Sleep Troubles? There could be several reasons.

Are you having trouble drifting off to sleep at night? Or are you waking up in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep? You’re not alone.

There seems to be a lot of it going around.

Chalk it up as another of many effects of the coronavirus. We’re all stressed right now, more so now perhaps than at any time in our lives. The uncertainty about what the future holds doesn’t help.

So stress is an obvious contributor to sleep problems.

Maybe you’ve been experiencing this longer that the virus issue. Even so, the isolation and anxiety have undoubtedly escalated the stress.

Stress or anxiety can cause a serious night without sleep, as do a variety of other problems. Insomnia is the clinical term for trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking too early in the morning, or waking up feeling unrefreshed.

First of all, don’t sweat it. Really. There is some evidence that our ancestors segmented their sleep, starting with a first sleep period of about four hours beginning two hours after dusk, followed by a one to two-hour waking period and then a second sleep of another four hours or so.

During the waking period, people would read, eat, visit neighbors, pray or have sex. (Probably not all at once, LOL.) Countless historical documents refer to segmented sleep.

I can’t tell you how many people have told me recently that they go to sleep between 10 and 11 p.m. and wake up by 3 or 4. It frequently happens to me, too. It’s fascinating to think we may be reverting to the ways of our ancestors.

So instead of lying there stewing about why you can’t go back to sleep or planning what you’ll have for lunch a week from Tuesday, why not just go with the flow and read a little or meditate or drink a cup of tea?

It’s also true that the world is at its quietest during those deep times of the night. It’s a great time to indulge in some “me” time, especially if you have a demanding family or work life.

And yes, I can do the math. This means you’re spending ten hours a day on sleep and wake. So if you go to bed at 10 you’re not finished with your segmented sleep cycle until 8 a.m. If that is totally not practical for your life and work, maybe the Stay At Home orders are a good time to try it out. Still not possible? Try it on weekends.

You might just find this will work for you.