Hadassah sleep experts are looking to discover how sleep patterns are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hadassah Medical Organization pulmonologist and sleep disorder expert Dr. Alex Gileles-Hillel and his wife, Hebrew University researcher Dr. Shoham Choshen-Hillel, together with his Hadassah partner Dr. Joel Reiter and Hebrew University medical psychologist Uri Mandelkorn, have devised a survey asking whether sleeping patterns are affected in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For people at home and sitting in their yards, we might see an improvement in sleep, but things might be very different for a large family living on top of one another for days at a time,” says Gileles-Hillel.
That’s why the research team is asking Hadassah members to complete their multiple-choice style survey. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Gileles-Hillel says the team has a theory about what the results will show but does not want to make that public to ensure people take the survey without preconceived notions. They hope the results will help sleep experts prepare for any future disaster scenarios.You can take the survey at this link.
Regarding COVID19, Gileles-Hillel says lessons are still being learned, but he offers some general sleep advice:
- Eating should be restricted to daytime. If you’re unable to sleep, you may want to eat, but eating during the night is especially unhealthy.
- Optimize sleep duration to between seven to nine hours.
- Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule.
- Avoid computer screens around bedtime.
- Make sure children don’t watch TV or use their computers or phone while in bed; doing so interrupts sleep and may cause them to act out the next day.
- If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep during the night, a short cognitive behavioral therapy session may be helpful. Some are on-line these days