Sleeping Like a Baby

Since the quarantine started, I’ve tried to maintain a consistent sleep pattern. I’m not having horrible sleep and I’m not sleeping like a baby. I wish that I could take a cue from Aurnia, who wakes up in the morning so that she can basically nap all day in a different room.

When I can’t get to sleep, I use the Calm app to help with ambient sounds. Apparently, the sound of the ocean or rain gets my brain to relax. If that doesn’t work, I use the story-time feature that allows me to have someone tell me a story. My biggest deterrent to getting sleep is the Mister’s snoring. That has been an ongoing situation even before the quarantine. The solution? I need to go to sleep before him, which doesn’t always happen.

A lot of friends have commented that their anxiety has caused a lack of sleep or they’ve had crazy dreams. I compartmentalize my emotions/thoughts so when I go to sleep, I shove all of that aside so that I can get to it. That’s probably not very healthy so I do a gratitude check-in every day. Two years ago, I shared with friends a spreadsheet of daily notes of gratitude. They add their thoughts and it keeps us in touch on what is happening with one another. Now more than ever, this spreadsheet causes me to reflect.

In general, I get better sleep when I exercise. In more normal circumstances, I tend to have a regular sleep time (10:30pm) and wake up time (5:30am), including weekends. With the quarantine, I’ve changed when I wake up because I usually start my morning with exercise and the sun isn’t up that early. I no longer have a commute so I don’t feel as rushed in the morning to get to work. I try to keep a schedule as much as possible so that I can feel that I’m in control. If you’re looking for more ideas to get better sleep, Self magazine has 10 Things to Try if Coronavirus Anxiety is Ruining Your Sleep.

In April, I spoke with my friend, former Baltimore Health Commissioner and former Planned Parenthood President & CEO, Dr. Leana Wen about social distancing and how mental health is so important during this time. If you want to catch our conversation, you can check it out here. We’re living in uncertain times and this undoubtedly causes anxiety. People are anxious about their families, how to take care of one another, economic & food insecurity and not having human connection at a time when support systems are most needed. The Riveter wrote an article that you may find helpful – Feeling Anxious? Give Your Brain a Routine. My mantra is #livinahappylife because I’m always looking for ways to live a happy life – pretty simple. So the Riveter article resonated with me because it reminds me to center my daily life on these goals.

I find that taking a mental vacation helps me to take a break. So here are some ideas on where and how you can vacation in place:

• Who doesn’t want to take a virtual tour of the Portland Japanese Garden?
• I’ve had the good fortune to spend a birthday taking a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Here’s your chance to see it and 11 other buildings from the iconic architect.
• How about musicals performances or plays? Since Broadway dimmed its lights, there haven’t been any live performances. For Easter, I caught Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar featuring John Legend. Youtube is streaming for free for a limited time some of the composer’s megahit musicals. You can also find 15 Broadway plays/musicals that you can stream from home.

I hope you’re finding ways to decompress and releasing your anxiety. Wishing you a good night’s sleep and comfort. See you next time!

MXM