Why is proper sleep important for health during lockdown

Lockdown has its own difficulties, but the good thing is that it is safe to know. Psychiatrists say people's habits are deteriorating, which is affecting the body clock. Most nights, sleep is getting affected, causing them to move towards stress, insomnia, and depression.

You can stay healthy by following a seven-hour sleep and routine at night. If you sleep too much in the day, you will be able to sleep after 30 minutes of sleep at night on normal days.

If you are sleeping for a long time, this is the initial symptom of body clock deterioration, which adversely affects mental health. The enforced lockdown period on account of coronavirus pandemic can have a negative effect on our routine day-to-day activities that move to a timetable. Sleep can be the first casualty.

Here's how to claim that beauty sleep back.

Sleep is a precious commodity, and without adequate peaceful sleep, one can suffer some serious damage to physical and mental health. A number of people are complaining about how work-from-home is eating away into their me-time, their off-duty hours and how work and downtime are disastrously merging into one. Sleep has gone for a toss.

Sudden changes in work or daily routines can throw things off-gear and disrupt sleep patterns. Loss of sleep begins to tell on health and then the work output. Here's why sleep routine is important during trying and testing times like a lockdown and how to claim your sleep routine back.

In the times of a pandemic, when stress and anxiety levels run high, proper sleep is a vital cog in maintaining the smooth and heightened functioning of the brain. The brain's various tasks such as complex thinking, learning, memory, and decision-making are performed better when it has had adequate sleep.

Why a set sleeping pattern is important:

We all know that sleep and mental health are intimately connected in a number of ways. The brain is a complex package of chemicals and the neurochemicals responsible for a good night’s sleep also have other functions and hold over us. These neurochemicals help manage our mood and also hold sway over our immune system. At a time when we are fighting a pandemic of a disease that has no cure or vaccination as yet, our only hope is a strong immune system. And in a lockdown scenario when uncertainty looms and the numbers of, one of the best ways to boost one's immunity is to get a good night’s sleep.

How to reclaim sleeping pattern:

There is no one-recommendation-fits-all solution. You must take whatever suits your case best. Also, innovate along the way, find your golden mean. However, here are a few suggestions:

Have a timetable and check-boxes to tick:

Remember how you had a set routine when you went to the office, school or college earlier? Establishing a routine can facilitate a sense of normalcy, though we all know the situation around us is far from normal at the moment. Set your daily timetable in a manner such that there is no major variation in your daily sleep times. 

Stay active, exercise and eat healthily: 

Lockdown should not make a sloth out of you. A man in China would manage to run a marathon on his home treadmill during a lockdown. We cannot say you must do that. But do not give up activity and blame it on the lockdown. You can manage to do some exercise, surely. Also, do not snack out of habit. Your body is not burning enough calories in the lockdown and stress eating can really get out of hand. So, do watch out.

Meditate, de-stress:

Find ways to unwind. Learn yoga and meditation from a certified trainer online. A calmer mind helps sleep better.

Set the clock and the alarms as earlier: 

Set a definite Wake-Up Time, set your alarm and remember not to hit the snooze button. When the alarm rings, get up like you have a routine to follow and one that must be completed in a stipulated time. Move like clockwork, literally.