Do you sleep well most of the time? Wake up feeling like you got enough sleep most mornings? Not me. I don’t ever remember being a person who slept hard or consistently, and I legit zombie-walked through about decade of rock star-level insomnia from 2007-2017. Meditation, Reiki, reading a book, sleep podcasts, audio books… they all sometimes worked, but I watched most of Battlestar Gallactica on Netflix between 1 and 5 am in the spring of 2012.
Sleep deprivation was destroying my fitness. My energy. My emotional balance.
I mentioned at a Z Health course one day how tired I was, and a coach there suggested I try some ice cream before bed. “HA!!!! Hilarious. Nope. That’s a great way to gain 20#, ya jerk,” thought I. But I tried it. And I tried a few other things. And I learned something equally amazing and obnoxious:
My metabolism and blood sugar, and my sun exposure almost 100% dictates my sleep.
Have you tried just about everything and still sleep like garbage?
- Consider the weather. Your circadian rhythms are dictated by light, and here in Wisconsin, it’s been a nasty few weeks. Consider getting a red light or going out for a walk if it’s juuuust nice enough to be outside. Know you’re not alone… most of us are dealing with it too.
- Consider your insides. I stumbled across this Facebook post from Kate Deering the other day that sums up most of the things that have gotten me where I am: sleeping pretty well and totally OK with the random nights I might struggle!! (Seriously. Where was this post like 5 years ago?)
I hope these are as helpful for you as they have been for me!!
“After one night of inadequate sleep, brain activity ramps up in pain-sensing regions while activity is scaled back in areas responsible for modulating how we perceive painful stimuli. This finding, published in JNeurosci, provides the first brain-based explanation for the well-established relationship between sleep and pain.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas…/2019/…/190129093714.htm
“Here are 10 simple things you can do now to encourage a good night’s sleep:
