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Can’t Stay Asleep During COVID-19? Try This Sleep Expert’s 7 Tips

April 24, 2020

A quality night’s sleep provides an added weapon in your immune system’s fight to stay healthy amid the encroaching COVID-19 pandemic – but what if you fall asleep easily but can’t stay in dreamland for an entire night?

Many people struggle with middle-of-the-night wakening, and not just for a sleepy stumble to the bathroom. Anxiety and stress well up in the subconscious and bubble to the surface while you’re trying to restore your body with well-deserved sleep. It’s important to return to sleep if you awaken to get as much sleep as possible.

“The brain and body work on a timer just like when you get hungry or thirsty,” said Dr. Brett Volpe, a board-certified sleep specialist at MidState Medical Center’s Sleep Care Center. “So, when you’re not getting enough sleep and not following a scheduled sleeping pattern, it’s almost likely you’re intentionally putting yourself through jet lag.”

If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep, there are different approaches to take.

Try:

  • Turning away from the clock. You need to forget about the time because it only makes you worry about how much sleep you’ve lost. The worry itself will keep you awake. Turn your clock to face the wall and your phone face down to avoid looking.
  • Getting up. It might sound counterproductive, but if you’ve been awake for 15 minutes or more and can’t drift off, get up and move to another room. Don’t turn on bright lights or the TV, but sit with a book or try deep breathing techniques until you feel sleepy again.
  • Staying quiet. It’s not the time to bake a batch of cookies or fold laundry. That only serves to reward the brain for waking, which makes it more likely it will happen again. Instead, try meditating, focusing on a calming word or a picture of a place that makes you happy. If your thoughts wander, nudge them back to the focus you’ve chosen.
  • Making a list. Jot down what’s worrying you. It helps your brain let go of them.
  • Counting. It’s almost like the sheep effect, but try starting at 100 and counting backwards. The focus helps turn your brain off so you can get back to sleep.
  • Relaxing your muscles. Start at your feet and flex your muscles one by one for five seconds each. Move up your body, relaxing each muscle group until you get to your head.
  • Blocking out noise. Even when you’re asleep, your brain hears noises around you and that can wake you up. If you can’t block out all the noise, try popping in earplugs or a white noise machine.

If you continue to have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, talk to your healthcare provider to see if there’s an underlying health issue like depression or chronic pain to blame.

Not feeling well? Call your healthcare provider for guidance and try to avoid going directly to an emergency department or urgent care center, as this could increase the chances of the disease spreading.

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