Do you Have Electsomnia?

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CLEVELAND - On Tuesday, millions of Americans will head to the polls to cast their vote for the next president of the United States.

And as you can imagine, many have been stressed about the race, with some even suffering from ‘electsomnia.’ 

“Oftentimes this will be in people who already have sleep difficulties or insomnia, and it'll significantly worsen their current sleep difficulties,” explained Michelle Drerup, PsyD, sleep psychologist for Cleveland Clinic. “And I'd say that's what we are seeing most commonly, but we're also seeing people who typically don't really report having any insomnia symptoms or difficulty, this triggering insomnia symptoms in the past you know couple of weeks or the time preceding the election.”

Dr. Drerup and a colleague coined the term ‘electsomnia.’ 

She said they first started to see the issue during the last election cycle, and now it seems to be continuing with this one too. 

People are reporting issues falling asleep, ruminating over the candidates, concerns about the voting process, and the potential results. 

So, how can you stop ‘electsomnia?’ 

Dr. Drerup said to start, be aware of your thoughts, especially at night, and focus on reframing them.

Instead of thinking worst case scenario, remind yourself that we have survived other elections and will get through this. 

It can also be helpful to limit social media. 

“We have so much social media that we're bombarded with, right? And so that's a difference definitely within the past decade,” said Dr. Drerup. “Not only are people consuming this a lot of the day, but before bedtime. Soit can help to put some parameters and boundaries on that, especially at night.”

Doctor Drerup said if you’re still having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep after the election, it may be time to consult with a specialist.