SLEEP DURING WARTIME

NIB's Psychological hub

SLEEP DURING WARTIME

Sleep is a crucial process of the body. It is not a luxury, but a necessity, a biological need. The recovery of the body and of the mental functions is possible directly while sleeping. In case of sleep absence, the immune system can fail, while cognitive functions and muscle strength suffer exhaustion. Also, the speed of reactions decreases, and as a result one tends to make ill-conceived and ill-considered decisions.

It is not for nothing that the enemy bombards all night long. By doing so the enemy try in every possible way to contribute to the exhaustion of both military and civilians. Or vice versa situation - shelling begins early in the morning, when the body is relaxed, non-concentrated and sleepy.

Under the conditions of martial law, sleep can be interruptive, there may be frequent awakenings with anxiety. Short-term phases of sleep prevail over long-term ones, one may have dream of horrors. As an example, quite often children are afraid to sleep alone.

All of the above is the body's reaction to stress.
So, what to do if it is difficult or almost impossible to fall asleep?

▪️If an air alarm siren sounds all night and you and your child are in a shelter:
− if possible, make the shelter suitable for sleeping, make it as cozy as you can;
− if the sound bothers you or your child, use ready-made earplugs or twisted cotton balls. If you don`t have those, you can try to cover yourself with a hood, a blanket, cover your ears with your hand.

▪️If you are at home, but hard thoughts, plans, etc. interfere with sleep:
− you need to remind yourself that these are just thoughts and they will change in the morning, because the morning is wiser and not as scary as the night;
− thoughts come and go, and at this very moment it is important for you not to focus on your thoughts, but to take care of yourself. Sleep is health!

▪️If you are worried that you may sleep through the air alarm and calls to go to the shelter:
- agree with someone who is nearby, for example, to take turns sleeping, so as not to miss valuable hours of sleep all together;
- put a program on your phone that loudly warns about alarms.

❗️It is worth remembering (especially for adults!): it is better to have a dream in small fragments than not to have it at all.
7-8 hours of sleep are divided into 1.5-hour segments, each of which consists of slow (80% of the time) and fast sleep (20%).
A person who does not have the conditions for a full night's sleep, but has at least 1.5 hours of time, also has a chance to recover and regain his or her strength.