How covid turned our lives upside down
It seems like this little virus with no eyes or brain or even a clear shape has managed to control our lives for almost 2 years now.
If you think back in time and imagine yourself again in January 2020, you would probably see a very sceptical person laughing at all the others who were scared of this “Chinese virus” and started desperately their hamster shopping. Back then, we most likely told ourselves that panic does not help, that we already had been though other epidemics like swine or bird flu, so we would surely overcome this new corona flu any time soon.
However, things did not seem that simple this time. This corona virus proved to be stronger and much more aggressive that anything we have ever seen in our lives. It soon started changing our lives completely. We were not allowed to move around without a mask or meet out friends and family anymore. Then we were forced to work from home with our kids jumping around us while schools and kindergartens were closed. Some had even a curfew when getting out of the house and saw how their mobility has been dramatically restricted. We felt like we had not enough air to breathe, not enough space in our home to move and mainly not enough from what we used to have and took for granted: freedom!
Reactions behind fear
This whole situation affected our lives dramatically. We quickly switched from fear to anxiety, from deep sleep to light sleep or no sleep, from travelling to staying indoors, from dining out to cooking at home every day, from hugging family to cold virtual meetings, from playfulness to anger and lack of patience and so on.
This tension led to other negative effects like suspecting your neighbour or your friends for carrying the destructive virus or for not being vaccinated. Indeed, the fact that a vaccine against covid has been scientifically developed so soon did not truly get our previous lives back, but it lead to more segregation within modern world and societies. Our already distorted beliefs have made us doubt everything around us and built extreme conspiracies in our mind. From this to a state of fight and division was just a small step.
It was not enough that many people were dying around us like flies; we had to level the whole situation up to a hate state we would had never imagined prior to covid era. If I try to look behind this response I would think this aggressiveness is actually a normal reaction to the massive fear we which conquered us lately.
What really matters
Our whole world turned upside down. All of a sudden we felt alone and yet disturbed by everybody around us, including our spouse or kids. At the same time, some few fortunate of us managed to wake up and reset their priorities in life: football and shopping are not so important in life, but practicing sports and basic food are; commercials and work should not lead our lives, but the other way around. Health and medical staff, teachers and educators, cashiers at the supermarkets, therapists, bus drivers and even garbage collectors deserve much more consideration than they actually got.
And above all, family is the most important pillar of our lives.
You might ask yourself what does this have to do with sleep? Well, it does a lot. Because, in challenging times like these, if we don’t get enough sleep to cope with all what’s going on in our lives right now, we crack, we lose our temper and could break everything.
So, let me share with you 12 reasons why I think right now is the best time to sleep train your baby.
Why I think a pandemic is the best time to sleep coach your baby
- Sleep is the third pillar of our health besides sports and nutrition. So the sooner we develop healthy sleep habits (including for our baby), the better;
- Sleep deprivation affects our emotional well-being, cognitive function, daytime performance, physical and mental health. With all these extra worries we have these days, a baby who needs our care and attentions 24/7, who cries a lot and wakes up multiple times during the night is not helping the overall situation. So we need to do something as soon as possible;
- Being at home, you have the time and the possibility to assist your baby and follow an age appropriate routine for it and be in sync with its natural biorhythm;
- Because food and sleep are strongly related, a restorative sleep will most likely increase your baby’s appetite supporting its optimal development; on the other hand, cumulative sleep deprivation increases the risk of developing obesity;
- A good sleep boosts the immune system of your baby, helping it get stronger and face health challenges better prepared;
- You can reconnect with your partner and have some nice quiet evenings and even exciting nights again 😉
- You can get your sleep back at night;
- You will have the possibility to plan your day and have some time for yourself;
- You will have the chance to relax and see life more colourful after a good night sleep;
- You and your partner can gain your fit shape again;
- You will have more patience and a better mood to connect and play with your baby during the day;
- It could even save your marriage!
So why wait until the pandemic is over (God knows when) or for another 3-4 years until our baby’s body clock is matured enough to support its sleeping through the night?
Why not set the right stage to teach him self-soothing and set healthy sleep habits for life right now?
Think about it and let’s talk over a Discovery Call to see if I can help.