Today: Studies have found that during the pandemic people are spending more time in bed, but the quality of their sleep is worse. Here are a few tips to help beat insomnia.
These days, people are turning to over-the-counter sleep aids and alcohol to help them sleep. “Over-the-counter sleep aids are OK to use once in a while, Patel said. But if you’re using them frequently, they’re masking an underlying problem. And alcohol might help you fall asleep, but it wears off in a few hours, so you’ll wake up during the night. It can also worsen sleep problems like sleep apnea.
How to beat it: Try cognitive behavioral therapy. A therapist can help you change your thinking about sleep, develop relaxation techniques, reduce sleep stressors and minimize the amount of time you lie in bed awake.
Standard sleep advice says to only use your bedroom for sleep and intimacy. But your bedroom might be the only quiet space to work from home. And that proximity between your work space and your sleep space can keep deadlines and work questions spinning through your head at night.
How to beat it: If you must work from your bedroom, sit at a desk or chair rather than working from your bed. “That will help create that psychological separation that when you’re lying in bed it’s time for your brain to turn off,” Patel said.
