting a good night of sleep
8. Managing fatigue. Also remember that even if you did not get much sleep, or it seemed to be poor sleep, it is not the end of the world. You will get through the next day all right and if you are quite tired, you will probably sleep better the next night. If you are extremely fatigued and sleepy you may need to have a coffee or take a nap to function normally and safely (see Caffeine and Sleep and Napping for more information).
9. Sleep is like a butterfly. You cannot reach out and grab it and catch it. If you stay quiet and still, the butterfly will come to you. It is the same with sleep. You cannot force yourself to go to sleep, so do not try. Simply allow yourself to be relaxed and quiet, and sleep will come to you.

If your sleep problems aren’t solved using the methods above, contact your doctor or another health care professional for advice. 

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