From eu.coshoctontribune.com
By Emily Marrison
When I went out to feed the goats on a recent morning, I was happily greeted by two of my favourite does. Luna and Corona were two of my son’s first kids on our farm. Corona’s name will forever remind us she was born in April 2020. It is interesting how many names out there are associated with the pandemic. One that caught my eye this week is coronasomnia, from an OSU Extension Live Healthy Live Well blog by my colleague Jenny Lobb.
Coronasomnia is insomnia that has been worsened by or developed from the stress associated with the pandemic. Certain groups of people have an increased risk including people who have had COVID-19, frontline and essential workers, unpaid caregivers, women, young adults, and people of color. According to the Sleep Foundation, health care workers have been more than twice as likely to report anxiety and depression during the pandemic, which has affected their sleep.
Prior to 2020, about one-third of Americans experienced regular sleep deprivation. That number jumped to about 40% during the pandemic. Whether you have experienced insomnia in the past or these sleep troubles have come on more recently, there are steps you can take to improve your sleep.
The American Association of Sleep Medicine offers the following tips:
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations. “Catching up” on sleep has been associated with increased risk of heart disease.
- Set a consistent bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. It may be helpful to set an alarm on your phone or watch to remind you to begin your bedtime routine.
- Napping during the day may do more harm than good. A brief nap of 10 to 20 minutes may be refreshing, but if you struggle with insomnia try eliminating daytime naps altogether.
- It may sound childish but establishing a bedtime routine is helpful to trigger your mind and body to prepare for sleep. This could involve turning down lights, reading (not from an electronic screen), or taking a warm bath. Avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine or eating a large meal.
- Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature. It may be helpful to keep it dark with light-blocking (blackout) curtains.
- If you don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go do a quiet activity without a lot of light exposure. It is especially important to not get on electronics.
Lobb also shares that in addition to the habits above, establishing daily routines and getting outside at least once each day, ideally in the morning, can help reinforce your natural sleep-wake cycle. Finding ways to cope with stress is also important, as stress makes sleep difficult. Exercise, mindfulness practice and taking breaks from the news are all ways to reduce and manage stress.
The Alaska Sleep Clinic has found that sleep disturbance can be successfully addressed by offering prayers. “Prayers enhance our faith, make us optimistic, and help us relax. When we offer prayers, our mind produces happy hormones, which alleviate stress. Furthermore, prayers remind us that the Creator is there to decide the best for us. Thus, this belief and connection help us feel free from worldly matters.”
Today I’ll leave you with this quote from Wilson Mizener: “The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.”
Emily Marrison is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator
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