UNITED STATES—I said the one thing I planned to do more of in 2019 was to get more sleep. We’re only seven days into the New Year, and I’m failing miserably at that goal. Why? Technology has become a bit of a thorn in my side. No, I’m not referencing to watching TV, it’s my cellphone and iPad Mini that are causing the problems. Once again, you might ask why? I think we’ve become conditioned to think that we need to KNOW what is going on 24/7 no matter what. I didn’t use to behave that way, but it has become far too familiar for me.
I want to check my email before calling it a night because I don’t want to miss anything of importance. I’m checking the internet via my iPad because I want to be updated in the news arena and the world of celebrity entertainment. I tell myself it’s only going to be a quick 10-15 minutes, but that ends up turning into 1-2 hours. Before you know it, I’ve wired my body, which was initially tired and now I can’t go to sleep. It’s frustrating, but I have to point the finger at myself because I allowed it.
I don’t have to be caught up on the latest news; whatever transpires while I’m sleep is going to still be news the following morning. That is the great thing about internet; it archives things, so you’ll be able to find it. I’ve gotten very close to not sleeping next to my phone. I place it on the dresser far from distance so that I’m not able to reach it. My iPad is a bit of a different story; that bright light hits the eye and it just becomes so difficult to shut things off, even though I know I should.
My brain is telling me to do it, my eyes are telling me to do it, but for some reason I resist. I have that fear of missing out on something ‘important’ that in all reality is NOT important at all. It has recently come to my attention in the past few months that I know my sleep pattern quite well. I sleep best when I am overworked and exhausted. When I say exhausted I mean like exhausted, so much to the point that I don’t even want to eat.
Not the smartest move, but we all learn our bodies more as we age. The biggest kicker being 1 a.m. You might be asking why that time frame is so important and I’ll tell you. It’s the time that my body just simply goes into sleep mode. My eyes flutter, my body is restless and if I just close my eyes and lay on the pillow I’m out for the night.
The past 2 weeks on Friday I fought going to sleep at that time frame and as a result, I find myself staying up for another 1-2 hours. I’m a morning bird, I hate getting up late or sleeping through the day. I have a notion that you’re sleeping the day away if you’re not up before 8 a.m. You’re talking to someone who is used to working days that start at 6 in the morning and ends at 6 at night, I’ve worked 12 hour days, I’ve worked midnights. Yes, my sleep pattern has been all over the place and I’m trying to fine tune things to a point where it’s more malleable.
Sleep is never easy for some; for those who are light sleepers, who can be easily woke by the slightest noise or sound, you have to train the body to get used to falling or going to sleep at a specific time each and every night, consistently. Once the body is trained you’ll see a big difference in your demeanor.
Written By Kelsey Thomas
