If the birds are chirping… it’s probably time to go to bed

By: Danny Cacace

This man looks like he just got a good night’s rest while many others and myself are lacking that during this quarantine. Credit: lexingtonhealth.com

Have you been hearing the early birds chirp during this quarantine?  Then, you probably have been staying up too late at night.

 Don’t worry, you are not the only one. Many other people, including myself, have been staying up until around five in the morning. Mostly, some of us don’t have a reason to wake up early anymore.

 Ever since the coronavirus began spreading around the world, most of us have been stuck indoors. This has caused a lot of people to become bored, resorting to different habits that mess up their sleep schedule.

 “I’ve been scared and a little worried for my family,” Steven Sollaku, a friend of mine, stated when asked how he is holding up during quarantine, and what his sleep schedule has been like during the quarantine. “Days have been nights for me. I’m not sleeping or working at the moment, and videogames have been keeping me busy. I’ve been going to bed around 6 or 7 A.M.” 

 Sleep has been a constant struggle for most of us during this unprecedented time. I can’t remember the last time I went to bed at a reasonable time. 

 According to “Reasons why you might be struggling to sleep at the moment,” by Lizzie Thomson,  Thomson asked an expert on why so many people are having trouble sleeping at this moment.

 Personal Trainer Aaron Brown explains: “One potential impact on sleep is not getting direct sunlight exposure early in the day as many people are not leaving the house early to get to work or going outside to shop or exercise,” Thomson stated on what Brown believes is the reason for people’s sleep deprivation.

Aaron says “the way to combat this is to try to get 30-90 minutes of direct sunlight exposure outside, before noon. Even if it’s cloudy outside, the light is still enough to signal the circadian system effectively.” 

 I haven’t had any real reason to go to bed at a more appropriate time. I just wait for the birds to start chirping around five in the morning, and that is when I know it is time to go to bed. 

 “I’ve been fine. Quarantine has been nothing new to me. I’ve been staying at home, so it’s alright for me,” Alwin Liang, another friend shared. 

“I’ve been sleeping around 7 or 8 AM and I’ve been waking up at 1 PM. It’s been like that for years. I only need five to six hours. My body just got used to doing this.” 

 One in the afternoon is when I’ve been waking up myself. I am slowly working on going to bed at earlier times. 

 As stated in “Healthy sleep habits in the time of COVID-19” by Psychologist Boris Dubrovsky, he talks about four factors that jeopardize healthy sleep in any individual with one of them being, ‘the bedroom’, he states

 “Lastly, to keep restorative sleep in bed and productive wakefulness out of bed, it helps tremendously to maintain a clear demarcation between a workspace, an entertainment/leisure space, and a sleeping space,” Dubrovsky states about one factor that jeopardizes one’s healthy sleep. “The net result of this effort is that your body is trained to respond to the bed as a signal to fall asleep quickly, not to become alert.” 

  “Being a college student during this time keeps you busy in general, I have mostly been trying to keep up with my assignments and classes. Other than school, I’ve been trying to exercise my mind by painting or free writing just to feel better about the situation we are all currently in,” CSI student and Banner writer Sabrina Benet said about when asked what she’s been doing to keep her busy during quarantine and what her sleep schedule has been like as well during the quarantine. 

“My sleep schedule genuinely depends on the day. If I work my mind or my body a little more with exercising or homework I find that I go to sleep around 1 AM. Days that I don’t have much to do, I find myself going to bed around anywhere from 4 AM to 5 AM.”

Bottom line, if you can go to sleep earlier, go to sleep. Stay safe out there, and we will all get through this together.