Why the war with Iran is different from anything we’ve known – and how it affects us all

We are in the midst of the first week of the war with Iran. This time, it is a different kind of war than the one we’ve grown used to. The magnitude of the attacks is on a completely different scale, the consistency of strikes on the home front is frightening, and the impact on our day-to-day functioning is significantly greater.

Before we understand what is happening to us now, let’s take a step back. The very fact that we are nearing two full years in a state of war is not something to take for granted. Over the past year and a half, we have had to summon tremendous mental strength just to keep going – most workplaces have returned to routine, schools are open, people flew abroad to get a break, new entertainment venues have opened, and more.

But this came at a cost. A cost that was mostly hidden from view. It required us to dull our emotions – we got used to “cleared for publication,” got used to the fact that there are hostages who still haven’t been released, got used to some of us and many people around us “disappearing” for another round of reserve duty.

This acclimatization, despite its harsh price, had to happen to a certain extent (as long as the war continues). Otherwise, we would not have been able to function. Our emotions would have overwhelmed us, and our functioning would have been impaired.

This time, it seems that the intensity we are dealing with – regardless of the successes of the IDF and other security forces in protecting us – is much higher than anything we've encountered before. The high number of casualties, property damage, disturbing sights, and more, increase our levels of anxiety and stress.

In addition, there’s another aspect we all talk about in the morning but "forget" at night – disrupted sleep. The early warnings of missile launches, the growing tension until the alarm actually sounds, the loud “booms” that are clearly heard, the time it takes until the all-clear message allows us to leave the protected space – all of these disrupt the continuity and quality of sleep.

The effects of sleep deprivation impact all of our daily functioning. We are more tense, short-tempered, our ability to concentrate is diminished, we’re overwhelmed with unpleasant feelings, everything seems, sounds, and feels irritating and uncomfortable – and more.

Sleep research shows us that the effects of sleep deprivation vary from person to person. Someone who went through the same awful night as we did may appear to be “just fine,” while we feel drained and powerless. Research shows that after just one night of disrupted sleep, our ability to focus is impaired, we struggle with mundane, repetitive tasks, and we become impatient with others' reactions.

But if it were only one night, the body has the ability to “refill” sleep reserves relatively quickly. After two nights or more, the effects begin to accumulate. We start feeling it psychologically too – we feel bad about ourselves, we get angry at others, and we struggle to do even simple tasks like calculating a total or remembering the tasks still awaiting us.

But that’s not all. The more nights we spend with poor sleep, the harder it becomes to replenish our sleep reserves. We can no longer make do with just one extra hour of sleep. Improvement will require us to sleep properly for many days or even weeks until our general feeling improves and we regain our sense of vitality.

Although we don’t have control over the course of the war, we do have control over our personal routines. Simply understanding the potential effects of disrupted sleep is important. Here are a few tips to help improve sleep quality:

It’s important to remember – this is not a normal time, so we must pay attention to things we don’t usually notice. This attention, along with changes – even small ones – that we can commit to doing daily, will help us and those around us get through this period more successfully.