FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sweet dreams haven’t been so sweet for a lot of people since COVID-19 came into he picture. If you find yourself tossing and turning at night you’re not alone. Dr. Jose. Colon practices sleep medicine for Lee Health and he tells Fox 4 more people are struggling right now.
“People are being referred to me more because of the stress and what it causes in the sleep cycles and the sleep problems,” Colon explains.
Dr. Colon says while our lives have changed a lot over the past few months there are three things, in particular, that are adding to your sleep issues.
“There are three things going on right now. One is the environment, the second is the stress and the third is the inactivity,” he says.
First, let’s break down the issue of environment.
“The more time you spend in the house, the more time you spend inside your room, it becomes a place of rumination a place of your daily thoughts and it’s hard to turn your mind off because of that environment that you’re constantly in,” Dr. Colon explains.
“What we need to consider our room as is a place just for sleep. As many activities as you can do outside of the room is best.”
There are many things you can do to help with stress levels why we are navigating these uncertain times. Dr. Colon recommends some form of meditation.
“For stress reduction try to do some mindfulness bases stress reduction, relaxation training, meditation,” he says.
He can even help you get started. Dr. Colon made 3 video for Lee Health that can give you an introduction to mindfulness based meditation.
The third thing Dr. Colon says will help you get some shut-eye is exercise! With many gyms closed right now he says that can be challenging but sometimes a walk or run each day will do wonders.
“Increasing exercise is something that has shown to be helpful for sleep. When you’re decreasing your physical activity you’re increasing the consequences and disrupted sleep as well,” Colon explains.
So, let’s recap! The three things you can start doing right now to get better sleep at night include:
1.) Stay out of your bedroom except when you’re sleeping
2.) Reduce your stress by doing things like meditation
3.) Exercise
It is also helpful to put the phone down when you’re trying to wind down and go to bed and he says if you’re not sleeping well at night, don’t nap.
“If you’re having trouble sleeping, napping in the daytime because you’re tired actually makes it harder to fall asleep at night. It’s kind of like eating candy before dinner,” Colon explains.
After trying these tips if you’re still not seeing any changes talk to your doctor. Colon says for most these sleep issues will be temporary, but for some, life changing events can bring on chronic insomnia.
