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Proper stress management keeps pandemic-induced insomnia at bay
Stress and anxiety are indeed two factors that could induce insomnia, especially during these troubling times.
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ga M. Barus, a 27-year-old English teacher who works in an elementary school in West Nusa Tenggara, said all the stresses brought about by the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic had caused her to experience chronic insomnia.
“From April 2020, I started to have sleeping problems. I could only sleep at 3 a.m. in the morning. I was not sleeping soundly either; I would have lucid dreams all through my sleep. By the time the chickens started crowing at about 6 a.m., I would feel so restless that I had no other choice but to wake up,” Ega told The Jakarta Post in an interview.
Similarly, Ratri Pandey, a 31-year-old gender activist living in Jakarta, said she had also been having insomnia as a result of the pandemic.
“I would usually go to bed feeling tired at 11 p.m., yet every day at 3 a.m., without fail, I would be harshly awakened after I had had a series of scary dreams. Afterward, I would toss and turn feeling agitated in my bed before deciding that trying to sleep was a losing game. Then I would just get out of bed and read until I started my working hours at 8 a.m. in the morning,” she explained.
Besides the tremendous stress they experienced upon learning about all the bad news about COVID-19, both Ratri and Ega said that they were also “crushed” by the loneliness they had to bear amid the pandemic-related social restrictions, exacerbating their insomnia further.
The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines insomnia as prolonged and usually abnormal inability to get enough sleep.
Does the definition fit your experience too? If so, Atma Jaya Hospital psychiatrist Mahaputra says that you are not alone, as stress and anxiety are indeed two factors that could induce insomnia, especially during these troubling times.
“When you’re in stress, your body goes straight into a flight-or-fight mode. It has become hypervigilant of what it perceives to be a looming threat to its existence and survival. Amid the COVID-19 context, you might feel endangered by an impending loss of job, wondering how on Earth you would feed your family in the few months to come,” he told the Post over the phone.
“If your body retains its hypervigilant mode when you go to bed, you’ll not be able to sleep. The perceived threat has caused your body to be unable to relax.”
Yet, no matter how stressed out you feel, try to get a restful sleep since your pandemic-induced insomnia might spell more sinister health troubles for you in the days to come.
A meta-analysis by the United States-based National Center for Biotechnology Information warned that the cumulative long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of deleterious health consequences, including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack and stroke.
Yet, scaring people by presenting them a list of consequences of chronic insomnia alone will not help them sleep better next time.
“You cannot force your body by will to fall asleep. That will make your insomnia worse. Instead, you need to allow your body to relax gradually to fall asleep eventually,” Mahaputra said.
So, there are some relaxation techniques that can help you modulate the tension in your body a little bit, so you will eventually be able to enjoy a high-quality sleep.
“You can try breathing exercises before you go to sleep. So, take a deep breath from your nose before exhaling from your mouth; pay attention to every breath you take,” he said.
He added that taking a warm bath before going to bed could also help one’s body relax a great deal.
“Also use your bed only to sleep. If you conduct other types of activities while lying on your bed – say reading the news on your mobile device, making a phone call to a friend of yours – your body will associate the tension and/or the excitement you have with those activities with your bed. As a result, when you eventually try to fall asleep on your bed, your body will recall these tense or excitatory states, making it more difficult for you to fall asleep,” he said.
Also, avoid consuming coffee at least six hours before you go to sleep. Try not to have heavy meals at least three hours before you sleep.
“Furthermore, don’t look at your mobile device at least an hour before you go to sleep. The blue light that your gadget emits will confuse your brain whether this is day or night, disrupting the production of sleep-regulating melatonin, causing you to have difficulties falling asleep as a result,” he said.
In fact, your effort to have improved sleep quality also starts in the morning.
“Soaking up in the sun at 8 to 10 a.m. in the morning could also stimulate melatonin production in your body. Also, try to avoid napping in the afternoon. Instead, expend all your energy through constructive activities in the afternoon so you’ll be able to sleep deeply at night.”
