How COVID-19 affects sleep?
- Being cognizant of how COVID-19 media coverage can affect your sleep is important to inform personal prevention or intervention measures.
- Increased anxiety can affect sleep patterns making it harder to fall asleep or get back to sleep at night.
- Feelings of depression are also associated with irregular sleep patterns.
Sleep Facts:
- Getting less than 5 hours of sleep for more than 5 days is equivalent to legal intoxication.
- 7-9 hours of quality sleep is required every 24-hour period.
- Exposure to light from computers, phones, television, and video games disrupts the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- Caffeine and energy drinks do not reduce the need for sleep.
- Fatigue from lack of sleep is a leading cause of home/work-place or motor vehicle accidents.
How to get quality sleep:
- Set a bedtime that allows 7-9 hours of sleep and set a routine every day.
- Turn off lights and remove light-emitting electronics from your bedroom. To reduce the impact of light use FREE blue light filtering software and apps.
- Go caffeine-free AT LEAST 6 hours before bedtime.
- Sleep in a cool dark room and remove any distractions.
- In loud environments, you may occasionally wear earplugs and/or use a sleep mask to create a soothing sleep space.
Seek professional help if you:
- Experience sleep difficulty.
- Are often tired during the day (despite sleeping at least 7-9 hours the night before).
- Consistently have a reduced ability to perform daytime activities.
*Call your Primary Care or Behavioral Health provider if you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed above.
COVID-19 information:
- Click here for the Army Public Health Center COVID-19 communication products
- The Military Health System Nurse Advice Line is available 24/7 by phone, web chat, and video chat. Call 1-800-874-2273 option #1
- Army COVID-19 Information Hotline for trusted resources and answers to your questions! 1-800-984-8523 Overseas DSN 312-421-3700 Stateside DSN 421-3700
