SLEEP SUNDAY – LET’S TALK ABOUT “CORONASOMNIA”…THE INABILITY TO FALL AND STAY ASLEEP…

“Coronasomnia” is the inability to fall and stay asleep. Healthline wrote than an increasing number of people have been reporting sleep disturbances since the Covid-19 pandemic began. So, it is important to take steps to alleviate this problem which can badly affect your health.

According to the website Comu there are 10 common mistakes in fighting the inability to fall and stay asleep. Most of which I am sure you will know about but if you are seriously in need of some good nights sleep then you need to try and look at these mistakes and change them for your health’s sake.

1. Too much screen time we all know has to be number one on the list and you just have to be strong and turn the screen off and put it on silent and read something before you go asleep. It doesn’t have to be a book if you are not that way inclined it can be a magazine just as long as it is not on your screen.
2. Get to bed earlier. With the blending of day and night that can come with working from home, lots of people are delaying their bedtimes and waking up much later in the morning. Even if you are not back at work yet set your alarm to wake yourself up so that you have a full day and get your body clock turning off earlier.
3. Do not hit the snooze button when it goes off in the morning as you will be in the middle, not the end, of that sleep cycle, and you’ll wake up groggy and stay that way longer.
4. Afternoon nap, we all love them but if you take them for too long then it will affect your sleep that evening. The maximum you should nap is for 45 minutes and only once a day so set your alarm to wake you up and the later you take it the later you will feel tired in the evening. Catnaps that are approximately 15 to 20 minutes are fine, experts say, and may reduce fatigue; boost creativity; increase alertness; jump-start cognitive performance; and improve mood. But try to do them earlier in the day between noon and 2 p.m. 
5. Do not lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and go into another room where there is dim light and do something calming until you feel drowsy again. The same applies when you wake in the night and can’t fall back asleep.
6. Stop checking the time every five minutes it will wake you up even more.
7. Drinking an alcoholic drink before bedtime might make you sleepy but it will wake you up in a couple of hours to go to the bathroom. Have one earlier in the evening and not before bedtime.
8. When it comes to sleep, skipping exercise is one of the worst things you can do. Surveys of vigorous exercisers by the National Sleep Foundation show they are almost twice as likely to report high-quality, regular sleep compared to non-exercisers. Sitting for long periods of time is thought to be connected to poor sleep. A 2019 study of people with insomnia found those who stretched before bed showed improvement in their sleep quality.
9. You have become reliant on sleeping aids from pills to potions. Try cutting down first then doing without and let your body work naturally.
10. Develop a sleep pattern that works for you ie the time you go to bed, the drink before you go to bed, the light in your room, the temperature in your room, and any other routine. Your body will work better in a routine so find the best one for you that helps you go asleep.