The COVID-19 pandemic and confinement changed everything for a lot of people. One of those radically changed things was sleeping schedules. For a lot of folks that were already struggling with getting enough hours of sleep at night, the confinement, remote working, and increasing screen time made it even worse. Here is a list of things you can do to improve your sleep in this post-covid era. The list was originally compiled by Andrea Petersen, from the WSJ.
First of all, according to Emerson M. Wickwire, professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, you need to take your pre-sleep routine very seriously. This means you need to try to put on some pajamas, brush your teeth, or maybe read a book. Any action that will make you end up in bed is relevant to the construction of a routine you will need to follow each day. That way your brain will know when it is time to go to bed.
Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, medical director of sleep medicine at Millennium Physician Group in Fort Myers, also points out that you should try to avoid any type of screen at least one hour before you go to bed. It has been widely reported that high screen time completely debates sleep schedules. This recommendation extends to Netflix and TV, as some people are used to watching shows before sleeping.
The last recommendation the list gives is to avoid sleeping with your pet in the same bed. As difficult as it may sound, you need to put your pet back on its own bed and try to fit yourself in your sleeping space without animals.
