Are you losing sleep over losing sleep?

As the number of people across the world contracting COVID-19 continues to rise, many people are experiencing a good deal of stress and worry. Those worries might even be following us to bed, keeping us awake and leaving us tired the next day. When you add poor-quality sleep to the disrupted sleep of an operational volunteer, you have a recipe for ill health and potential safety issues. Experts agree that it’s quite understandable to be fearful or worried by this unprecedented event impacting our lives. For some of us, we churn through our daytime experiences in the quiet of the night when we just want to be resting. Without reasonable sleep many of us will struggle to function because of tiredness and fatigue. We may struggle to think clearly, make decisions and concentrate on anything longer than a social media post. Many of us are still woken by pagers in the night and reclaiming the disrupted sleep can be challenging. Apart from being more cranky than usual, more emotional or less tolerant, we may eat more comfort food, binge-watch TV, be less inclined to get out when the weather’s cool and simply forget to take medication because our routine is out of whack. Sleep is important to consolidate our memories, repair our bodies and help our immune system fight infection. The amount of sleep required varies from person to person, but most need between seven and nine hours. Sometimes it takes someone else to realise how tired we have become because we can lose our selfawareness when tired. South East Region’s Member Wellbeing Adviser Anne Duff has these words of advice. “Be kind to yourself. To obtain quality sleep time we need to make sleep a priority and establish a routine around bedtime. Try to give yourself a sleep-prep time in the evenings by lowering any ambient lighting, turning the heating down a little and getting some screen-free time,” Anne said. Tips for better sleep Limit your screen time before bed. Too much screen time at night can cause us to absorb and attempt to process new information when we are already tired, which can distract us from going to sleep. Blue light (from screens) can also trick our minds into thinking it’s morning and make us alert when we are trying to wind down. Take time to unwind. Before bed take some time out to relax by reading, listening to music, doing mindfulness, or any other activity that helps you shut down. Try not to look at work emails or the latest COVID-19 news update before bed. Care for your body and lifestyle. Try to keep a normal routine during the day, including exercise and (virtual) connection with friends and family. Eat well, try to avoid caffeine in the evenings and limit your alcohol consumption. Find time for fun, laughter, and connectedness. Take care of your mind. If worries are keeping you awake at night, try to take some time before bed to think about them, how they make you feel, and how you might be able to address them the next day. Maybe even try writing a list or some notes to assess the following day. Practising mindfulness can also help. Check out the app Smiling Mind for short mindfulness activities to help you relax. Your bed is predominantly for sleep. Lying in bed getting worried or frustrated about sleep won’t help you get to sleep. For good sleep we need our minds and bodies to associate our beds with sleep and rest. If you are restless or can’t get to sleep, get up and do a quiet activity in another room with the lights dimmed. Go back to bed when you feel sleepy. Try not to watch TV, make phone calls, or check emails in bed if you are having trouble shutting down. Have a set sleep-wake routine. Try to go to bed and get up at a similar time every day. Even if you have a late night the night before, try to get up at a similar time to help keep a good sleep routine. Consistency is important for good sleep. Manage fatigue but don’t overdo it. Everyone has nights when they don’t sleep well and wake up tired. That’s OK, you will most likely get through the day feeling fine and actually sleep better the next night. A lot of people use caffeine and naps to help combat fatigue, but it’s important to remember that both of these can also lead to poorer sleep in the long run. Keep naps short (ideally less than 45 minutes) and try to avoid using caffeine in the hours before bed. Get Support. We all have times of stress and worry, and for many of us that could impact our sleep. If you’re struggling to sleep regularly, or if worries and/or tiredness are disrupting your day-today life, it’s important to get support. Contact the CFA Wellbeing Support Line on 1800 959 232, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. References: https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/getting-good-sleepduring-the-covid-19-pandemic.html https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/news/how-to-get-abetter-nights-sleep-during-coronavirus/

STORY SAMANTHA SUTHERLAND