How weird that, although for many there are no early alarms, tiring commutes and long work days, everyone I speak to is so damn tired. A colleague who’s working from home says that every day feels like an uphill trek through treacle.
A national lethargy seems to have descended as we settle into week seven of this long blank time.
There’s an easy explanation for me: although I’m lucky I’m still in work, I have had to shift my alarm an hour earlier to 3.15 am as I’m driving myself in to the studio and doing my own hair and make-up. That’s the time I would normally use to read the newspapers and prepare.
I’m finding this extra-early morning jolt adds to the permanent groggy feeling of jet lag I’ve had for decades. Not a moan, it’s a fact of my life.
British TV presenter Susanna Reid (pictured), explores methods for improving sleep quality as it’s revealed many people have been having ‘bizarre’ dreams amid coronavirus
Sleep deprivation and I are old friends. I’ve been familiar with it for almost 20 years, ever since I started getting up at ridiculous o’clock for breakfast TV.
Then there’s the corona nightmares. Early on in lockdown, I would often awake in a sweat from a dream of catastrophe such as trying desperately to save a child or a pet.
Other people are dreaming of being attacked by swarms of bugs or engulfed by tidal waves, which experts say are metaphors for the virus.
Normally someone telling me about their dreams would be in my Room 101 of pet hates. But these days, I’m intrigued by the strange images thrown up by our sleeping minds.
According to a report by Harvard Medical School sleep researcher Deirdre Barrett, people are having more ‘vivid and bizarre’ dreams. No wonder our sleep has become fitful. An Ipsos Mori poll found just over a third of us are experiencing restless nights since lockdown.
There’s another reason for this, too, and pointing it out might not make me popular. While many people now reach for a stupefying drink at the end of the day, I have never been as thankful that I gave up alcohol as I am now.
Although I have friends who are getting through litres of lockdown Merlot, too much wine made my nerves jangle when I was trying to sleep. Experts agree that it feels like a relaxant, but can damage the quality of your slumber.
Susanna who gets at least six hours of sleep each night, said she’s found routine to be the guardian of good sleep (file image)
I’ve come to think it’s the regular activity in our normal days that keeps us powering through. An extended period of rest and relaxation might have felt like a gift seven weeks ago, but now concerns about work, finances and prospects for our children are all reasons to lie restless at night.
The exception is my quaranteenagers. While an Oxford University study reported that one-in-three 11 to 16-year-olds are lying in later, at my house it’s three out of three.
So how do you sleep when you’re anxious, plagued by dreams and wake up at odd times? Professor Kevin Morgan, who runs sleep studies at Loughborough University, says ‘routine is the guardian of good sleep’ and I’ve found that to be true, even when your routine is an odd one like mine.
I get at least six hours each night, meaning I am generally in bed at 9pm. Then, to top up my sleep, I take a nap as soon as I get home from the studio each morning at 9.30am. Although my sleep is broken into two chunks, this makes up a seven-hour total that keeps me going.
If you haven’t taken a nap since nursery school, but are at home in lockdown, take a break for a daytime snooze. Both Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher swore by power naps to boost their productivity.
It helps to have blackout blinds — or at least dark curtains — to allow your mind to switch off. I always make my bed when I get up so it looks fresh and inviting, although the rest of the house might, at times, be a tip.
Some experts recommend reading to drop off, but I find it impossible at the moment — fiction can’t compare to our reality — so I write a few notes in my diary which clears my head.
Of course, there are times when you just can’t get to sleep. When this happens, I convince myself that lying on my back with my eyes closed is the next best thing. Letting my mind drift, and not panicking about my lack of sleep works best. I can always take another nap later if I need to.
It’s a cruel irony that we are losing sleep when we need it most to deal with our collective anxiety and agitation.
It’s also now that we need a decent night’s rest to give our immune systems a boost.
If only we could all sleep like teenagers.
I’ll take Diva over Prada any day
It seems the devil really does wear Prada, it was revealed this week. Scientists have discovered that women who wear designer clothes are more likely to act in a selfish manner. Well, that’s me off the hook. I’ve never worn Prada, I’m more TK Maxx than Harrods, I’ve always found clothes from the catwalk don’t usually flatter my shape.
High Street labels such as M&S and Oliver Bonas fit me better and I also love Diva (divacatwalk.com) who make those perfect TV dresses. Flattering for real women rather than stick-thin models.
Hey Hancock, don’t take that tone with career women who know their own mind
Susanna said she’s not sure that Matt Hancock realised he sounded sexist when he told Rosena Allin-Khan (pictured) to watch her tone
I’m not sure Matt Hancock realised he sounded sexist when he told one of my local MPs Rosena Allin-Khan to watch her tone when she asked a direct and reasonable question about the lack of testing.
She is a serving A & E doctor so his response was even more jarring. His patronising remark had uncomfortable echoes of David Cameron telling Angela Eagle — a former shadow minister like Rosena — to ‘calm down dear’.
Apparently women’s voices are noticeably lower today than our mothers and grandmothers. Now we are more likely to try to match men’s voices in tone and gravitas. Researchers in one study said it was because women want to project authority in the workplace.
We have made great strides in gender equality. Rosena Allin-Khan is a high achieving, super bright shadow minister and medic working on the frontline and being told to watch how she speaks is unacceptable.
I was once instructed by a former boss not to be so ‘shrill’ and get told on Twitter to ‘pipe down’. Strong women have strong voices, but not everyone likes what they have to say.
A new mum’s gas and heir
Susanna admits she could barely keep her eyes open after giving birth, let alone talk to a royal. Pictured: The Duchess of Cambridge
My memories of having just given birth involve sweet tea, toast and feeling bruised all over.
Imagine if at that moment, the FaceTime ringtone exploded and the future Queen of England popped up on your screen.
Just hours after delivering baby Max, mum Rebecca Attwood received the virtual visit.
She describes the call as ‘surreal’ but chatted happily with the Duchess of Cambridge who said: ‘This is definitely a first … you must be exhausted.’ I could barely keep my eyes open after giving birth, let alone talk to a royal. One for the baby book!