Back when the Corona monster first hit, I heard a bit of advice that seemed simple, but makes a lot of sense:
Get. More. Sleep.
Simple, right? Painfully obvious? Yet, now it’s harder than ever to do.
Anxiety is at an all time high because of the news we’re hearing, the routines that have been disrupted, and the lack of activity we once enjoyed at the gyms which are suddenly shut down. The news is only the ‘rona. And for those working from home, every day feels the same. There’s no change of context. There’s no separation between work and rest. The hours get longer, if anything, with more time spent exposed to blue light of phones and computers and work stress bleeding into would-be after hours decompression time. There’s no balance. And, when we lack balance, we have difficulty drifting off after a long day. So, instead of simple sleep tips comprised of chamomile tea recipes or binaural beats, let’s do what we always have tried to do on this site. Let’s go after the problems causing it.
ISOLATION ITINERARY
As they say, failure to plan is planning to fail. And it couldn’t be any more correct than quarantine is proving. This is new. Wake up when you want, work a little in your mismatched pajamas, order pizza, save remaining work for post nap, go to bed late, and wake up feeling like crap while realizing you haven’t showered or brushed your hair in eight days. Am I close? Trust me. There was a time in my life when I was going through a sort of self induced isolation. Without accountability, it’s easy to fall off track. So, what I did was form a daily itinerary. Even if I didn’t adhere to it perfectly, it helped me set a goal and be mindful of time milestones throughout my day. That way, if I said I’d get “Z” amount of work done, I’d at least hit “Y” amount. (Or “W” if we’re being honest – but still better compared to what I accomplish sans a plan.) So, whip out the notes section of your phone and create a work day for yourself, complete with realistic break times, rewards to look forward to, activity, and so on.
(“8:00 A.M. – Block husband’s attempt at gratuitous boobshot when he thinks I can’t see his camera. 8:01 – show him this list…”)
MOVE IT OR LOSE IT
Within that list, maybe you’ll wanna schedule activity time. Maybe the gym was your thing before. Okay, so now you have a new thing. It’s called “the yard”, “the park”, or “your sidewalk”. The gym was all you liked because that was what you latched onto and all you knew. That’s how I felt years ago until I couldn’t afford it anymore for a while. Then you know what became my new “thing”? Trail running. Now, I do it more than the gym, even though it is now a constant option and again affordable. Who knew? Not me before being a little more open minded and trying it out… So, schedule some get out hours through your day. It also makes you more productive once you do return to your work. (Check out anecdotes about Einstein and how he’d go on strolls and come back with formula solutions like a boss.)
HEALTHY INGESTING
Oh, and you wanna know the great door prize to getting active out in the fresh air? (Which is no longer as polluted and smells fresher than ever?) That it’s easier to eat healthy. This happens for a few reasons. One is because the desire to stress eat is because you feel bad. Stress eating releases endorphins. But ya know what else does? Runner’s high. Once you have that high, the desire to stress snack’s obsolete. The other reason is because (as mentioned on my ACVY site article on the topic), one healthy action domino effects into others. It communicates to your subconscious that you’re a healthy person who does healthy stuff. So you keep choosing healthy stuff. (Caveat: PMS and peer pressure. If you’re approaching lady time or your hubby brings home Happy Family Hunan noodles while out foraging like a warrior for his family, don’t come for me. These things are beyond my power.)
IF IT’S NOT IN YOUR HOUSE, IT’S NOT IN YOUR MOUTH
Okay, so let’s say you still feel powerless against the bad food cravings? Don’t buy it. Especially now that we should all be limiting our grocery time, make sure you (first) do your shop after a meal and (second) don’t purchase purposeless snacks. At max, get one box of “fun but useless on a nutritional level” food. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. And you definitely can’t eat it for “second supper” – the toughest meal of the day to resist. And why do I have notes on healthy eating and food on a sleep site? (Oh, pick me, tele-teacher! I know the answer!) Because: much like a blood pumping workout makes you want to eat healthy, not eating healthy makes you not want to work out. That means you’re inactive all day. That means you’re anxious by sleep time. That means you don’t sleep. Make sense?
ENCLOTHED COGNITION
Are you ready to argue that you’re not inactive all day? That you’re “woooorking” from home with a wall of desktops and laptops bordering you like a pilot’s cockpit? Awesome. You’re gonna ultimately ride that Kobe-copter all the way into the failure fog and crash, friend. Your arse is still in the chair. You’re still doing too much of one stressful thing. It’s going to affect some area of your life when you either eat or drink too much – or ruin your relationships due to the inevitable bitterness building by the minute. No bosses should have access to you from home 24/7 unless you’re on the vaccine team fighting corona. (And if you are, you wouldn’t be on my page.) Tell your colleagues you’re taking a long deuce and go for a walk. Or run. Or bike ride. I don’t care. The thing is, at the very least, getting outside (at a safe distance) reminds you of something very important: you’re still a member of society. You still matter in the interactions that are temporarily being paused. You’re not just a Wall-E walrus person sat in a pod, ordering Dorito smoothies all day. It also does something else: forces you to change clothes. There’s a phenomena called “enclothed cognition” wherein you unknowingly behave in alignment to your adornments. So, what impact would that have on sleep? Well, think about it. If you wear those hobo clown pajamas all day to be productive, what’s that telling your subconscious later when it’s time to turn off? If you guessed, “that it’s not time to turn off; it’s still time to work”, then you win the prize.
And the prize is five more tips to help you sleep.
(Plot twist: he’s rendered powerless when the pants come off….)
Keep reading for more sleep tips!