The Week When Sleep Deprivation Won Out

I usually jump out of bed as soon as my alarm goes off at o’dark-thirty, no matter how late I went to bed the night before. Sometimes I’m even awake before my alarm, although that happens less in the cold, dark mornings of December. But this week was the week my building sleep deprivation won out.

It started on Monday. Or maybe Sunday. Or maybe Saturday.

Saturday I woke up at 5:00 to make sure I had time to walk my dog before I met a friend for a long run at 6:15. After running 9 miles, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some things I needed for my Christmas cookie bake-a-thon on Sunday. With the weather threatening measurable snow, I decided to go ahead and make my Eggnog Spritz cookies and also make the dough for my Ginger Spice cookies. While I was waiting for the butter to soften, I made two batches of my oatmeal cashew peanut brittle.

A plate of my Eggnog Spritz cookies.

I think it was 3:00 pm by the time I was done with all that and able to sit down for a few minutes to relax. By 5:00, I was getting ready for our office holiday party, which kept me out past my bedtime.

Sunday I got up at 6:00, walked the dog, and headed to my friend’s house to start baking. I was on my feet baking and decorating from about 8:00 am until 3:00 pm. The drive home was only slightly treacherous–I only saw one car facing the wrong way along the side of the road. Once I got home, I packed up tins of cookies to ship to my daughter and give to people at work, and stashed the rest in the freezer. By then it was time to fix dinner. I was ready to collapse, but fought to keep my eyes open for Revenge, and then the threat of more winter weather kept me glued to the t.v. watching the weather alerts.

By the time I went to bed, the forecast was for freezing rain and sleet and icy roads. With conditions like that, I knew I couldn’t drive down our hill until our street was treated. I canceled my 6:00 am spinning class and, acknowledging how exhausted I was and realizing that I needed more sleep, did not set my alarm.

On Monday morning I ended up sleeping until almost 7:00 am. I was going to skip my workout, but I was so stiff and sore, I decided to squeeze in 30 minutes of yoga before I got ready for work and braved the roads–which were well-treated by 9:00 am.

We were supposed to get more snow on Tuesday–so much more snow that the Federal government was shut down–but I had work meetings that made staying at home out of the question. I got up with my alarm, did a quick workout from Tina’s Best Body Fitness Holiday Workout Plans, and left for work by 7:30, just as the snow was beginning to fall. While it did snow all morning, it never accumulated, so I was able to make it to my meetings without any difficulties. I guess December 10, 2013 will be remembered as another day when Washington, D.C. shut down over the threat of snow that never materialized.

The snowy view at work.

Wednesday I had a day trip to New Jersey for a meeting. I got up with my alarm, squeezed in 40 minutes on the treadmill, got ready for my trip, and headed to the train station at 7:00 am. Although train travel is less stressful than flying, I am convinced that any travelling is just tiring. I got home shortly after 10 pm and was exhausted.

My “dinner” on the train.

When my alarm went off on Thursday, I accidentally turned it off instead of setting it to snooze, and ended up waking up almost an hour later. I had just enough time to take my dog for our usual mile walk before I had to get ready for work. I was a bit frustrated over missing my workout time, but with a full day of work ahead, there was nothing I could do but accept the fact that my body needed the additional rest.

Hopefully I am up and exercising when this post publishes at 6:00 am on Friday, but if not, I won’t beat myself up over another missed workout. I was truly exhausted this week, and really needed more sleep. Sometimes I have to remind myself that getting enough sleep is just as important to my health as regular exercise, but this week my body told me that I had exceeded my limits of sleep deprivation.

Do you usually hit “snooze” when your alarm first goes off?

Do you feel guilty when you sleep in?