Some of us are having trouble sleeping during confinement: there are nights when it is more difficult to fall asleep and others when we wake up prematurely. Sometimes we even sleep longer, but we still wake up more tired. To all this are added, in many cases, nightmares in which the coronavirus appears.
Sleeping worse these days is normal, according to the neurologist Milagros Marino, a member of the scientific committee of the Spanish Sleep Society. The doctor notes that we are going through "a lot of anxiety" and "permanent stress." Added to the concern about the situation is the uncertainty: "We don't know when this will end or what our life will be like when it ends."
Diego Redolar, a neuroscientist and researcher of the UOC's Health Sciences studies, agrees, pointing out that with confinement "we lose external signals that help our brain regulate circadian rhythms." Light and social habits (such as going outside to go to work or stopping for lunch) help our brain to "know what time of day we are." Which includes bedtime. Many of these habits have been lost these days "and these external signals fail", which can end up affecting the quality of sleep.
A lighter and more fragmented dream
Uncertainty and the absence of clear routines can cause us to find it more difficult to sleep or that the dream is fragmented, with more nighttime awakenings. As Redolar remembers, not only can we wake up in anguish, but it is also common that these days, between our dreams and nightmares, the covid-19 slips in. Gossiping on Twitter, we see that there are people who dream that they face the virus with an army, that they go to work in a hospital (without having a clue, of course), that they reach 51 degrees of fever and even that a Roomba can spread the illness.
Redolar remembers that dreams have an important role in the regulation of emotions. These daydreams are an adaptive mechanism that facilitates the management of emotions and helps us to face new situations. Any conflict with a high emotional content is likely to end in our dreams. This includes, of course, our concern about a virus that is easily spread and seems to be everywhere, including places and objects that have always been harmless to us, such as the vacuum cleaners we mentioned.
Although nightmares are unpleasant to us, Redolar explains that our brain is training, by simulating situations that are emotionally difficult for us to rehearse and anticipate reactions. If the following day we find a similar situation, “it ends up impacting us less” and we cope better, having put ourselves at the worst while we slept. The price we sometimes pay in exchange for this training is a worse quality of sleep.
Overcoming the distances, it is something similar to when students in exam time dream that they are late to class, without having studied and without carrying a measly pencil on them.
At two it was three
To all this has been added the time change, which had almost gone unnoticed this weekend. Making up for this hour that we lost is not a difficult adjustment, except, sometimes, for children and the elderly. However, Redolar points out that it will probably cost us something more during confinement due to the aforementioned lack of routines and external signals.
In addition, Dr. Merino adds that during the summer time months we sleep an average of 20 minutes less each day than in winter time. From March to October it is more difficult for us to sleep not only because of the heat, but because for many weeks it gets dark after nine and we need around two hours of darkness to fall asleep well.
Recover and maintain healthy habits
Despite the fact that the circumstances are not easy, Dr. Merino shows moderate optimism and points out that in many cases, confinement can be an opportunity to adopt "reasonable and regular habits". Especially in the case of children, "who tolerate routine changes worse."
The neurologist aims at sleep hygiene, which is always essential, but that these days in particular can facilitate our rest. Both she and Redolar recommend maintaining regular hours, avoiding heavy dinners and, in the afternoon, not consuming stimulants such as caffeine, tobacco and chocolate. They also remember the need to do some exercise, but not late in the day, so as not to wake up before bed.
Another habit to forge is to get away from the screens before going to bed. As Redolar remembers, our brains interpret the blue light of mobiles and tablets as if it were daylight and it activates. Although the night mode of these devices does not affect as much, the neurologist adds another related recommendation, that of trying not to read or comment on news about the coronavirus before going to bed (or about anything that worries us in general). If we keep turning the matter over in bed, not only will it be harder for us to fall asleep, but it is also more likely that the issue will slip into our nightmares.
Of course, confinement has some sleep-related advantage: Merino recalls that teleworkers can get a little more sleep, saving time on the way to work, and even taking a short nap at noon, 15 or 20 minutes. To some it may seem like very little time for a real nap, but it is what the experts recommend: if we sleep more than half an hour, we can fall into a deep sleep and wake up less refreshed.
Dr. Merino warns us that, when we return to normal, we will have to introduce gradual changes a few days before, to get up early without losing sleep. Although hopefully by then we will no longer have nightmares.
To know more...
... Questions and answers about the coronavirus: from its symptoms to its possible social and economic effects.
... In this guide to action against coronavirus you can find answers to know what to do when you suspect it, how to prevent it or how to act if you are infected.
... Here you can follow the virus progression in Spain updated and here, in the world.
... We offer you ideas to better spend your time at home: exercise, music, culture without leaving the room.
... Watch your eyes during confinement.
... How to deal with isolation at home if you have anxiety problems.
... Do you get many jokes and memes about the coronavirus? What is humor for in a moment like this?
... Ideas and projects that seek to stop the curve.
... You can follow the latest news about the coronavirus in the live of EL PAÍS.
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