Wellbeing Centre
Wellbeing Centre
June 26, 2020
Wellbeing
You will find some helpful and supporting documents here
Tips for Stretching..........
Are you working from home and sitting at a table or desk for long periods of time ?
Click here for a short video of stretches that might help you. Always seek medical or professional advice, before trying any exercises which you have concerns about.
The last few months have been very tough for some people, and we have encouraged members to mind your mental health, with links to reputable websites with helpful advice.
Tips for a good night' s Sleep
Sleep is critical to physical health and effective functioning of the immune system.
It is also a key promoter of emotional wellness and mental health, helping to beat back stress, depression, and anxiety.
Whether you have had sleeping problems before COVID-19 or if they have only come on recently, there are concrete steps that you can take to improve your sleep during this global pandemic.
What Are the Challenges to Sleep During a Pandemic?
Millions of people suffered from insomnia before the coronavirus, and unfortunately, the pandemic creates a host of new challenges even for people who previously had no sleeping problems such as:
Disruption of Daily Life: social distancing, school closures, quarantines, working-from-home: all bring profound changes to normal routines for people of all ages and walks of life.
Anxiety and Worry: Economic concerns are affecting nearly everyone as well. As economic activity stalls and job losses mount, it’s normal to worry about income, savings, and making ends meet. There’s still so much unknown about this pandemic -- and such uncertainty often brings anxiety that disrupts sleep as a racing mind keeps the body tossing and turning.
Depression and Isolation: This crisis can bring about isolation and depression that may be even worse for people who have a loved one who is sick or has passed away from COVID-19. Grief and depression can be exacerbated by isolation at home, and both are known to have the potential to cause significant sleeping problems.
Excess Screen Time: Whether it’s checking the news on your phone, joining a Zoom with family, bingewatching Netflix, or putting in extra hours staring at a computer while working-from-home, social distancing can mean a huge increase in screen time.
Stress-Related Fatigue: The chronic stress of living through a pandemic can lead to a host of physical symptoms, including persistent headaches, memory lapses, and digestive problems. Stress-related fatigue is another common side effect.
Why is sleep important during a Pandemic?
Sleep is a critical biological process, and the truth is that it’s always important.
When confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, though, sleep becomes even more essential because of its wide-ranging benefits for physical and mental health.
• Sleep empowers an effective immune system
• Sleep heightens brain function • Sleep enhances mood
• Sleep improves mental health
1. Set your schedule and routine: Establishing a routine can facilitate a sense of normalcy even in abnormal times. It’s easier for your mind and body to acclimatise to a consistent sleep schedule, which is why health experts have long recommended avoiding major variation in your daily sleep times. Sleep-specific aspects of your daily schedule should include:
Wake-Up Time: Set your alarm, bypass the snooze button, and have a fixed time to get every day started.
General Wind-Down Time: This is an important time to relax and get ready for bed. It can involve things like light reading, stretching, and meditating.
Bedtime: Pick a consistent time to actually turn out the lights and try to fall asleep.
2. Reserve Your Bed For Sleep: Sleep experts emphasize the importance of creating an association in your mind between your bed and sleep.
This means that working-from-home shouldn’t be working-from-bed. It also means avoiding bringing a laptop into bed to watch a movie or series. On any given night, if you find that you’re having a hard time sleeping, don’t spend more than 20 minutes tossing and turning. Instead, get out of bed and do something relaxing in very low light, and then head back to bed to try to fall asleep.
3. See the Light: Exposure to light plays a crucial role in helping our bodies regulate sleep in a healthy way. If you can, spend some time outside in natural light. Even if the sun isn’t shining brightly, natural light still has positive effects on circadian rhythm. Many people find outdoor time is most beneficial in the morning, and as an added bonus, it’s an opportunity to get fresh air.
As much as possible, open windows and blinds to let light into your home during the day. Be mindful of screen time. The blue light produced by electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers, has been found to interfere with the body’s natural sleep-promoting processes. As much as possible, avoid using these devices for an hour before bed. You can also use device settings or special apps that reduce or filter blue light.
4. Be Careful with Naps: If you are home all day, you may be tempted to take more naps. While a short power nap early in the afternoon can be useful to some people, it’s best to avoid long naps or naps later in the day that can hinder night-time sleep
5. Stay Active: It’s easy to overlook exercise with everything happening in the world, but regular daily activity has numerous important benefits, including for sleep. If you can go for a walk while maintaining a safe distance from other people, that’s a great option.
6. Utilise Relaxation Techniques: Finding ways to relax can be a potent tool in improving your sleep. Deep breathing, stretching, yoga, mindfulness meditation, calming music, and quiet reading are just a few examples of relaxation techniques that you can build into your routines.
7. Avoid negative information overload: Cutting down the total time that you spend scrolling on social media. Scheduling phone or video calls with friends and family and agreeing in advance to focus on topics other than the coronavirus.
8. Practice Kindness and Foster Connection: It might not seem critical to your sleep, but kindness and connection can reduce stress and its harmful effects on mood and sleep.
Click here for links to Dublin GAA Wellbeing website with some more useful supports.