Sleep Hygiene Tips From The Community #COVID19

Sleep Hygiene Tips From The Community #COVID19

As part of the COVID-19 mental health coping series, Maryanne, a Community Advisory Committee member at CAN-BIND and a person with lived experience with depression shares some of her sleep hygiene tips.

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Credits:
Produced by the CAN-BIND Program Knowledge Translation Team:
Dr. Wegdan Rashad
Dr. Sagar Parikh
Andrew Kcomt
Speaker: Maryanne
Editor: Damien Sousa-Murphy
Music: Make your dreams a reality by scottholmesmusic.com

[Music] hi I'm Marianne and this here's Bobby Jo so when this whole global disaster thing started I was really concerned about my mental health I was diagnosed with depression almost a decade ago and it's really only felt in the past year or so that I've really learned how to manage it properly so this whole mandate to stay home has made that a little more difficult but it just means I have to focus on my self-care a word you might have heard from cosmetic companies trying to sell you bath bombs and face masks but self-care really is just taking care of yourself bath bombs at base nests may be a small part of that sleep hygiene is one of the biggest tools in my self-care kit which it's not falling asleep in the shower sleep hygiene is just a set of actions you can take to better your sleep which good sleep is paramount to good mental health I thought I'd share some of my tips biggest thing is routine which a lot of people already have a bedtime routine I I have a warm bath I brush my teeth I use the washroom and then I cuddle up with little Bobby but routine is a bit more than just your butt before bed habits consistent sleep-wake times are very important you need to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning that way you can train your body to fall asleep when it needs to so that you can avoid my nemesis insomnia and you can wake up when you need to which would avoid my other nemesis while we're sleeping two very easy traps to fall into if you're working less or not at all which unfortunately is the case for a lot of us right now you know why not just stay up all night binging Netflix why not you know sleep in till our bladder or our stomach wakes us up for whatever we need you know yo ya know where to be so but these sleep schedules can be difficult to get into especially if you already have a chaotic sleep schedule so using over-the-counter or even prescription sleep aids is a great choice doesn't make you weak doesn't make it wrong just means you know how to take care of yourself so those are some things you can do or should do or some things you shouldn't do there's lots I'll name a few some of them quite obvious you know no stimulants before bed caffeine not good and no using your phone or tablet in bed because the bright light can have that wakening effect you shouldn't eat right before bed you know wait a hour so to digest some because if you lie down you're more likely to get indigestion and you're not gonna fall asleep if you have heartburn a less obvious one only use your bed first sleep so a lot of people work on their laptops in bed or what we'll watch a movie save that for the couch because the bed is a place for sleep and if you only use it for sleep once you crawl under those covers your body will note that it's time to sleep and it'll do its thing so hopefully some of those tips are helpful to maintain your sleep and your mental health and this is a stressful time but we'll get through it be kind to others and kind of yourself sleep well say goodnight Bobby [Music]

#Sleep #Hygiene #Tips #Community #COVID19

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