3 Rules for Better Sleep

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:

1. Committing to 8 hours of sleep.

2. Flexible Bedtime - 10pm-11pm

3. 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.

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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!

So Tired All The Time

About a month ago I made a big decision to quit my full-time job at a university to pursue a path that was more in line with my dreams and vision for what I want my life to be. Being out of my daily 8 am - 5 pm schedule has left me with more autonomy and more control over what I do and when I do it. I've been loving having more flexibility in my schedule, but you know what I've been noticing?

I. am. so. tired!

I'm not a morning person by nature, but in order to squeeze in some exercise during the hot, Florida days I started waking up at 6:30 am or so to go running before work at 8:00. Then I would sit in my office, working or meeting with students, until lunch. Sometimes at lunch I would have time to get up, leave my office, and move around. Then it was back to the desk for the rest of the day. The constant workflow normally kept me busy until it was time to head home. I knew I felt exhausted at the end of the day, but I figured that was from working so hard!

Last Wednesday is when I started to notice what was going on. I was a little sleepy in the morning, but no matter! I went in to my part-time job and made it through my hours no problem. Part way through my shift I felt so hungry. Hungry for what? Not sure. But hungry nonetheless. I tried to fill up with water and coffee while I was working.

When I got in my car, though, it hit me. I wanted to take a nap.

I could have fallen asleep right there in the car!

I didn't though. I had meetings coming up and Things. To. Get. Done.

I knew that being tired was something I need to start avoiding. It was one thing when I was stuck behind my desk all day, but now that I was free to roam my lack of sleep was getting me into all sort of mischief!

So I drove to a coffee shop and grabbed some coffee. I still felt super hungry, but I had just eaten lunch. I made it through my meeting without ordering any food, but I felt a little scattered.

After the meeting, though, that's when the impact really hit me: Irrational decision making.

I make silly choices when I'm too tired.

I drove to a bookstore and ordered two books I didn't really need.

I then walked to a cupcake store and bought 6 cupcakes. I meant to buy two. But they were 6 for the price of 5. So… yeah.

Going out of my way for this little shopping spree put me almost 10 minutes late for my next meeting.

Once that was done, instead of getting work done like I had planned I ended up reading a vampire novel for a few hours until I was done. I was too tired to feel motivated or productive.

I knew that being tired was something I need to start avoiding. It was one thing when I was stuck behind my desk all day, but now that I was free to roam my lack of sleep was getting me into all sort of mischief!

It hit me again yesterday. I noticed while I was at my part time job. I was sleepy. Not surprising. I had stayed up later than I planned the night before. I woke up early to go for a run, but I was feeling too tired to actually go running. I ate a big breakfast but still felt hungry all day. What's more, I started noticing that it felt like I couldn't take full, deep breaths without a conscious effort.

This time, after getting home and eating lunch, I put myself down for a nap. After waking up after a long nap, I was more productive in three hours than I had been that whole day the week before.

I felt really vindicated today when I found this article about the impacts of not getting enough sleep. Sure enough, it impacts your appetite and your blood oxygen level.

The list of negative impacts from sleeping too little is long and scary. So my big goal for the month of June is to get more and better sleep. I’ll be sure to share any strategies that work for me! If you have tips, please feel free to email me or comment on this blog. I could use all the help!