During a coronary virus pandemic, people often forget what day it is and what time it is. Tuesday is Thursday, Wednesday is Sunday. There are no working days or weekends. It existed only yesterday, today and tomorrow.
With these feelings of disorientation it can seem harder and harder to concentrate and we need more time to complete tasks because we feel our brain is working slower.
If you feel like your brain is turning into a mess, you are not alone. Experts say it all has to do with the way the pandemic affects our cognitive health, our ability to think clearly, learn and remember.
Here is what is happening and
what we can do about it
Our usual routine is gone
Just as our body depends on external influences, such as sunlight, it also relies on physical and social signs. These signs include routines like morning and evening walks or regular meals.
For those locked up in their homes, those routines are largely gone. The days have lost their usual structure. We lose track of time and no longer look forward to weekends like we used to. Now our weekend is just like our work day.
Since most people now work from home, they no longer have a sense of rest. There are no more concerts, sports events that used to separate working days from weekends, causing the days to just drag on. All of this can contribute to a sense of disorientation.
We perform many more tasks
In addition, we perform many more tasks during the day. A lot of people balance with more responsibilities than before, babysitting, caring for the elderly while working at the same time.
We also consume a lot more news per day. All these things increase our cognitive load, that consumes more of our mental resources.
Because our memory has limited resources, our brains will sometimes struggle with remembering some basic data or performing tasks you are used to performing quickly and efficiently.
These disorders cause stress
If you can’t remember what day it is, it could mean you’re under stress. The corona virus pandemic is becoming a source of chronic stress. High amounts of stress impair our concentration and attention and can affect short-term memory.
In addition, stress can worsen our sleep quality. This insomnia can affect attention and concentration and short-term memory loss.
What can we do about all this?
Psychiatrists and psychologists recommend that you try to maintain a sense of reality as much as possible. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day is one of the strategies.
They also recommended taking frequent breaks, exercising, eating a healthy diet and limiting news coverage.
