Ensuring a good night’s sleep amid this chaotic situation

We know that life lately has been a lot. Just when we thought that we’ve been served enough troubles already, we can never be sure anymore as situations keep worsening by the day. This has caused us more feelings than usual and one thing that gets affected by it is our sleep.

It’s hard enough to stay calm, what more to secure a good night’s slumber? We thought our messed-up body clocks can use a pick-me-up and so we’ve sourced tips from experts on how we can still call it a good night and actually experience it more than its words.

The pandemic disrupted not just our lifestyles and economy, but our day-to-day functions as well. Our problems keep us awake at night and as we know it already, it is unhealthy to maintain that habit.

Dr. Anne Cristine Guevarra specializes in neurology and psychiatry at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital and she has shared a good list of to-dos to get some sleep amid COVID-19.

She suggests that we create a schedule and establish a routine such as setting a time to wake up and make room for breaks. Doing this fixes our sleep-wake cycle as we mostly are active in daytime. Oversleeping can alter your sleepiness at night. It’s helpful that we accomplish our tasks during our waking hours and not postpone them for a later time.

Keep your bed sacred for sleeping alone as much as possible. Our brains should practice a mindset that this space is for sleeping. Therefore, it is our task as well to maintain its coziness and keep it clean.

It’s also recommended that we regulate our screen time. “Light cues influence our circadian rhythm.” Limit sun exposure for when you get it through your window, balcony, or in your garden during the day. Avoid using your gadgets at least an hour before your set sleeping time.

Moreover, squeezing in a good exercise or two can increase endorphins that place us in the right mood. This goes for eating healthy too! Develop a habit of being mindful of the food you take as these are responsible too for giving you a good night’s sleep.

Familiarizing ourselves with various relaxation techniques can serve us well. Whether it be meditation, quiet time, music, reading, or yoga, give it a try and do what works best and effective.

Dr. Guevarra reiterates what it takes to achieve deep slumber in a list:

• Being able to fall asleep in 30 minutes or less;
  Sleeping at least 85% of the total time while in bed;
  Waking up only once per night; and
  Being able to get back to sleep after being awake for 20 minutes or less.

If we are able to follow these, what we want will for sure manifest.