Healthy Lifestyle Tips and Resources During Social Distancing

By Dr Maria Cecilia Mosquera
Clinical Associate Professor of Lifestyle Medicine
University Primary Care Centre, UNIC Medical School

Dear UNIC Family,

Did you know that sleep is important for a strong immune system, can help decrease your risk of getting sick from viruses, and can help you recover more quickly? And, people who sleep an average of less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours a night have a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression? As you work to balance your life, work, and stress in this era of “social distancing,” you might find that your sleep has been affected. It might be challenging to get the 7-8 hours of restorative sleep that most adults need every night.

But there are things you can do to sleep better! Set sleep goals that are “SMART” so that you can track your progress and achieve them in a healthy way. To help get you started, see below some tips to help improve your sleep from: the NHS, Sleepstation, and Mechanick JI et al. Lifestyle Medicine: A Manual for Clinical Practice*.

#3. Sleep Health

  • Take a warm bath or shower before bedtime.
  • Read a book you enjoy, but preferably in a cozy corner, and when you feel sleepy, go to bed.
  • Keep regular sleeping hours and make your bedroom comfortable, cool, dark, and quiet to be sleep-friendly.
  • Schedule “worry-time”. Write to-do lists for tomorrow to organise your thoughts and clear your mind of distractions.
  • Let your brain relax with breathing and relaxation exercises (e.g. mindfulness or meditation), light yoga stretches, or by listening to relaxing music or audio.
  • Avoid strenuous exercise within 2 hours of bedtime, but do exercise regularly to de-stress and sleep better.
  • Avoid large meals before bedtime.
  • Avoid screen-time for an hour before bedtime (e.g. – TVs, smartphones, tablets etc.).
  • Avoid caffeine in the afternoon or evening.
  • Avoid alcohol before bedtime as it can affect the quality of your sleep.

Would you like your sleep to be restorative and wake up refreshed and ready for the day?

*Book Reference:
Baron KG and Bardsley L. (2016). ‘Chapter 17: Sleep Management’, in Mechanick JI, Kushner RF (ed.) Lifestyle Medicine: A Manual for Clinical Practice. Cham: Springer, pages 161-168.