The COVID-19 pandemic has turned even the theoretically placid activity of sleeping into a stressful activity. Vivid dreams, nightmares, or even insomnia. Many people are struggling to get a good night’s sleep these days. Why?
The truth is that there are a large number of factors that can affect sleep. It is triggered by factors such as stress, loss of routine and alcohol intake. Hence, it is not strange that in these days when most of us live under lockdown, we agree on some of these characteristics.
The answer, in essence, is that our brain is alert to an invisible threat such as the current coronavirus pandemic. When we go through a stressful situation, sleep suffers and eventually becomes better or returns to normal when the problem is resolved. In these moments we remain more connected than ever to be awake and react to possible danger. So it’s no wonder you’re having nightmares regularly or dreams that seem more real and strange than ever.
In addition, it is the whiting that bites its tail. Not getting enough sleep makes us experience stress more intensely. But why does it affect sleep so much?
Reflection of concerns
To understand why stress can affect the frequency and intensity of our dreams, we must first do a quick summary of sleep cycles. If we sleep correctly, our brain goes through several phases: 1, 2, 3 and REM ( Rapid Eye Movement , in English). Generally speaking, one cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes before the next one begins. The first few cycles have a shorter REM stage, but get longer with each repetitive cycle.
And as in recent weeks we spent at least a couple of hours catching up on the latest news about the advance of COVID-19 in the world, in our country, in our community, in our city, even before going to sleep, it is more likely that this theme ends up appearing in our dream in such a vehement way. The fact that we remember our dreams more vividly since the coronavirus pandemic began is related to what our sleep is more disturbed and, therefore, we wake up more (remember that, most of the time, you need to wake up during sleep so we can remember it the next day and the stress we are under can increase the frequency with which we wake up during the night).
In addition, not exercising regularly, having less exposure to sunlight and a lack of routines also take a toll on our circadian rhythms, responsible for regulating the sleep and wake phases .
How to sleep more peacefully and have fewer nightmares
The best tool for nightmares is to sleep soundly. When we sleep well we tend to wake up less during the night and dreams are … less bothersome. Now, how do we get it?
- Following a reasonable schedule on a day-to-day basis. Do not stay in bed longer than necessary or go to bed too late at night.
- Maintain a healthy and balanced diet
- Exercise every day
- Do not drink coffee at least 10 hours before going to sleep
- Differentiate the spaces at home according to each activity (telework area, rest area, etc.)
- Reduce or eliminate alcohol (metabolizing alcohol greatly disturbs sleep)
- Reduce the consumption of social networks and news
- Do a relaxing activity half an hour before bedtime (read a book, do yoga, look at photos of past vacations …)
- What if you can’t sleep? It is best not to stay in bed. Try having a hot drink or doing some relaxing activity until you fall asleep.
- Good dreams!
