Many people sleep well but don’t get enough sleep due to a busy lifestyle or being “plugged in” all of the time.The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults try to obtain around seven hours of sleep per night. Get enough sleep: Adults average 6 to 9 hours of sleep per night.It also helps to dim/soften the lighting in your home. Television is okay as long as you are seated far enough away. Try to “unplug” (i.e., smart phones, tablets, and computers) about 1.5 to 2 hours before going to bed.Use the blue light filter / night shift setting on all of your electronic screens in the evening.Minimize exposure to bright light and blue and green wavelength light at night.Get at least 30 minutes of natural light prior to midday.Bright light and blue/green light at night can negatively affect the body’s natural melatonin production potentially making it difficult to fall asleep.The blue and green light from your phones, tablets, and computer screens can shift your sleep wake circadian rhythm to later at night.Be mindful of the effects of light on sleep: Light helps synchronize your circadian/biological clock day and night cycles of earth.This will help you figure out an ideal bedtime. Don’t go to bed until sleepy: Going to bed when you feel sleepy (as opposed to just when you feel tired) and maintaining a consistent rise time will help you figure out how much sleep your body needs.

Consider scheduling virtual work meetings on weekday mornings and virtual social meetings with friends or family on weekends.

Wake up at a consistent time: Having a consistent wake-up time can help entrain your circadian clock, which is important because it can give consistency to your sleep patterns.

Suggestions to Promote Good Sleep During COVID-19.

Stress and sleep have a bidirectional relationship meaning sleep disruption can reduce stress tolerance and stress may disrupt sleep.

Sleep disruption can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system and increase susceptibility to infections.

Stress can release cortisol and adrenaline, which can lead to sleep disruptions and a reduction in restorative sleep.

During this time of uncertainty, it is likely that individuals - especially frontline medical workers and essential employees - may experience more sleep disruption and increased stress.

Sleep disruption can increase cortisol levels, which may amplify the effects of stress on the body.

Individuals with sleep disruptions often worry about sleep.

Insufficient sleep to support adequate alertness, performance, and health, either because of reduced total sleep time or fragmentation of sleep.

Traumatic events may be associated with distressing emotional and physical symptoms of stress such as fear or sadness, changes in sleep or eating patterns, irritability, fatigue, intrusive memories, hyperarousal, and tobacco and alcohol use.

A universal experience that may be due to daily responsibilities (i.e., school, work, family), a negative change (i.e., losing a job, divorce, or illness), or a traumatic event (i.e., viral pandemic, war, assault, or natural disaster).

The body’s response to a physical or emotional demand.

It primarily causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections.

COVID-19, also known as 2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2, is a positive sense, single-strand enveloped RNA virus of the family Coronaviridae that is the cause of the pandemic in late 2019 and currently ongoing in 2020.

Sleep doctor: Sleep disorder specialist.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Sleep Apnea (OSA).

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RLS, or uncontrollable urges to move or sensations in your legs that keep you awake.

snoring and OSA, or pauses in breathing while you sleep.

narcolepsy, a condition that often causes people to suddenly fall asleep during the day.insomnia, or difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night.Sleep specialists treat a number of different conditions, including: respiratory therapists, who work with sleep doctors to manage and treat breathing disorders.dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons, who fit people for oral appliances to correct problems with the mouth and jaw.otorhinolaryngologists, who treat problems with the ear, nose, and throat that contribute to sleep disorders.pediatricians, who treat sleep disorders in children.neurologists, who treat brain and nervous system disorders.psychiatrists and psychologists, who treat thoughts and behaviors related to sleep.Some sleep specialists have a special area of expertise.

Johns hopskins sleep expert