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Keenan: Pandemic stress has left many with coronasomnia

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As in-person schools and workplaces re-open, many people are hearing an unfamiliar sound – the insistent buzz of the alarm clock. The uncertainty and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic have messed with our sleep patterns and even spawned a new medical term – coronasomnia.

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In a new article from the Cleveland Clinic, sleep medicine psychologist Michelle Derup notes that “stress is often the main trigger for insomnia, difficulty falling asleep or waking up and having an inability to return to sleep”. She mentions a U.K. study showing that people experiencing insomnia rose from one in six to one in four during the pandemic and notes that Google searches for “insomnia” were up 58 per cent in early 2020 compared to previous years.

A UCLA Health article notes that “Many men simply don’t realize that they need more sleep. They view sleepiness as a positive sign that they must be working hard.” This source notes that most adults require seven to eight hours of sleep per night and “Many men do not get this much sleep on a regular basis. As a result, they are not able to function at a maximum level of energy and concentration.”

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There are concrete ways to improve sleep quantity and quality. Derup mentions the well-known tactics of having a dark bedroom, following a regular sleep schedule, and avoiding caffeine for five to six hours before bedtime.

Plagued by a mild case of coronasomnia, I went in search of more esoteric sleep improvement techniques. My first stop was The Ripple Effect, a book by University of Toronto kinesiology professor Greg Wells. His premise is that sleeping, eating, moving, and thinking are intimately related and can be improved synergistically.

Wells suggests that you “defend your last hour” — laying off electronic devices, and even covering up small lights in the bedroom. He suggests ending the day by reading a physical, not electronic, book. Wells recommends fiction because “the reading material should have a storyline – something that requires your imagination.”

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This ties in well with a new blog post from one of my favourite sources of body hacks. Noa Kageyama is a performance psychologist in the faculty of New York’s famed Julliard School. He was given a homemade violin at the age of two, and a few years later was performing with an orchestra in Japan and on U.S. television. His blog, The Bulletproof Musician, is full of research-based tips that are useful for everyone.

Kageyama explains that falling asleep is related to our sense of safety. If we’re driving alone, trying to follow directions that don’t make sense, there’s no way we’re falling asleep, even if we’re dog-tired.

At the other extreme, “if you’re sitting in the back row of philosophy class at 8 a.m., having been up until 5 a.m. playing Mario Kart with your buddies, your professor’s soothing monotone … may give your brain a false sense of safety, until suddenly, you’re unconscious.”

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Kageyama asks “have you ever noticed how weird and incoherent your thinking often gets right before you fall asleep?” He explains that Simon Fraser University cognitive scientist Luc Beaudoin believes that this incoherent thinking plays a key role in getting to sleep.

So, how do we make our thoughts incoherent? Kageyama suggests Beaudoin’s technique called Serial Diverse Imaging. First, you select a keyword like “blanket.” Starting with the first letter, you visualize things that start with it. They can be objects, activities, or even persons – banana, bread, bowling, your friend Billy. The key is that they are unrelated and will re-assure your brain that there’s no threat lurking nearby. When you get bored with the first letter, just move along. With any luck, you won’t make it to the last letter.

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Kageyama reports that “The first time I tried it, I actually surprised myself by how fast I fell back asleep if that’s possible. It was almost disorienting.” I’ve had the same experience, which is why I am sharing it with you. Beaudoin has a how-to article available at https://mysleepbutton.com/support/do-it-yourself-cognitive-shuffle-sdi/. There is also a free to try smartphone app described there.

Other kinds of meditation, like mindfulness, can also be helpful in getting to sleep, along with deep, slow breathing techniques like the yoga-based 4-7-8 breathing pattern. Experts advise against taking sleep-inducing medications for extended periods. However, if you must ingest something to get to slumberland, the folks at The Light Cellar, a Calgary-based “superfoods store” recommend kava kava, tart cherry puree, lemon balm, and that old favourite camomille. The store sells all of these, and they are also available online.

In his book, Wells suggests waking up at 5 a.m. to “get the important things done for yourself that will make you better.” He also advises against coming to rely on the snooze button. With some of these sleep-inducing techniques, you may even cancel the alarm before it rings.

Dr. Tom Keenan is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary, and author of the best-selling book, Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy

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