UNITED STATES—The last few weeks I have had trouble sleeping. It has always been an issue for me sleeping at night. I think it is a direct result of my upbringing. I have always been an early bird, but at a certain point when I started working as a teenager, I was getting up at 5 in the morning and that was done for years. Once your body is trained that is very hard to adjust.
It only got worse when I started college because I got accustomed to pulling all-nighters. It is exactly what you think it is, I stayed up all night cramming and studying for final exams. There was even a point with my job where my schedule switched to working nights and I meant overnight.
When you train your body to be up when you’re supposed to be sleeping, it is very difficult to get that switch back on track. I have tried, and I wouldn’t really say I suffer from insomnia, but it’s difficult for me to sleep. I truly only sleep when I’m exhausted and when I say that I mean I am totally clocked out, have gone like 20 plus hours or longer just pushing not realizing the body is depleting with each second.
A lot of the time, I want to sleep, but I tend to have so much to do that my brain just starts firing and its firing nonstop. I want to shut off, but I can’t shut off. I have gotten so much better with not being glued to my phone. That is helping make my sleep patten a lot better.
My biggest concern at the moment is that I’m finding myself waking up earlier than I care to. My body just wakes up around a quarter to 5, and I try to go back to sleep, but it doesn’t work. I tossed and turned for about 90 minutes. I was hoping I could fall back to sleep, nope. The moment that the sky started to brighten it was a done deal. My circadian rhythm cannot sleep when light strikes my body. The smallest twinkle is going to awaken me.
The body is going to do what the body wants to do and I’m up for the count. I do find myself restless around an hour before dinner time if I’m not at work. However, taking a nap doesn’t do me any good. Why? It is never long enough for me to fully recover. When I take a nap and I’m not out cold, it does wonders for me. My body gets this opportunity to revitalize and fuel energy to the fullest.
I’ve told people this a billion times, I would give up an entire week’s salary to have 1 week where I am able to sleep 9-10 hours a day. When people tell me they sleep that long I’m jealous; I don’t know what that feels like and I think the last time that occurred might have been more than 18 years for me.
Why? I was literally awake almost 30 to 36 hours working 3 jobs, so the moment I crashed, I truly crashed. I would sleep around 12 hours and I would feel relieved. However, that is not healthy forcing the body to crash is never a good thing because it takes longer to recuperate. I think for most Americans sleep when they can get it, and I’m starting to realize I just have to take that approach.
If there is something I really want to do, I have to ask myself is that a priority over the rest and recovery that my body needs? A vast majority of the that is not the case. Sleep is a part of life and starting today I need to make that a priority.
