Catching More ZZZ's
Three tips for getting restful sleep during stressful times
Dr. Caroline Gerin-Lajoie, Psychiatrist, Dr. Kerri Ritchie, Psychologist
Although it can be common for shift workers in hospitals to experience sleeping difficulties, experiencing stressful periods can also have a negative impact on your sleep.
When we experience intensely stressful times, our body helps us by gathering its resources and flooding our body with neurochemicals. These neurochemicals can make it difficult for us to calm our system and fall asleep. During stressful events, we may experience an interrupted sleep cycle. Difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, experiencing daytime sleepiness, and/or having bad dreams are all possible results of an interrupted sleep cycle.
Sleep is also used to consolidate our experiences from the day; creating memories. In situations such as the pandemic, financial or economic uncertainty, international conflict, and systemic discrimination, it is not uncommon to have fear based dreams. Watching the news or social media before bed time can activate our systems and can increase the likelihood of having dreams about the information we took in prior to falling asleep and the likelihood of waking up during our bad dreams.
The goal is to cue our body that it is time to rest. Anything that could activate our system will make this more difficult. Here are some non-pharmacological strategies to help support your sleep:
1. Avoid stimulating activities: Just before bed try to avoid watching the news, using your cell phone or tablet, or drinking caffeine.
2. Signal to your body that it is time to rest: Try taking a warm bath, drinking warm, non-caffeinated beverages, reading or listening to music.
3. Consider using a white noise machine: White noise created by a fan or an app can help improve sleep, particularly for people who are having bad dreams. The white noise makes a constant ambient noise that can lessen other sounds. It can also remind your brain that it is time to rest.
For additional sleep tips and resources, you may wish to visit the Wellness Program page of myHospital.
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