What is the 'how to improve the quality of sleep during self-isolation' learned from astronauts?



Because a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is prevalent, the number of people who 'cannot go out for a day' is increasing, and the number of people who 'cannot sleep at night' in an unusual life cycle is increasing. I will. Regarding sleep during self-isolation, `` You should take a sleep like an astronaut who continues a mission for a long time in a spaceship that is a non-going environment, '' said sleep expert psychologist

Jade Woo I am.

Mars 520-d mission simulation reveals protracted crew hypokinesis and alterations of sleep duration and timing | PNAS
https://www.pnas.org/content/110/7/2635.short

Want to Sleep Well During Quarantine? Do It Like an Astronaut | Savvy Psychologist
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/sleep-astronaut

According to Mr. Wu, many people are feeling nervous due to social isolation and physical restrictions during self-isolation and suffer from sleep disorders. Woo's colleague, a sleep treatment specialist, said he had the highest number of consultations ever.

Although research on sleep in such long-term self-isolation has not been done until now, Mr. Wu explains that research on astronaut sleep will be helpful. He cited an experiment conducted by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences , 'enclosing six astronauts with diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds in an environment that mimics the interior of a spacecraft for 520 days.' The 520-day number is the time it takes to make a round trip to Mars, and the Institute of Biomedical Problems investigated what changes would occur to the physical condition and psychology of astronauts who could not go out during the period.



This study also included 'changes in sleep status,' and it was found that most of the six healthy astronauts at the start of the experiment experienced some sleep problems. 'Methods for improving sleep during self-isolation,' derived from the results of an astronaut survey, are:

◆ 1: Maintain a regular schedule
During self-isolation, there are no daily routines for picking up children in the morning, chatting with colleagues during lunch break, and going to the gym for work. According to Mr. Wu, in an environment where we cannot have a consistent social rhythm, our biorhythm will become sick, leading to insomnia, sleep deprivation, and fatigue.

Therefore, Wu recommends spending a day on a regular schedule even during self-isolation. Specifically, you should spend one day as follows.

・ Wake up at the same time every day
・ Change your pajamas when you wake up in the morning
・ Take a break at a fixed time
・ Eat at a fixed time
・ Sleep at the same time every day



By acting as described above, the body clock is set and high quality sleep and daytime awakening can be maintained.

◆ 2: Exercise hard
Since you cannot go out while you are self-isolated, you tend to sit down. In the 520-day isolation test, it was reported that the survey results showed that the subjects tended to sit down over time.

Wu points out that if exercise doesn't dissipate energy, sleep will worsen and fatigue will increase. I recommended that you keep the exercise in mind as follows.

・ Walk or jog with

sufficient distance from other people.
・ Do yoga at home
· Do push-ups between video conferences
· Work out with friends using video chat



◆ 3: Sunlight
In a 520-day isolation test, the amount of light that the subject exposed was reduced. According to Wu, sunlight is so effective at resetting the body clock that it is no wonder that subjects who were not exposed to sufficient sunlight during the experiment deteriorated their sleep.

Mr. Wu points out that he is in the same state as an astronaut under test because he cannot go out and be exposed to sunlight during self-isolation. He explained that even after the sunset, the artificial clock emitted from the monitor and TV will make the body clock even more confused. Wu recommends the following to normalize the body clock.

・ Go out without wearing sunglasses during the day.
・ If you cannot go out, sit at a bright window and expose your face to direct sunlight.
・ Darken the screen after sunset so that your face is not too close



◆ 4: Stop thinking about sleeping
During the 520-day quarantine experiment, one in six subjects became fully insomnia. This indicates that continued self-isolation does not necessarily result in insomnia.

However, Mr. Wu urged him to 'stop trying to sleep', arguing that he should be careful about sleep so that the symptoms of not falling asleep and waking up may not become normal. According to Mr. Wu, when you try to sleep, you will rather lose drowsiness, so if you want to get drowsiness, you should do the following.

・ Get out of bed instead of rolling over
・ Read a book or watch a low-light TV
・ Forget about 'trying to sleep' in activities that are not too enthusiastic
・ Wake up at the usual time in the morning



Wu advised to separate the 'environment when sleeping' from the 'environment when awake'. Calling and working on the bed can be attractive during self-isolation, but Wu said, `` When I do anything other than sleep on the bed, my brain says, 'I'm awake on the bed. I remember 'where you are.' When I was awake, I encouraged me to work as far away from my bed as possible.

Regarding sleep during self-isolation, Wu said, 'even if the sleep quality is not good, it is normal.' I advised you to follow the advice above and not to worry about sleep.

in Note, Posted by darkhorse_log