Whether you believe COVID-19 is a hoax or not- it is affecting a lot of people in various ways. I have been one of the people affected by it so it is very real to me.
If you are a believer in the virus and you have read articles that come out on it-you may be wondering about all of the things you can do to keep yourself healthy and protect yourself against it. Getting good sleep is one of these things!
In this post, I will be talking about how important sleep is and giving my review of product that helps with sleep.
All that is in our arsenal
When we talk about having an arsenal in regards to COVID-19- it is obviously not weapons or anything like that. It is just tools that we have right now that can possibly mitigate COVID-19’s impact on us.
These aforementioned tools are as follows:
- Taking care of our mental health.
- Keeping and maintaining social connections.
- Consuming healthy foods and staying hydrated.
- Engaging in regular exercise.
- Mask wearing.
- Getting good sleep.
- Getting vaccinated (a controversial thing).
- Social distancing.
- Washing hands.
- Gathering outdoors to minimize exposure.
- Having proper ventilation indoors.
- Disinfecting and sanitizing as necessary.
The above list shows things that people really should consider doing during this pandemic and beyond (for some of them).
Why is sleep part of our COVID-19 arsenal?
Lets not get too technical with this…
Adequate sleep is imperative when it comes to having a healthy life. It does wonders for us!
Why is it so important? Because our minds and bodies need it. These two things do so much to keep us alive and they need breaks regularly. This ensures that everything keeps running properly.
The immune system is one of the things that may be impacted by lack of sleep. This is due to the immune system processes that happen in our bodies while we sleep. We need these to happen in order to keep being able to fight off infections and inflammation.
Since COVID-19 is raging, it is important to have a well-working immune system and sleep can help with that.
In addition to lack of sleep affecting the immune system, it can also affect the following things:
- Mood: Lack of sleep may leave a person stressed out, irritated, grumpy etc.
- Concentration: With a brain that hasn’t been refreshed from an adequate amount of sleep- it may be hard to concentrate on things. This might mean that a person’s productivity and work quality will suffer.
- Weight: Lack of sleep may cause weight gain. This is possibly due to our metabolism being lower when sleep deprived, an increase in blood sugar occurring and/or the increased chance of overeating due to being awake more.
- Physical energy: If one is sleep deprived, they may not have enough energy to workout regularly and/or be active.
Our immune system then takes even more hits when our moods are low, weight is up too much and we aren’t exercising enough.
In short, get some sleep every night!
How to get enough sleep every night
Getting good sleep is easier said than done for many people.
Numerous medical professionals state that adults ages 18 and older need around seven to nine hours of sleep each night. This can be tough to get for the following reasons:
- You like to use your phone/computer/watch TV right before trying to sleep: The light from electronic screens can excite our brain and make it difficult to wind down.
- You take caffeine too late in the day: Some people are sensitive to the effects of caffeine and end up not able to sleep at night because of it.
- You workout too late: Exercise can rev a person up which makes it difficult to sleep if you have do it late in the evening.
- You have a sleeping disorder: There are some disorders that cause issues with sleeping. These include insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.
- Your mental health is suffering: Whether it is for a brief period of time or chronically-mental health issues can cause trouble with sleeping.
No matter what the reason is, you should work on your sleep hygiene. This is so you can reap the benefits that sleep has for us. The following is a list of things that may help you sleep better and for longer:
- Clean up your diet: Eating too much sugar and unhealthy foods may make your sleep quality not as good as it could be.
- Take caffeine earlier in the day or decrease the amount you take.
- Seek out medical help: If poor sleep is a chronic problem, medical help may be needed.
- Try a melatonin supplement.
- Establish a night time routine that includes turning off screens at least 30 minutes before trying to go to bed.
- Wear comfortable clothing to bed.
- Make sure the mattress, pillows and bedding are actually comfortable enough for you.
- Try some sleep meditation or hypnosis videos on YouTube.
- Put on some relaxing ambience videos.
- Put fans on in the room.
- Read a book with a book light while laying in bed (it works for a lot of people!). The light linked below is a wonderful option.
- Work on your mental health if it is getting in the way of sleeping well.
- Try some relaxing tea a while before you get into bed. Yogi Tea brand offers some great relaxation teas if one likes or is willing to try drinking it.
- Use a weighted blanket: Some people feel relaxed when they have pressure on them. The weighted blanket option linked below provides just the right amount of pressure and is very comforting.
There may be other things that can help you get better sleep. It is important to find something that works as we need to have good immune systems right now (and any other time!).
REMFresh review
I have been working on my sleep hygiene as I want to be as healthy as possible-especially during this pandemic. Sleep has been an issue for me in the past but I have gotten much better with it.
I have tried taking melatonin before and it did not sit well with me at all. No matter what dosage or brand- I always got some stomach issues and moodiness the next day.
Despite the side effects, I have kept wanting to take a melatonin supplement. This is not only for it helping with sleep but also because it has anti-inflammatory effects. There has even been some buzz about it possibly being a treatment option for COVID-19.
I actually did a post on melatonin before. Shortly after it publishing it though, I had to quit taking the supplement again due to how it was making me feel.
I found REMfresh on one of my searches for melatonin as I wanted to try taking it for the thousandth time. This is a product I had never seen before and I was rather intrigued by its description.
What sets REMfresh apart from regular melatonin supplement products is that it uses technology (“ion-powered”) that allows for it to be continuously released for up to seven hours. The company says that you get full absorption of it which is allegedly not something that happens with other melatonin supplements.
REMfresh also makes the claim that it uses a kind of pure melatonin that comes from Western Europe and is only unique to their product. This and the ion-powered technology are said to eliminate the side effects that other melatonin products can cause.
REMfresh comes in different dosages. These include Lite (.5 mg), Advanced (2 mg) and Extra Strength (5 mg). Just like with all melatonin supplements- you are to take it 30-60 minutes before you want to fall asleep.
The Lite version is for younger people and ones who are sensitive to melatonin supplementation. I chose that one to buy because I obviously do have a sensitivity to it.
I was pretty eager to start using it and I did so the very night that I got it. My decision was to be in bed around 10:00 PM so I took the melatonin at 9:00 PM. I honestly did not have high hopes for it because other products have not worked for me before.
At about 9:45 PM, I definitely noticed a tired feeling. It wasn’t a bad, groggy type of tired or anything like that. More of a calm feeling. I got into bed and fell asleep very quickly.
The next day I woke up at around 8:00 AM, refreshed as all get out! I couldn’t believe it. No grogginess, no mood issues and no stomach discomfort. I tried it again the next night with the same results.
I plan on using this product regularly from now on and I am so glad that I found it.
If you are looking to start a melatonin supplement, I would highly recommend REMfresh!
In conclusion
Getting enough sleep is very important for a healthy life. With COVID-19 surging in most places, it is crucial that we rest our bodies every night for at least seven hours (and more if you are under 18). Doing this may possibly help us fight off this novel virus (and any other one) better.
How is your sleep hygiene? Do you get at least seven hours of sleep a night?
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Links on my blog may be affiliate links. This means I will receive a commission if you click on them and purchase something.
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