To Sleep....Perchance to Dream

In an attempt to hold myself accountable to my own lifestyle changes, I wanted to write down my plan to develop better sleeping habits in order to get more sleep in 2014.

Last fall (2012), I did a self-care project for nursing school. Since I've always struggled with insomnia and poor sleeping habits, I thought it would be an appropriate lifestyle change to make for health promotion.  I actually did fairly well over that 3-month period.  It wasn't until February of 2013 that the real trouble started.

Last year, I got a total of 1754 hours of sleep (yes, I kept a log--there's an app for that!). It may sound like a lot, but it averages out to about 4 hours and 45 minutes per night (and I can promise you that there were many nights with less than that, and some with more).  I blamed it on nursing school, but once that was over, my sleep patterns got much worse instead of better.  This sleep deprivation negatively influenced every aspect of my life: my mood, my decision-making abilities, my memory, my energy level, my eating habits, my body/looks, my health, my self-esteem, and my motivation.  Needless to say, I feel tired all the time.  I mean, ALL THE TIME.  Sometimes, I'll sleep only about 20 hours in a week's time and I need to succumb to taking an over-the-counter med to help sleep (usually Unisom).  I wish I could use more natural methods, such as valerian root or melatonin, but both wreak havoc in my body (I break out in hives from the V. root and melatonin is also an immune booster and tends to flare up my Crohns).  I do use both lavender and chamomile teas, but they don't usually lead to sleep, just a sense of calm.  So, I go with Unisom.  But, I also can't take that more than once or twice a week, or I get constipated (I know, I know, TMI), and that is also not good for the Crohns.

So, starting last night, I put my new plan in place.  It is similar to what I did last fall during my school project.  Here are some of the parameters I am using for better sleeping habits which will hopefully lead to more sleep in 2014!  (Note: This is a "school year" schedule.  I will bump everything to one hour later in the summer time.  Also, I don't drink coffee or have much caffeine at all in my diet, since it irritates my digestive system.  So this is not the "quick fix" that would help a lot of other insomniacs.)

1. No screen time after 9pm.  (This will be the most difficult one to keep.)
2. No food after 8pm.
3. Lights out between 10 and 11pm every night (special occasions excepted).
4. Wake up at the same time every day (even if I don't have to).  7am is my new wake-up time.
5. Get 30-60 minutes of exercise every day (but, NOT after 7pm).
6. Eat less sugar/Eat regular meals
7. Have prayer be the last thing before turning out the lights.
8. Keep a sleep log (been doing that all year anyway)

Obviously, I will need to be flexible. For example, the computer didn't go off until 9:45 last night.  Lights were out by 11pm, but I know it took me about an hour to fall asleep.  And then I woke up at 3:15am and couldn't get back to sleep until 6:30 (and woke up at 8:30).  But, I need to keep pressing on.  It will take a month for my sleep cycle to regulate itself.  In that time, I need to be ok with sleeping a little later if I have to, or watching one hour of TV after the kids go to bed, to unwind.  But, I will do my very best to stay within my parameters.  I hope that through them, and with prayer, I can achieve over 2200 hours this year (that's my goal, which is roughly 6 hours per night).  Here's to a more rested me in 2014!