Coronavirus pandemic and insomnia
The news of the
pandemic COVID-19 is on the peak these days. People are having social distance
and are in isolation. The consequences of constant media reporting, isolation,
fear, stress, etc are making people worried about leading to lack of sleep, according
to best
psychologists in Delhi. Not only this, but people also are not
following their daily routines, which may cause difficulty in falling asleep. This
may result in insomnia. The constant thought about the pandemic can make it
difficult to fall asleep or the panic of the disease may make it difficult to
wake up early in the morning.
Sleep is needed to
boost up your immunity, your day to day functioning and productivity. But what
is happening in this pandemic situation is your mind is racing continuously and
your sleep is affected. Some psychologists near me claim that a lack of sleep may
also affect your emotions and they can become more intense. It diminishes the
ability to regulate emotions making a stressor more stressful and the ability
to calm down the stressor impaired; hence overall thought process becomes
affected. According to Dr. R.K. Suri top psychologist in Delhi, good quality of
sleep has a greater impact on the quality of life and also on day to day
functioning - Checkout how sleep therapy helps you
Philip Cheng, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and research scientist at the
Sleep Disorders Center at Henry Ford Health System had said that “Everything
that’s going on right now can make people more vulnerable to insomnia,”
People now a day make use of gadgets like mobile phones
etc to keep them up to date. These also affect the quality and quantity of
sleep. It affects their personal social relationships, the work output in the
office, their school productivity and the performances and their overall
decision making. The digital technology and the need to stay connected is
costing many people to sleep 2-3 hours less. Now the news of COVID-19 is all
over the social media which people are scrolling every day and night. This is
making it worse to cope with the anxiety and affecting the sleep pattern of
almost every individual.
Dr. R.K. Suri advises people not to worry if you are not
getting a good quality sleep of around 8-9 hours. He advises people about the
do and don’ts of sleeping in this COVID-19 pandemic.
1. A person should stick to his routine. There should be a fixed time of sleeping and waking up. There should be no napping in between, whether you have had a full sleep last night or not. This will help in regulating the sleep pattern as you will feel more tired. Napping is only allowed in case of heavy machinery work or driving etc.
2. There should be a half hour's time before bed for relaxing. For example, reading your favorite book or watching the old episodes of your favorite serial, etc. This time is not recommended for news. Because if you will listen to the news of deaths or coronaviruses etc it can again affect your sleep. It is recommended to do deep breathing exercises before sleeping.
3. You should stay away from electronics. Here television is the exception. As we all know that there is a blue light that comes from our electronic gadgets which are affecting our circadian rhythm, keeping you awake when you need to sleep.
4. Creating an ideal sleeping environment before sleeping like dimming the lights etc should also be considered. Voice distraction should be barred.
5. Exercising in the afternoon also helps you in getting good quality sleep. Exercising makes your body tired. Dr. Suri advises people to exercise 3 hours before sleeping.
6. Skipping large meals before sleep is also helpful in getting a night of good quality sleep. Avoiding sugary and spicy food will also help. A small snacking is acceptable.
7. Limit the caffeine as well as alcohol intake. Caffeine should not be taken at least 6 hours before sleep.
