As a writer, I spend my days at home without any co-workers around. I set my own schedule, have an actual office at home and never commute to work. As a result, lockdown hasn’t really impacted me. However, I will share something with you: Two weeks ago, my husband came home sick. In our area, COVID-19 tests are only done if you meet a long list of symptoms. As a result, he was not tested, but we were told to go into strict lockdown mode and that’s when I felt the strain. Exhaustion set in after just a day of caregiving, especially when it came to keeping the rest of us from getting sick. After the first week, one morning I couldn’t even get out of bed. For an entire day, I asked my university-aged kids to take care of meals, etc. as I just couldn’t do it anymore. So why did this happen?  Apparently, feeling tired during lockdown is expected. (1)

Feeling Tired After Activity

According to Sarita Robinson, Principal Lecturer in Psychology, University of Central Lancashire and John Leach, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Survival Psychology, University of Portsmouth feeling tired during lockdown is likely related to the stress and anxiety. Not to mention the monotony of your current situation. Dealing with lockdown is wearing us out due to the pure psychological strain. (1)

Feeling Tired During Lockdown Adjustment

It takes a period of adjustment to adapt to major change in our lives. However, what we are facing today was almost instantaneous. Suddenly it was “Stay home!” and that was that. No phasing in of the new routine. Just a sudden shut down of our lifestyles and shut out of our loved ones. That’s rough. (1)

According to experts, when a major change occurs, we must first take a week to disengage from our familiar lives and routine. At the same time, we then try to establish a new routine. This process takes about four of five days, allowing us to feel more settled. If you felt a little tearful during this period, that’s okay. It’s expected. You should begin to feel more yourself by the second week. (1)

However, the reality is that it takes about three months for us to fully adapt to a change of this magnitude. And none of us have had that much time yet to adapt. It has been an abrupt change that is the cause of feelings of melancholy, not to mention diminishing overall morale. (1)

Overcoming Feeling Tired During Lockdown

If we can accept this is not permanent, but might take time, we can feel a little more settled and hopefully feelings of despondency should fade. But if you are feeling a sense of what I will refer to as “disorientation” there are things you can do to make it easier to adapt: (1)

Keep a Journal

Write down your feelings and the thoughts that occur to you and take time to reflect on past entries to track your progress adapting.

Create Structure

Most of us, even someone like me who always works from home, live on some form of structure. Look at your day and schedule your time so you feel you have more control over the situation:

• Set an alarm so you still get up at the same time every morning.
• Make a list of things you can tackle each day such as cleaning, watching a certain show, reading a few pages of a book, or choosing a list of projects you’d like to take on.
• Plan out meals so you eat at the same times each day.
• Keep yourself as social as possible; set up facetime calls or video chats with friends each day if possible.
• Stick to your usual personal hygiene regime so you look and feel more like yourself.
• Avoid sleeping too often and have things you can look forward to every day, even if it’s making your bed.

If you set a regime, you won’t feel you are drifting endlessly each day. (1)

Exercise

Anxiety will most likely set in, sometimes strong and other times not so obvious. Anxiety can make sleep difficult, which can then create a cycle of increased anxiety and sleeplessness, which leads to fatigue. Exercise can help and is also a good thing to add to your daily regimen. There are tons of free online exercise classes, dance instruction, yoga, meditation and more available right now. If you look for things you will enjoy to keep you active, you can reduce fatigue and keep fit and healthy. Make sure you go for walks to get some fresh air – practicing social distancing while out and about. (1)

Perhaps most importantly, don’t focus too much on “estimated” dates when lockdown will end. Instead, stick to your new routine and practice these tips to reduce anxiety. This will, in turn, help you reduce feeling tired during lockdown. Hang in there!  (1)