Quarantine Bedroom Refinements

Confinement disrupts the rhythm of life. Containment does not always mix well with sleep. Dramatic and unprecedented changes of pace, stress, anxiety, lack of activity can disrupt a critical phase of the day – the time when we fall asleep, our sleep patterns, and indeed the entire night’s sleep.

A sudden confinement to your home could be like running a marathon without training, you have to manage your resources and adapt to a challenging situation while you are in it. You need to take care of your health (including your mental health), your sleep, and your energy.

Here are few tips to manage this period:

Tips for hygiene in your bedroom:

• Open your windows and refresh the air every day for at least 5 / 10 minutes.

Ventilation should be one of the first cleaning measures applied during confinement. It consists of ensuring the renewal of the air inside the bedroom and house; in particular by opening the windows of the house ten minutes in the morning and evening, as well as during the cleaning. Consider leaving a window ajar at night if it is not too cold or too hot.

• Fluff your pillows and make your bed every morning.
• Wash your sheets regularly and at least every week.
• Clean your bedroom using a UV light. These lights kill viruses and make your bedroom safer.

Tips for wellbeing in your bedroom:

• Use essential oils and a diffuser; you can also consider an air humidifier.
• Since you’re going to spend extra time in your bed, make it even more comfy than usual by adding body pillows and a reading wedge.
• Listen to relaxing music.
• Exercise your brain and your body with meditation, yoga and activity: anxious and tense individuals can also try to do relaxation exercises before bed. As with gym sessions, there are many video tutorials on YouTube.

Tips for your sleep:

• Another concern with confinement is the lack of natural light. Sleep cycles depend on it. Our internal clock is regulated by the alternation of day and night. If you live in an apartment, it is important to take care of yourself by regularly being by the window or on your balcony to satisfy your body with enough daylight.
• During confinement, people should try to do their work outside of their bedroom. In addition to ensuring that you continue with exercise and reduce stimulants (coffee, tea, tobacco, etc.), it is recommended to pay attention to something new with this coronavirus epidemic: try to keep your job away from your bedroom! Many people in telecommuting have set up an office in their bedroom to be quiet, and spend the day there. It is therefore imperative to ventilate it before sleeping, even if the weather is uncomfortable. Healthy air is imperative to sleeping well.
• Pay attention to the light environment. Before closing your eyes for the night, consider turning off or covering all artificial light sources.

Stay positive and active as much as possible during this quarantine, and try to sleep as much as you can since we know sleep is the best medicine.

Additional sources:

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/disinfecting-your-home.html
• https://www.hotelbusiness.com/the-westin-houston-medical-center-deploy-virus-killing-robots/
• https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-to-ward-off-coronavirus-in-your-hotel-room/

Photo courtesy of @nita.home [Instagram]