Photo by Ron Lach
Although it hasn’t been 56 days since my last update, I’ve decided to discontinue the 56-day challenge. Shortly after starting the challenge, life happened as it often does, and my priorities shifted. I plan to try again in the future. On a brighter note, I’ve consistently kept up with my fasting routine and ensured at least 30 minutes of non-fiction reading or listening each day. My water intake has also improved, though I haven’t yet reached my goal. One lesson I learned quickly: drinking large amounts—like 96 ounces—of flavored electrolyte drinks such as Berry Propel isn’t a good idea.
Exploring Sleep Patterns in Our Family
Today, I want to focus on sleep and the consequences of not getting enough rest. Within our little family, sleep habits vary greatly, much like the classic “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” story. One person gets no sleep, another gets okay sleep, and the youngest family member loves to sleep, lol.
Michael’s Experience
Michael has struggled with sleep most of his life, dealing with persistent insomnia. Despite trying everything from over-the-counter remedies to prescription medications, he has struggled often through the years. Sometimes his sleep was better, sometimes worse. Not sure if it’s the same now but when he was younger, if he did finally fall asleep and then something woke him up then the lengthy process of getting back to sleep started all over again.
My Experience
Personally, I feel as if I’ve carried a sleep deficit for about 25 years. My biggest obstacle is myself; I often find it difficult to stop what I’m doing and head to bed at a reasonable hour. As a devoted night owl, I’m always tempted to read just one more chapter—sometimes as many as six—or watch another episode of House Hunters, which often turns into several more. I’m also a light sleeper. It doesn’t take much to wake me up but I’ve always been able to go right back to sleep as long as I knew everything was okay.
Nick’s Experience
Nick is the opposite of both Michael and me. Since he was young, if I could convince this energizer bunny to sit still for even five minutes, he would fall asleep instantly. He can still sleep anywhere, under any circumstances, and always makes rest a priority. I’m only half joking when I tell people he might have narcolepsy.
Recent Circumstances
My sleep has definitely deteriorated over the last few months. I attribute most of it to age and terrible foot cramps, but things worsened significantly in recent weeks due to various added stressors in my life. Suddenly, I was waking almost every morning between 2:30 and 3:00 am, and unlike before, I wasn’t able to fall back asleep right away. Before long, waking up once a night turned into two or three times each night.
I already had my annual physical scheduled and planned to discuss my sleep issues with my doctor, but her office called the day before to reschedule. The earliest new appointment was 11 weeks out. After struggling for two more days, my son suggested I message my doctor to ask about a sleep aid to help me through the interim. Three days into the medicine, I certainly don’t think it’s a magic potion since I’m still waking up through the night some but I’m at least able to fall back to sleep more quickly again.
Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation
Below are just a few of the symptoms I had that told me I needed to do something to get better sleep quickly.
- Irritability
- Exhaustion to the point that I felt physically ill
- Much more emotional
- Didn’t want to eat (some people are the opposite and overeat)
- Everything felt overwhelming
Tips for Better Sleep
Keep in mind, I have been fully aware of most of these tips. Does that mean I followed them? For the most part, the answer to that is no. I am making a concentrated effort to follow more of these now because I don’t intend on taking the sleep aids for a long period.
- Limit caffeine and alcoholic drinks for several hours before bed time
- Don’t eat late at night
- Keep your bedroom cool -this is a must for me!
- Make sure your bedroom is dark
- Limit your screen time before bed-tv and phones (I’m terrible about both of these)
- Set a bedtime schedule of going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time each day (also a struggle for me-I love sleeping in on the weekends)
- Create a bedtime ritual. This might include taking a warm bath/shower, lighting a candle, reading a few pages of a book, favorite pjs, meditation, etc.
Wrapping Things Up
I really thought I had things under control because, as I said, I was used to living with a bit of a sleep deficit. It wasn’t until things started spiraling a bit with my sleep that the seriousness of sleep deprivation hit me. The realization that if I felt this terrible after a relatively short period of a month or so of not sleeping, then I’d been clueless at how Michael’s long-term insomnia was affecting him. We’re both taking steps now to remedy this.
The terrible thing about sleep deprivation and anxiety also is that they feed off each other. I had stressful things going on in my life that created the insomnia and then the insomnia was making my anxiety over the stressful things worse.
I would encourage you to try the non-medicinal options to cure your insomnia first. If those tips don’t work though, I wouldn’t hesitate to talk to your doctor about other short-term pharmaceutical remedies before things get too bad. I plan on taking this as a temporary measure until I can get back on track with my sleeping and stress.
What’s your sleep like? Are you a Michael, Holly, or Nick?
My Eye Doctor told me to wear an eye mask at night because my eyes are open at times and I didn’t know it. I have a ceiling fan on and that’s not good for my dry eyes either.
I was surprised that a mask keeps you from looking at the clock, so you go right back to sleep.
A Dr that gave me a prescription to sleep said to just use it for a week or until you are back on track and then discontinue. It’s a habit you are creating.