Recommendations for irregular sleep during confinement

After being confined to home for more than 30 days, many people have noticed that their usual sleep schedule has been altered.

Sometimes these misalignments in the regular schedule are due to anxiety, the uncertainty and overflowing emotions that are being experienced, but it is also due to not having a work schedule to which we must adjust.

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Irregular sleep during confinement

The fact of not having a high physical activity, together with not maintaining the same level of mental activity during the day means that at night we feel less tired. In addition, of these factors most people who are at home do not have to adjust to work hours, except in cases of teleworking in which an established schedule is followed.

All these conditions have favored to a greater or lesser extent that the general population has seen their sleep pattern affected, either in terms of conciliation or by maintaining it.

For this reason, we consider it necessary to provide some recommendations to alleviate irregular sleep.

Sleep hygiene

Before moving on to some specific guidelines, it is necessary to comment that it is important that we maintain good “sleep hygiene”. This is about a series of habits and attitudes that help us maintain a good quality of sleep in general. Among these habits we must remember the following.

1. Try to avoid stimulating drinks

Avoid stimulating drinks, such as those with caffeine, at least for six hours before going to bed.

2. Avoid consuming alcohol from the early afternoon

Failure to do so can significantly lower your quality of sleep.

3. Try to avoid smoking at night as well

Although smokers sometimes think that smoking relaxes them, the truth is that it activates the body.

4. Exercise during the day but not too late

Don't do physical exercise for at least two hours before going to sleep.

5. Try to avoid also having a copious and heavy dinner

Avoid foods with excessive refined oils, sugars and simple carbohydrates. It is important that you also try to have dinner at least 2 hours before going to sleep and, if it is earlier, the better.

6. Try to maintain a suitable environment for sleep

That is, try to have in your room a good temperature, little noise, lighting that facilitates sleep, etc.

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7. Use the bed only for sleeping and sexual intercourse

If you do other activities such as reading, watching television, talking, it will cost you more to associate the bed with sleep and this will affect your sleep pattern.

8. Do relaxation exercises

The last hours before going to sleep try to do activities that are relaxing and easier to sleep: watch a movie that is not overly exciting, read something nice, listen to quiet music ...

9. Try to connect some activity with going to sleep

For example, sometimes we have a kind of “routine” before going to bed (brushing our teeth, going to drink water, reading a few pages of a book, etc.). If we always do the same activity just before going to sleep this can help us connect these activities with sleep and our brain will associate both things.

Behavioral guidelines

When we cannot sleep what usually happens is that we start to get nervous and observe ourselves over and over again. This in turn causes that when we see that we are still unable to sleep, we increase the activation that we already had by entering a loop, so that it is even more difficult for us to fall asleep. To try to alleviate this there is what is called “stimulus control”. It consists of the following.

Try to go to sleep at approximately the same time every time

You should go to sleep at the time you used to do before confinement.

Go to bed and try to sleep, try not to be self-watching all the time

Above all, do not use this moment to plan what you will do, worry ...

Take breaks

If after about 20 minutes you are still unable to sleep, get out of bed and look out of the room. Go to another room in the house and try to do some relaxing activity: watching TV, reading, etc. Something that doesn't require a lot of activation.

When you see the drowsiness return, go back to bed

When you have returned to bed, try to do the same as in point 2. If you see that you are still not sleeping, you should go back to step 3. You will have to repeat this as many times as necessary until you sleep.

Keep schedules

Despite not having rested that night too It is important that you try to get up at the time you used to do before. If, on the other hand, you continue to sleep until 12 noon, we will continue with the same problem, we will delay the time of sleep at night and we will continue without being able to sleep.

Do not nap

Another important step is to try not to nap in the afternoon. Now we have a lot of free time and many people use this resource to make time pass faster, but it does not benefit us at all when trying to return to a normal sleep pattern.

Concluding

It is important that you know that acquiring a regular sleep pattern is not a matter of a few days. It takes time and perseverance. In addition, as we have said before, the circumstances that we currently have make it more difficult for us to return to our usual routine.

Since Mariva Psychologists We are offering discounts on online therapy of up to 20% for all people who require psychology sessions at this time. We also offer a 30% discount on online therapy for healthcare professionals and people who are unemployed. Do not doubt get in touch with us if you think you need more information.

Bibliographic references:

• Sevillá, J. and Pastor, C. (2015). Psychological treatment of depression. A step-by-step self-help manual, Valencia, Spain, Publications of the Center for Behavior Therapy: 8th Edition.