Last year during my annual check up my doctor said she thought I might have a thyroid issue. "Are you unusually tired?," she asked.
I really didn't know how to respond. I was working a full time job that took up a ton of my energy. I was also teaching yoga part time and taking two night classes a week for business school. Yes, I was basically exhausted all the time. But, that was normal. Right?
I figured that once I was finished with business school I would have more time to relax and rest. And when I left my full-time job in July, I thought that would leave me feeling rested and restored.
So I was a bit surprised when I noticed that I wasn't actually feeling more energized or rested. I was even more surprised when I tuned in to what my lack of sleep could be doing to the rest of my life.
This month I'm implementing some strategies to start improving my ability to get enough good-quality sleep.
Here's what I'm doing now:
Committing to 8 hours of sleep.
Flexible Bedtime - 10pm-11pm
No Netflix After 9
If only I could sleep as often and as easily as my cat does.
1. Committing to 8 Hours of Sleep
8 hours of sleep is recommended for adults. I don't really know anyone who gets this much, though, so at first it seems a little selfish. It also seems unproductive. Think of what I could be doing with all this time I'm asleep!
But, if I'm honest, this is the time. I'm not enrolled in school anymore, so there's no homework to worry about. I don't have children, just dogs, and my husband is happy to help take care of them at night if I take my shift in the morning.
It's never going to be easier for me to get a full night's sleep.
So each night, I'm making sure I set my alarm for 8 hours after I go to bed.
3. Flexible Bed Time
The flip side of this is making sure I go to bed at least 8 hours before I need to wake up. If I know I have a shift starting at 7, and I want to be awake by 6 am to have breakfast first, then I know I need to be in bed by 10 at the latest. On days when I might not work in the morning, I can stay up later, but realistically I still want to be up pretty early so I can work on my own projects. So I've decided that my bedtime window is between 10 pm and 11 pm. Ideally I'd like to get to bed by 10:30 pm each night, but I might need to turn in earlier if I have an early start the next day, and realistically I might lose track of time and not make it to bed by the time I imagined. To help with this I set an alarm on my phone to go off at 10 pm every night, just letting me know it's time to start heading to the bedroom.
3. No Netflix After 9.
There are people in this world, I'm sure, who are able to watch only one episode of their current favorite show on Netflix. I am not one of those people. Especially if I'm tired and my impulse control is lowered. If I watch one episode, I will want to watch two. If I watch the second, I will want a third. It's like I am a never-ending black hole for entertainment.
I know this about myself and I know that my husband will normally let me get away with it. This is why I cannot allow myself to sit down in front of any streaming video service after 9:00pm, because inevitably I will watch at least two episodes, and then I will have stayed up past my bedtime.
This is proving my hardest rule to follow so far.
Initially I felt a bit silly setting all these rules for myself.
I'm 30 years old! I don't need a bedtime.
But really, don't all of us need a bedtime? Without some overarching structure in our lives it's easy to let important things slide, and sleep and rest is often one of the first things to go. If I want to be fully present to enjoy all my waking hours, then I need to make sure I spend enough time sleeping.
What would your rules look like if you were going to set a plan for getting more and better sleep? I’d love to hear them!