If you have noticed that shifts in your daily routine have disrupted your sleep, you are not alone. It may be helpful to review potential causes, and consider some helpful modifications. For those of us who struggle with insomnia, anxiety or other sleep-related difficulties, this novel situation may have exacerbated particular challenges, or presented new ones.
As per SleepFoundation.org, there are a few key culprits at play. Let’s review them
- Adaptation takes time. We are currently tasked with adjusting to a new pace and routine, or for some, the lack of a schedule.
- Typically, daily occurrences serve as anchors for us. Your 10:00am coffee break, school drop-off, recurring PM staff meeting or gym class actually helps you to keep track of what time it is, and what day it is! Without these subtle timekeepers, days can feel as though they blend together.
- More time spent indoors, or in spaces with less natural light can result in the reduction of light-based cues for wakefulness and sleep, one of our environmental zeitgebers. Zeitgebers help reset our circadian rhythm (internal clock) and impact hormones (like melatonin) and energy levels throughout the day.
- Extra time spent watching the news and following current events can cause an uptick in worry. In times of uncertainty, when we quiet the body as we lay in bed, the mind may become louder. Thought rumination can prevent us from falling asleep swiftly, despite how tired our bodies may be! Due to the nature of COVID-19, we do not have solid answers to looming questions, so rumination can continue unless we actively shut it down.
- The structure of work from home mornings may look differently. There may be a temptation to oversleep. Oversleeping can make waking up on time much more difficult. You may notice that extra “snooze”or two results in grogginess, irritability and difficulty concentrating.
Whether circadian rhythms, nighttime thought rumination, or a combination of both is to blame, read on for tips and tools to use to enhance sleep and sleep quality. Getting our sleep back on track will improve mood, boost immunity and can enhance our focus (maybe you’ll be able to pick that book back up again!)
- Have sleep and wake times varied over the last month? Try to re-engage in a consistent sleep/wake schedule.
- Strengthen your bedtime anchors by engaging in a pre-bedtime routine that remains consistent each night (e.g shower, essential oil application, pajamas, reading on couch, lights out). You can make this something you look forward to by incorporating your favorite self-care activities!
- Reserve the bed for sleep. Avoid watching that last Netflix special on your laptop in bed, or scrolling through the nightly news on your phone. Set aside those nighttime work emails or morning email scroll!
- Don’t toss & turn for too long. If after 20 minutes you are still awake, do something low-key in low-light, such as reading, lounging or meditating.
- Avoid the clock. If you wake up in the middle of the night, avoid a time check. Breathe or meditate your way back to sleep without assessing how much time you may have left before your alarm sounds. Time checking can cause an uptick in anxiety (e.g. “oh great, I only have 2 more hours of sleep!”or “oh man, it’s only been an hour!”) For some, the middle of the night time check can turn into an unrequested “routine” for the brain if we allow it to happen more than once or twice. Instead, get up and go into another dark room for a few moments until sleepiness sets back in.
- Allow only a pre-set amount of time on news sites and social media during the day. This can prevent the overwhelming wave of emotion that sets in when we are flooded with information.
- Avoid late afternoon napping. If you’ve got an afternoon routine that includes a power nap, great. We want to avoid those early evening naps or couch cat naps during your 8:00pm program!
- The more we try to force sleep, the more our brains will reject it. A simple example of this is one used by therapists when sharing how thought suppression is not beneficial to those with anxiety. Saying to yourself “Don’t think of a pink elephant, don’t think of a pink elephant” will likely result in lots of pink elephant images! When relating this to sleep, repeating “am I asleep yet?” will keep the brain engaged and alert. Instead, try a calming activity like the one below.
- Try this Guided Meditation from Mindfulness.org. It will flow you through a relaxing script with no disruptive bell or sound to signify its ending, in the event you have floated to dream land! Learn more about Mindfulness for Sleep Here
About the Author :
Rebecca Perini, Middle School Counselor, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined the Lycée team in 2018. Rebecca holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State University and completed her master’s degree in social work at Columbia University. Rebecca has obtained additional training in mindfulness, social thinking, CBT, DBT, and other short-term psychodynamic interventions.