The pandemic is ruining our sleep. Experts say 'coronasomnia' could imperil public health.

[Arkansas Granny]

Sara Tibebu tried bubble baths. She curated playlists of low-fi beats, followed guided meditation videos and paid for virtual therapy. In desperation, she even plucked and dried lavender to make sachets to place inside her pillowcase.

But every night, she still found herself staring at the ceiling — wide-awake. For five months, all Tibebu has wanted is a decent night of shut-eye.

“The lack of sleep is just driving me crazy,” said Tibebu, 36, a technical writer who lives in Takoma Park, Md., where most nights her eyes snap open around 2 a.m., and she begins to obsess over everything from the dismal U.S. response to the pandemic to the sorry state of her love life.

As if the novel coronavirus has not already wrought devastation aplenty on the world, physicians and researchers are seeing signs it is doing deep damage to people’s sleep. “Coronasomnia,” as some experts now call it, could prove to have profound public-health ramifications — creating a massive new population of chronic insomniacs grappling with declines in productivity, shorter fuses and increased risks of hypertension, depression and other health problems.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/03/coronavirus-sleep-insomnia/

I thought it was just me. I wake up in the middle of the night and further sleep eludes me. I try to lay in bed, but my eyes won't stay shut. I get up a read for a little while, watch a little tv and maybe I'll go back to sleep and maybe I won't. A couple of weeks ago I heard my phone ding around 2:00. It was my granddaughter on the east coast with a text: "Hey, Granny. You awake?" She couldn't sleep either.

A lot of my days start at 3:30 in the morning these days. After a certain point, I figure I might as well just get up and make the coffee.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. I find having a few beers at night helps me sleep quite well.

'Cept for those middle of the night trips to the bathroom.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

2. Make the coffee?

That's the first step in this - get off of caffeine!

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I gave up nicotine and my blood pressure dropped 10 points. If I gave up caffeine as well,

I'd never get my butt up off the couch.

[underpants]

3. Not me. I got a ton of sleep when my commute was downstairs

Bed at 11? Okay. Didn’t get up until 7. Staff meeting on Zoom at 8. Go for a run. Maybe a bit if a snooze/shut eye after lunch with the email machine right beside me.

Loved the hell out of it.

[Lochloosa]

5. Get a book on self-hypnosis and learn the techniques.

I had horrible insomnia when I was 14. Found a book in my high school library and never looked back.

The techniques will help you fall asleep and go back to sleep.

[enid602]

6. RELAX

The one I had was a tiny book. RELAX. R is for relax. E is for entering the hypnotic mode. L is for loosening up. A is for advanced hypnotic state. X is for extra suggestibility.

[Lochloosa]

9. Learning to relax and breathe are key. I've been using these techniques for over 40 years.

[mikeysnot]

7. Title?

Do you remember. Have not slept well in several weeks.

[Lochloosa]

11. I wish I could remember the title. I read it about 40 years ago.

Look for a book on simple techniques, not the "newest fad" meet yourself type book. You just need to learn to relax and to breathe correctly.

enid602 on a post above has a recommendation.

[Lochloosa]

13. I hope this link works. This is really close to what I learned and it's free.

https://subliminalscience.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2019/11/Final-Self-hypnosis-Paperback-for-Print.pdf

The techniques start on Pg. 59.

Hope it helps.

[redstatebluegirl]

8. No kidding.

I have never needed anything to help me sleep before 2016. I fought the hard fight for 2 years and finally gave up and asked for something to help me sleep. I did away with caffeine, alcohol anything I thought might be keeping me awake. Then it dawned on me, it was Trump. It isn't the virus, it is TRUMP! Damn him to hell for the last 4 years of our lives being ruined.

[GusBob]

10. those so-called cures could be causing her problem

meditation videos and virtual therapy

staring at screens before bed could be the issue

[Baclava]

12. I think I'm getting more sleep, trying not to stay up too late, take a nap in afternoon

Wake at sunrise, coffee, do things, late brunch, still works out to about 8 hrs, but I feel more rested with a long nap every afternoon, I get cranky if I don't get my sleep

And I can't sleep more than 6-7 hrs at a time anyway, gotta pee!

[Leith]

14. I've been having terrible sleep problems for the past couple of years

I tried OTC and herbal remedies, a couple different types of sleeping pills (which quit working as they should), and sleeping in front of the TV.

Right now, I'm completely shagged out by 7pm, but I fight to stay up for a couple more hours. Then I get in bed with a paperback book that's interesting, but not too interesting. I get up around 3:30am no matter what.

If reading stops working, I don't know what I'll do.

[Lochloosa]

15. Here is a link to self hypnosis. And best of all it's free. The techniques start on pg. 59.

Hope this helps.


https://subliminalscience.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2019/11/Final-Self-hypnosis-Paperback-for-Print.pdf

[Darwin2019]

16. Getting sleep apnea treated helped me tremendously

Was waking up at 3:00 am. Got tested for apnea and got a dental appliance and problem solved. Nothing else worked.

[fleur-de-lisa]

17. I gave up on getting a solid night's sleep years ago. I can only sleep 3-4 hours at a time.

Once I stopped worrying about it and just accepted it, I feel a lot better.

Now that I'm working from home, if I need to take a half hour nap during lunch, I just do it.

Overall, I think I'm getting more and better sleep since the pandemic started. No time wasted on a commute or makeup or styling my hair. I may never go back to an office.

[Bettie]

18. I haven't slept more than six hours at a stretch in months

possibly over a year.

Usually, it's about five hours. I'm exhausted and I still can't sleep.

Knowing it isn't just me helps.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. 6 hours a night has been my norm for my adult life.

These days 6 hours is a luxury.

[Bettie]

23. Yeah...my usual used to be about 7.5

Now, six is a good night. Most days 4 or 5.

[GoCubsGo]

19. The story of my life since 2007.

On top of getting laid off, being unable to find work, and having a sick parent, I also went through "the change." It wasn't until the past year that I have been able to get a halfway decent night's sleep. Some of it was due to the hormones (or what's left of them) finally settling down. I cut off all caffeine after 3 PM. I also started intermittent fasting, which has helped A LOT. And, I installed a blue light filter (https://justgetflux.com/) on my devices. I'm starting to actually sleep a little longer, and not waking up and ruminating.


Blue light from digital TVs, computers, phones, etc. is screwing up a lot of peoples' sleep. Turn it off, install a filter, or get some blue-blocker glasses.

[LSparkle]

20. Same here. Getting up earlier -- now 4:30-5 am

I’m on the West Coast and find myself praying I can sleep until at least 3 when I can start watching Morning Joe on my phone lying in my bed. Sometimes that puts me back to sleep foff egg cc a few hours.

[Faux pas]

22. I

can understand that. I'm having the opposite reaction. Sleeping my usual 5-6 hours and then take a late morning nap because I'm exhausted! I think the whole country should do a class action suit against the hump, et al. I thank the universe for marijuana. Peace Love and Joy to all of us.

[ananda]

24. Nothing has changed for me.

My sleep patterns have not changed.

I'm old, so I wake up a a lot, but I generally
manage an average of 6 hours a night.