What Orlando-area residents want most this holiday — sleep

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By Jackie Berg

Tired? Many Orlando-area residents are, according to an Ocere survey which ranks this community as the fifth highest sleep-deprived market in the country.

No amount of coffee can make up for our sleep loss, which reportedly topped an average of 3-hours nightly last year.

Don’t tell that to anyone in a crowded morning coffee shop line up, who stand among the thousands who helped Orlando residents rank fifth among the nation’s Top 10 coffee markets.

As good as that morning jolt is, it isn’t a cure all.

That’s unwelcome news for millennial moms, like Katie Jones, a mother of two grade schoolers, both of whom have been impacted by exposure to the Delta variant and related quarantine periods this year.

“I thought things were going to get much better this fall,” says Jones, an avid coffee drinker who consumes ‘gallons’ weekly.

“Although the worries have changed, my stress level is higher than ever,” she says.” So is my coffee bill.”

And that’s before the holidays.

Add in her kid’s upcoming two-week semester break, several holiday events and three extended family gatherings and things really get “interesting,” according to Jones, who says the logistics of it all seem to be ever-changing.

“No one knows who will really end up coming for dinner,” laughs Jones. “Until the day of, I don’t know whether I’ll actually be seating four or 50.”

AVOID HOLIDAY HAVOC

John and Denise Hulsewe, owners of Baldwin Park’s Your CBD Store, expect to see increased foot traffic from busy holiday hosts like Jones.

“Although our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday specials will attract many gift givers, people really seem to appreciate our focus on education and the importance of self-care,” say the couple.

Many consumers are already on overload, according to mental health experts who report that stress and sleep deprivation levels already at an all-time high, are expected to climb even higher over the next several months.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, the holidays may be a very good time to do less and enjoy more.

Hitting the proverbial off button is a good way to combat stress, according to mental health experts who report that although we have more leisure time than ever, we don’t employ it well.

Too many of us prefer to remain in a perpetual state of work.

Even those with more time to play make a job out of finding bigger and better leisure activities, according to a recent BBC report.

Simplicity, it seems, is out of vogue.

MAKE-UP SLEEP IS A MYTH

With sleep shortages at an all time high, there may be no better time than now to rethink our post-pandemic habits.

Why?

Sleep is not a commodity. It cannot be caught-up over a long weekend.

While sleeping in a morning or two can help with so-called sleep debt, it is often not enough, according to the Sleep Foundation, which reports it can take up to four days to recover from just one hour of lost sleep.

A full recovery might take up to nine days, according to sleep specialists.

Sleep is critical to stress reduction, according to health experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who recommend that parents get at least seven hours or more of restful sleep nightly.

The better we sleep, the less we worry, according to a University of Pennsylvania study, which found that just seven consecutive days of bad sleep (4.5 hours) contributed to subjects feeling stressed and mentally exhausted.

Even just a few good nights of sleep a week can help restore your mood, according to a Harvard.edu report.

With the holidays approaching, one thing is clear. Moms (and Dads) need a break. Ask Katie Jones.

Editor’s Note: Your CBD Store Baldwin Park is located at 4825 New Broad Street in Orlando. To learn more call (407) 789-2313 or visit their facebook page

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