Covid and Sleep

COVID-19 and SONO

For most people, living in the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a new reality of life: living practically all the time in seclusion in their homes. And changes in lifestyle habits have become a reality.

And there is a Herculean effort on the part of the academic and scientific community, not only in the search for treatment and a vaccine, but also in the search for answers and understanding of the collateral damage to the quality of life of people who are in social isolation.

A group of Brazilian researchers have published an article with instructions for people to avoid, or at least reduce, sleep problems and circadian rhythmicity in times of pandemic.

It’s worth noting that one of the properties of good quality, long-lasting sleep is that it promotes a better immune response and energy recovery. In other words, sleeping well also plays a role in combating various pathologies, and can be essential for a better recovery from a possible viral infection, such as Covid 19.

But a question has to be raised: how does social isolation affect sleep?

The first answer is quite obvious: living in a situation of social isolation because of a pandemic generates apprehension, which can lead to chronic anxiety. Anxious people find it harder to sleep, with poorer quality and less restorative sleep.

The second development is related to how our body adjusts sleep episodes as a result of the individual’s interactions with everyday events and the environment. And it is on this point that the authors of the paper focus their considerations.

Initially, you need to understand that sleep episodes are not a completely separate process from the time you are awake; there is an interaction between these two states. Exposure to natural daylight, eating habits, exercise and social interactions generate information for the body that regulates sleep episodes throughout the night.

And that’s the big question. The pandemic has led to a drastic change in people’s daily routines, negatively affecting their quality of life. Many people today still live cloistered in their homes, because the spread of the virus and all the complications that being infected can cause are still a reality.

As a result, people are no longer exposed to natural light as they should be, but rather to artificial light inside their homes. Remote working means that most people are exposed to artificial light for several hours a day. As a result of this reduced exposure to natural light and the increased incidence of artificial light stimuli, there is a confusion in the timing system that regulates sleep episodes.

A decrease in physical activity also has negative consequences for people’s sleep. Physically active people generally have better quality sleep than sedentary people.

In addition, social interactions, given by people’s routine throughout the day, be it work, meetings, studies, among other things, also play an essential role in the rhythm timing system that regulates sleep episodes.

And as you can see, in some way, be it more measured or more serious, all of these events were affected as a result of the social isolation caused by Covid 19.

The authors of the article cited a study of astronauts who were kept in isolation. Most of the astronauts developed sleep problems and, as a consequence, decreased performance in their tasks. The causes of these problems are related to the loss of their daily routine. The astronauts were not under any condition of routine, either in terms of tasks, activities or exposure to environmental light.

So far, everything looks pretty bad. However, the authors also propose measures that can at least reduce the consequences of living in isolation. For this current living situation, if you’re having trouble sleeping, you might want to establish a daily routine.

The main objective is to try to maintain the physiological and behavioral characteristics of the organism in a certain consonance with the internal rhythm oscillator.

In a nutshell, the authors suggest some interventions to promote restful sleep during the confinement period: try to wake up at a regular time, sleep when you are drowsy, be aware of the effects of artificial environmental lights and electronic devices, have an adequate sleep duration, and try to reduce stressful situations, as they negatively affect sleep.