According to data from the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) corresponding to 2018, between 20% and 48% of the adult population in our country suffered from difficulties initiating or maintaining sleepdisorders that have increased with the emergence of the coronavirus in our lives.
“Stress, worries, anxiety and depression are factors involved in insomnia, since sleep is very sensitive to physical, mental and even environmental conditions. Therefore, this time, the feelings that predominate in this epoch,fear of contagion, economic uncertainty and concern about restrictionshave had a negative impact on the quality of our rest,” says Dr. Julio Maset, Cinfa doctor.
But there is still more. To the emotional roller coaster of our daily lives, which seems to activate at the precise moment of going to bed, we must add the changes in our customs imposed by the pandemic, “with new routines, teleworking, less physical activity, greater social isolation, more connection to mobile devices and an increase in mental load.”
Some alterations that are interfering with the quality of our rest. “Due, It may be more difficult for us to fall asleep, it may be lighter and we may wake up more times. during the night or feel more sleepy or tired throughout the day,” he adds.
This deterioration of rest affects us much more than we think since Sleep is a biological need of the body that allows essential physical and psychological functions to be restored during the night. to enjoy full well-being the next day.
Not resting enough hours or not doing so in good conditions leads to numerous consequences that go beyond tiredness: memory and reasoning failures, worse mood, irritability, anxiety, lower performance at work or school…Sleep deprivation can even increase the risk of suffering traffic, domestic and work accidents.
GOOD HABITS
To prevent these sleep disturbances, the doctor recommends acting on ‘the part that depends on ourselves’, that is, on our habits: “There are factors that we cannot control, especially those of global magnitude such as those that have triggered the current pandemic, but we can focus on those related to sleep hygiene that do depend on us and that can contribute significantly to improving their duration and quality.
Thus, the Cinfa expert recalls that “incorporating some simple guidelines to the daily routine will help us start and maintain a restful and uninterrupted night’s rest. For example, it is important to take care of the temperature, noise and the light of our room, as well as following regular times for going to bed and getting up, replacing copious dinners for lighter ones and avoid the use of electronics devices before we go to sleep.”
These are his 10 tips for falling asleep in the times of covid-19:
1. Establish a regular sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, avoiding staying in bed outside of sleep periods. and try go to bed as soon as you feel sleepyinstead of falling asleep watching TV in the living room, since then it is more difficult to fall asleep in bed again.
2. Adjust your room and your bed. Keep the bedroom dark, quiet, well ventilated and at a comfortable temperature throughout the night. Try to avoid sound stimuli that can disrupt sleep continuity, turning off or silencing the cell phone or preventing it from lighting up abruptly during the night. Regarding the bed, better Make sure your mattress is neither too soft nor too hard and that the pillow adapts to your preferences.
3. Eat a healthy diet on a regular schedule. Despite teleworking or confinement, he continues to distribute meals five times throughout the day and at the same time as always. Above all, do not eat or drink large amounts within three hours before going to bed, since large meals produce heavy digestion that interferes with sleep. Likewise, reduce the intake of alcoholic beverages or stimulant substances such as coffee or chocolate, which can alter the structure of sleep and reduce its quality, and avoid snacking in the afternoon. If you are a smoker, try to quit tobacco.
4. Set a routine for your activities. If we were to reach a confinement situation similar to that of March and April, it would mean adjusting again to weeks without regular work or school schedules or with telematic ways of working or attending class. Given this, as well as the limitations on going outside, it is important to organize the day of the entire family and set a time to work and another to play with the children or for social life. End your work or study routine with a walkeven if it is short, to return home again for leisure and family time is a good way to disconnect.
5. Do physical exercise. Stay active, exercising at home or, if possible, outside, for about 30-45 minutes every day. But remember that it is not recommended perform physical activity two or three hours before bedtimedue to its exciting effect.
6. Look for the sunlight. If you are at home, try to spend the mornings doing some activity near a window and, if you can go outside, take advantage of morning hours or where it has not yet gotten dark.
7. Avoid long naps during the day. The Short naps have proven cardiovascular and mental benefits, but they should not extend so that it is not difficult for you to sleep at night. If you need them, it better be immediately after eating and no more than 20-30 minutesand that the interval from the end of the nap to the time of going to sleep at night is at least seven hours.
8. Measure the information you consume and the use of electronic devices before going to sleep. Reading or watching news about the pandemic situation before going to bed can increase your worry and make it difficult to fall asleep. Therefore, it is better that you limit these stimuli in the hours before sleep. Likewise, it is very important avoid blue light from screens of any device before going to sleep or, worse, already in bed. Instead, try following a relaxing ritual, such as some reading, music, or a shower.
9. Consult your pharmacist about the possibility of using nutritional solutions. If you have difficulty sleeping, dietary supplements may be a natural option in some cases: contributions of melatonin help reduce the time needed to fall asleep and valerian They contribute to its maintenance and quality.
10. See your doctor if the lack of sleep persists. If putting these measures into practice fails to improve your rest, or if you notice that your insomnia is lasting too long or is starting to cause you greater problems, Consult your doctor so that he or she can evaluate the convenience of a possible pharmacological treatment.. But remember that tranquilizers and sleeping pills are medications that require a medical prescription. Never use them without the necessary supervision, as they may not be recommended in your case.