Millions of Australians have trouble sleeping
and thanks to COVID-19 that problem has only gotten worse
preliminary results from a Monash University report
say almost half of people surveyed so far
reported poor sleep during the pandemic.
I spoke to some experts to find out more about the impact of COVID-19,
why sleep is important
and how to get a good night's sleep if you're struggling
so pretty much everything about our lives has changed with the pandemic
and so it's totally normal to expect sleep will change
and it'll change differently for different people
some people are finding that they're sleeping a bit shorter
because there's uncertainty maybe they lost their job
or they're worrying about finances
or worrying about how they're going to do their study or exams
not having enough sleep can have a big impact on your health
we know it's an important part of restoration
because we know what happens if we don't sleep
it's just as important if not more important than exercising and healthy diet
and studies show that not getting enough sleep
can lead to chronic health problems down the track
so what can you do if you're struggling with sleep
first up create a daily routine
it's important to understand the relationship between sleep and our circadian rhythm
which is basically our internal body clock
that cycles between sleepiness and alertness
so it is really helpful to make sure there's some structure in the day
that you're getting up at about the same time most days
getting some movement, getting some light exposure
because that keys in our body clock
and tells us hey this is the time to get going
and then sets up the rest of the day biologically so our body knows
okay this is what I'm going to be doing
an important part of that daily routine is making sure you relax
before going to bed
things like writing down a to-do list if you're feeling quite stressed
about what you have to do the next day
mindfulness training and there are lots of apps that you can download now
on your phone for mindfulness
that could include meditating or focusing on your breathing
and the other thing that's really important is temperature as well
so coming into winter it's really tempting to pile on the blankets and wear
really heavy pajamas and socks and get all snugly
when we're going to bed but in fact in order for our body to fall asleep quite
quickly we need to reduce our core body temperature so we don't actually want to
be too warm at night
look, I know you've heard it a million times before
but putting away your screens before bed is very important
so we have cells in the back of the eye that are sensitive to light and send a
signal to tell the brain essentially is it daytime versus is it night time
is it sunrise versus sunset
and that cues in our internal body clock
so if we've got screens close to our eyes once the sun's gone down
biologically it can be telling our brain hey it's the morning
and that can really upset the body clock
it's always better to have a bit of a buffer zone before you go to sleep and
try not to look at your phone or your screen for at least an hour or even half
an hour before bed
and finally the most important step
if you're someone who struggles with sleep the whole idea of getting enough
can be really stressful but experts say it's important to know that not everyone
needs the same amount of sleep and spending time and energy
worrying about getting enough sleep can just make things worse
one of the things people get wrong about sleep is trying too hard to control it
or too hard to manage it
once you start trying harder around sleep and put more rules into place
it just leads to getting more anxious about it
and having more trouble with sleep
this can make things especially tough when you wake up in the middle of the night
if you find yourself 'come on I've got to get back to sleep'
or getting frustrated, you've got to break that cycle
because you won't will yourself to get back to sleep
pop the light on, sit up, go and grab a drink or go to the bathroom
once you're feeling calm then it can be back to bed
so there you have it, five tips from the experts on how to get a good night's sleep
as restrictions start to ease up and life begins to return to normal
it's important to remember that whether we're in the middle of a pandemic or not
sleep is a big part of our wellbeing and these bits of expert advice will
hopefully help you get the shut-eye that you need