The Challenge of Sleep – A Sleep Challenge
Are you Sleeping enough?
I’m a mom, I run my own business, we are selling our home and I volunteer my time at my kids’ school and in the community. I also have hobbies and activities I love to participate in. So, when, do you ask, do I find time to sleep? Well, it has recently come to my attention, thanks to my body giving me some not so subtle signs and symptoms, that I am NOT getting enough sleep. There are several different ways my body has been trying to tell me about this problem but in all my busy-ness I ignored it until this past weekend I didn’t get the opportunity to “catch up” on sleep and this week I am crashing.
If you calculate the hours the average human sleeps, it adds up to about a third of our life! The National Sleep Foundation reports that adults need about 8 hours of sleep to feel their best. I am a firm believer that like most things there is likely a number that is best for your individual needs. If you are more active or more stressed, you may need a little more. If you are more sedentary and able to relax more in general, you may be able to get away with a little less. I wear a Fitbit and it tracks my sleep. I know that I am getting an average of about 7 hours. Some days I can see that I am down to less than 6 hours! That is not okay! My watch tells me that when I fall asleep, I am getting pretty good sleep. The problem I deal with is falling asleep. Some people can fall asleep easily but wake up and can’t get back to sleep. Let’s look at what might be happening and what we can do to help.
Difficulty falling asleep is referred to as sleep-onset insomnia. Who knew it had a fancy name? It’s common throughout the population ranging from the young to the aged. In most cases, it stems from the fact that the individual trying to get some rest just can’t settle and slow their brain. Thoughts and sometimes even concerns all bubble to the surface and it can seem impossible to shut it off. One reason scientist think this may happen is because of a shift in our internal clock or circadian rhythm. I know it happens more frequently to myself when I have had a particularly stressful day, or I know that when I wake up there is something I am dreading or excited about.
Difficulty staying asleep is referred to as sleep maintenance insomnia. This is where you fall asleep quickly but wake in the middle of the night unable to fall back to sleep. It can also be when you drift in and out of restless sleep and it feels like you didn’t sleep at all when you must eventually wake up. I have to admit, this is not a problem for me, but my husband deals with this kind of sleep issue. I have woken up many mornings to find him already down in the kitchen, a full breakfast ready to be served because he has been up most of the night trying to find something to fill the time. It’s great for me! Breakfast is served! But he then finds that by 3 pm he is dealing with daytime sleepiness and has to take a little nap. Napping can be great, but it can also throw off your sleep pattern even more so it’s sometimes better to push through and just get to be early.
When you are dealing with a lack of sleep there are some signs your body might be giving you that indicate it’s time to start making sleep a priority. For me, it started subtly. I was forgetting things, feeling a bit more irritable than usual and having some extra food cravings. Some other signs are yawning all the time, moodiness, inability to concentrate and learning difficulties.
Over time if the sleep deprivation continues your hormone balance can be affected, your immune system is suppressed, and your body weight can increase. This is just a taste of the effects lack of sleep can have on your body. Blood pressure can go up, and overall inflammation can increase. It puts the body at risk of chronic illness. After learning all this and doing some research I am making sleep more of a priority. I am challenging myself to get at least the recommended 8 hours of sleep for this entire week. By a week I mean seven days and I am clarifying that because this way it will include the weekend as well. The weekend is always a time where sleep slips for me. I want to work on that too. So, next week I will report the changes I feel and what you too can expect by working on your sleep habits. Are you with me? Are willing to work on your sleep to feel the benefits? If you are, leave me a comment and let me know. I would love your feedback next week on how it goes!
Want to get even healthier? Are you dealing with a lack of sleep that’s affecting your life? Could you use some support figuring out what changing your sleep could add to your every day to support your health? Curious about how health coaching can help you make healthy changes? Let’s talk! Schedule an initial complimentary consultation with me today—or pass this offer on to someone you care about! Visit www.noshoesnutrition.com and sign up for a FREE consultation. I work with people from all over the world individually or in groups so don’t let anything hold you back!
