My Better Sleep Strategy During Coronavirus Isolation Is Inspired By My Fav HBO Show

The other night I fell asleep to the tv news and ended up having a terrible nightmare (that someone was trying to get into the house, the Coronavirus personified perhaps?). I woke up startled and shaken, and didn’t fall back to sleep for hours.

Last night, I watched the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm (taking this as an opportunity to mention the accidental on purpose text, the big goodbye, Latte Larry’s, and beep panic!!!) on HBO twice - Shoutout to the suit who decided NOT to run another horrendously bad episode of Avenue 5 at 10pm and in its place, add another shot of CURB! Also, Why, Hugh Laurie, Whyyyyy?!?!? - and slept so much better.

Not quite peacefully, but definitely a whole lot better than previous nights.

It’s day 12 at home for me (suddenly sweatshirts and elastic waist pants feel so right…I’ve already reorganized my closet to reflect this unexpected sartorial shift) and like most everyone else, working on curbing my impulse to stay connected 24/7 and watch, listen, read whatever comes my way about the Coronavirus and COVID 19.

I’ve come to believe now, however, that watching comedies on our tv’s is going to be one of the keys when it comes to coping with this new abnormal.

Yes, it’s essentially staring at another, larger screen, but hopefully it will help us retrain ourselves to stay focused on one story at a time while also providing a much needed temporary distraction from real life. (Reel over real, y’all!!!)

Over the weekend, I skimmed an article in The Atlantic that said the almost constant scrolling many of us found ourselves caught up in last week or over weekend is all about a desperate need to exert some kind of control over our current circumstances. (Can I get an “ain’t that the truth” or a “you got THAT right” on THIS?)

With this in mind, and as someone who usually lives for the celebrity scoop, let me just say that notifications about which high profile celeb or sportsperson tested positive (or negative) for the virus and the like might be something we should be socially distancing ourselves from right now.

So, ditch those, even for a few hours, and try reconnecting with some funny shows, silly movies, and comedy specials, especially before bed.

That’s all for now,

Patty J