From procrastinating about sending a quick email to a short conversation with your boss, dreaming when pandemic will be over to reminiscing upon the last time you hugged your family — there is a lot that can contribute to losing sleep.
World Sleep Day, March 19, aims to not only promote a good night’s sleep but also encourage healthy living amongst people. This sleep day, the Express reached out to Tammy Skomorowski, registered counsellor and the owner of True S3lf, who advises people “to treat sleep as if it is something sacred.”
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“You deserve the sleep because good sleep means good health,” Skomorowski said.
Although a lot of people think sleeping pattern starts at night, that healthy routine starts first thing in the morning.
“Getting up at the same time everyday regardless of how much sleep you had, fresh air, sunshine and exercise help in regulating the hormones, which makes sleeping easier at night as it creates a whole pattern,” Skomorowski said.
While some people like to take a warm bath before bed, others might read a book. Advising on turning off cellphones two hours before bed, she also suggested to keep the room as cold as possible and have a dark room, as few photons of light can play with the sleep cycle.
“Treat your bedroom like your sanctuary, decorate it and make sure it is one of the cleanest rooms in your home,” she said.
Skomorowski also spoke about how social media is creating anxiety due to comparisons and the pressure to be perfect.
“Even though we all know what we post on Facebook or Instagram is the best of the best, it still creates a lot of anxiety,” she added.
Meanwhile, CNC Nechako Region is running a sleep challenge and residents participated by downloading a sleep tracker from cnc.bc.ca/sleep-challenge. Participants were asked to track their sleep from March 15 to March 20, to win “CNC swag items,” as stated in a March 15 Facebook post.
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Sarabjit Kaur
Multimedia Journalist – Vanderhoof Omineca Express, Caledonia Courier
sarabjit.kaur@ominecaexpress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
