Last weekend I was feeling down in the dumps, but I couldn’t figure out why. I wasn’t particularly stressed over work. I wasn’t particularly worried about my kids. I didn’t feel like I was on the verge of depression. I just felt blah. When I fell asleep in the car on the way home from my son’s championship lacrosse game (Go Red Devils!) and still could not keep my eyes open much past 9:00 pm, I realized that I probably was just plain tired.
I’ve gotten into a routine of going to bed at 11:00 and getting up at 5:00. That’s only six hours of sleep if I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and stay asleep all night, and I know that doesn’t happen. Sometimes I fall asleep between 10 and 11 while watching TV, and then wake up around 12:30 and drag myself up to bed, which leaves me even less time for uninterrupted sleep.
Even though I didn’t feel sleep-deprived, my general feeling of malaise is a symptom of sleep deprivation. According to this article from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School:
Studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. When the subjects resumed normal sleep, they reported a dramatic improvement in mood.
At least there is a straight-forward way to remedy sleep-deprivation, even though it isn’t always easy to get more sleep. The people at the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School have collected ideas for adopting good sleep habits in this article. I identified four habits for better sleep that I can work on.
- maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule
I’ve got the wake part down, but I need to work on the sleep part. - avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and other chemicals that interfere with sleep
I know an afternoon Starbucks run will interfere with my sleep, but some days I can’t resist. - establish a calming pre-sleep routine
Watching The Following before bedtime is probably not the best plan. - go to sleep when you’re truly tired
Why do I fight so hard to keep my eyes open instead of just going to bed?
If you suffer from insomnia, adopting these good habits may not be enough–please consider seeking professional medical advice to see if there is more than you can do to sleep better.
Do you get enough sleep?
Do you try to sleep in or nap on weekends?
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Good stuff! I am all about an afternoon nap! I have also found that doing 1/2 mile hill repeats is great for better sleep too! Happy Friday!
I've struggled with sleeping much for years. I can usually fall asleep OK – but I wake up and then I'm wide awake for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours+. I never nap because then I might as well not even try to sleep.
It's amazing how many people have such a hard time sleeping (and it seems it's more women than men).
I sleep better if I read a little before bed – and avoid the laptop
Excellent post! I am really good about falling asleep – If I'm tired, I don't mind going to bed at 9:30. But, I can typically also have a cup of coffee in the afternoon and still get a good nights sleep, or nap at 6PM and still sleep well.
My husband on the other hand is a horrible sleeper. He rarely falls alseep before 11:30 and is up at 5 every day too. But, he doesn't really drink coffee and naps totally mess him up.
Interesting how we're all so different. But, it's also amazing how much of an impact bad sleep habits can have on our lives. Supposedly there's links to diseases and other horrible things.
I follow my sleep schedule pretty well so that I get 7-8 hours 🙂
I sleep pretty good…but I can tell when I need more or when I am doing too much running/working out and not enough resting! Great post, found you through FF linkup
Shannon at I Survived and Now I Run
Thanks for stopping by!
Normally I have a very good sleep routine. But right now we're up until 11 or midnight every night doing stuff on the house. Then I have to be up at 5 to get work done so I'm not doing that with the kids. I'm exhausted and can't wait for a more normal schedule again in hopefully a few weeks. I can tell it's really affecting me!
thank you for sharing! I always struggle with a pre bed time routine, which causes me to not get the quality sleep I need.
hahaha, I'm with you on The Following before bed, that show makes me paranoid!
I definitely do not get enough sleep. It's terrible and such a vicious cycle. I know that I need to start going to bed earlier but have just been stubborn about it! And you're right about the pre-bed ritual. My husband started watching Game of Thrones before going to sleep and that's definitely not conducive to good sleep!