A New York-based clinical psychologist who specializes in insomnia, Joshua Tal, speaks with the news website NJ.com on how to get adequate sleep during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve definitely seen an increased need for sleep therapy during this time,” Tal said. “(The pandemic) does seem to indirectly lead to heightened stress and thus heightened instances of disturbed sleep. … There are a whole lot of ways this is affecting people’s sleep, and it’s unfortunate because a lot of it is out of people’s control.”
The biggest change Tal recommends is making sure your bed is a sleep sanctuary. When quarantined at home for long stretches, the temptation is there to spend much of the day laying in bed. That should be avoided, Tal says, adding the only time in bed should be to sleep.
And if you find yourself tossing and turning at night, worrying about the coronavirus and the stress it brings, the best thing to do is get up and move around. “You want to purify the bed environment and experience so when you’re in bed, you’re sleeping,” Tal said. “One of the biggest causes of insomnia is associating the bed with worrying.”
