Evie Summers
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, including our sleep. With many people working from home, it's important to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Light is the biggest disruptor of sleep, so it's recommended to install dimmers throughout your house to control light levels. Maintaining a routine is key to good sleep, as is exercising during the day and avoiding naps. Reducing screen time before bed and spending less time in bed while awake are also helpful strategies. Finally, keeping a consistent wake-up time and finding ways to quiet your mind, such as meditation or writing down your worries, can improve sleep quality.
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What You'll Learn
Avoid alcohol before bed
While a nightcap may help you fall asleep faster, it can negatively impact your sleep quality. Alcohol is a sedative, and once its initial sedative effects wear off, it turns into an irritant, causing frequent awakenings and low-quality sleep. Research shows that alcohol use can change your sleep quality, and the worse you sleep, the more likely you are to crave alcohol, creating a vicious cycle.
Alcohol use and dependence can interfere with your body's circadian rhythms, which are biological patterns that operate on a 24-hour clock. Alcohol may decrease the body's sensitivity to cues like daylight and darkness, which trigger shifts in body temperature and the secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin. These fluctuations are vital for the sleep-wake cycle, and when they are disrupted, you may feel alert when you want to sleep and sleepy when you want to be awake.
Additionally, drinking alcohol before bed may contribute to insomnia and worsen snoring and sleep apnea. It can also interrupt rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is essential for dreaming, learning, and memory processing.
To improve your sleep quality, it is recommended to avoid alcohol for at least three to four hours before bedtime. If alcohol continues to disrupt your sleep, you may consider reducing your intake or abstaining from it altogether.
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Exercise during the day
Exercise is an important part of improving sleep quality and duration. According to Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital, "We have solid evidence that exercise does, in fact, help you fall asleep more quickly and improves sleep quality."
There is an ongoing debate about the best time of day to exercise for optimal sleep. Some sources suggest that exercising too late in the day can interfere with sleep, while others claim that the time of day doesn't matter as long as you are engaging in regular physical activity. It is recommended to get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, such as a brisk walk or a bike ride, to improve mood and sleep quality. This is supported by research indicating that aerobic exercise increases the amount of slow-wave sleep and decreases complaints of insomnia.
For those who are unable to choose their exercise schedule, such as professional athletes, taking melatonin after an evening workout may help reset the circadian rhythm and mitigate any negative effects on sleep quality. It is important to note that high-intensity exercises performed less than one hour before bedtime may lead to poorer sleep quality and longer onset latency.
Overall, the key is to listen to your body and find an exercise routine that works for you. As Gamaldo advises, "Know your body and know yourself. Doctors definitely want you to exercise, but when you do it is not scripted."
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Establish a routine
Establishing a routine is one of the best ways to improve your sleep during lockdown. The monotony of lockdown may get to you, but having a routine can help you get through the lockdown more conveniently and sleep better. Even if you are not working or have nothing major to do, it is important to follow a routine.
Firstly, it is important to get up at the same time each day. The body craves consistency, and having a regular wake-up time can improve sleep. When we get up at different times each day, our body doesn't know when to prepare for waking up, which can cause that groggy feeling in the morning.
Secondly, it is important to dedicate specific times to certain activities, including sleep. Your routine should include a variety of activities such as making food, eating, watching TV, gardening, reading, and exercising. For example, you could try waking up, making breakfast, exercising, reading, eating lunch, spending time in the garden, watching TV, and going to bed at a reasonable hour.
Thirdly, it is important to get some natural sunlight during the day. Exposure to sunlight, especially in the morning, improves sleep. Try to spend at least 30 minutes each day in natural sunlight. You can also try to exercise in the daylight, or at least sit in your garden or walk to the shops if possible.
Finally, it is important to avoid napping during the day. For those who find sleeping at night a problem, 'sleepiness' is a valuable resource. Don't squander it on naps, save it for bedtime.
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Don't work in your bedroom
Working from home can be challenging, especially when it comes to maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. Here are some reasons why you should avoid working in your bedroom to improve your sleep during lockdown:
Firstly, it is important to establish a clear boundary between work and personal life. When you work in your bedroom, your brain may start to associate that space with work, making it harder to relax and fall asleep at night. By keeping your workspace separate from your bedroom, you reinforce the mental association between your bedroom and sleep, which can help improve your sleep quality.
Secondly, working in your bedroom can be distracting and impact your productivity. Your bedroom may be filled with items that can divert your attention, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand. Additionally, working in a space that is primarily for leisure can make it challenging to maintain a professional mindset and may negatively impact your work-life balance.
Thirdly, the lighting in bedrooms can often be dimmer than in other rooms, which is not ideal for productivity during the day. Sunlight is a natural mood booster and can help improve your energy levels. Working in a well-lit space can also reduce eye strain. While a dim bedroom may be perfect for naps, it can disrupt your body clock and negatively impact your sleep schedule.
Finally, working from your bedroom can lead to poor posture and physical discomfort. Bedrooms may not have the ideal desk setup, causing you to work from your bed or a couch, which can result in slouching and subsequent body aches.
By creating a separate workspace, you can optimize your work environment, improve your focus, and maintain a healthier sleep schedule.
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Get natural sunlight
Sunlight is essential to our health and well-being. It is also a potent form of light therapy that can help you sleep better at night. Light is a significant stimulus that helps our body understand when to sleep and when to wake up. Our circadian rhythm, or internal clock, is influenced by light exposure, and sunlight is the most effective form of light exposure.
Sunlight in the morning helps reset your body's inner "sleep clock". Getting 15-30 minutes of sunlight in the morning can help you sleep better at night. Sunlight also helps your body produce serotonin, which improves your mood and plays an important role in your well-being.
If you can't get morning sunlight, you can still benefit from spending time outdoors during daylight hours, opening curtains to let natural light into your home, or using light box therapy devices that simulate sunlight. Even on a dull day, there is a lot of sunlight, and by letting your body know it's daytime, it will be less inclined to want to sleep.
Exercising outdoors in the morning is another way to get your daily dose of sunlight. Research shows that exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week, can improve your mood and sleep quality. However, remember to maintain social distancing when exercising outdoors.
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Frequently asked questions
Try to stick to a routine, even if you don't have much to do during the day. This will help your body to keep in sync with the 24-hour day. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, and try to spend at least 30 minutes in natural sunlight each day, as exposure to sunlight improves sleep.
Exercise improves sleep quality, so try to incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine. Yoga and cardio exercises are good options. If you can, exercise outdoors in the daylight, or at least sit in your garden or go for a walk.
Mentally and physically separate your work life from your sleep life. Don't work in your bedroom, and try to avoid spending too much time in bed before you go to sleep. Only go to bed when you feel sleepy. You can also install dimmers throughout your house to give you the flexibility to change your light levels over the course of the day.
A quiet mind is key to falling asleep. If you're feeling anxious, try writing down your worries, along with possible solutions, during the day. This will help you fall asleep more soundly and with less stress on your mind. If you're lying in bed and can't stop thinking about all the things you need to do the next day, get up and spend a few minutes writing them down.
