Friday Tri: Sleep

When I was in high school and into graduate school, I was one of those stick in the muds who would not stay up all night or even late at night. Not for a party. Not to study. Not for anything. This is partly because I was--and am--a person of habit. But it also might be because I was a swimmer and had to be at the pool at 5 in the morning every day. I just tired very easily.

The last few years, I have really struggled with insomnia. It was frustrating when I would read that one of the most important elements of a plan to improve athletically was getting more than 8 hours of sleep a night on a regular basis. Even in my best days, I only got about 7 hours of sleep a night and with the insomnia, it was more like an average of 4-5 hours a night. I tried to deal with the insomnia by having VERY strict hours, but honestly, I was already keeping on a pretty regular schedule. I don't drink alcohol and I don't consume caffeine on a regular basis, so those weren't the problem.

What was the problem? Not listening to my body. In the last month or so, I have given up almost completely the idea of an alarm to wake me in the morning. I know that obviously not everyone has the luxury to do this, but somehow mentally giving myself the permission to sleep as late as my body wants to has solved a lot of the lingering insomnia issues of the last few years. Yes, there are still some days when I have to set an alarm. I can't avoid those, but the other days somehow seem to make up for it. Maybe I am just getting older and need more sleep, but I suspect that if I had been listening to my body all along, I would have been getting more sleep for years.

Listening to my body has become a theme of late. Listening instead of telling it what I want it to do. Not that I ever had that much success making it go past its limits, but the mental energy of the attempt made things worse. I have also had some success taking mini naps in the day, a couple times a week. I do think that it makes sense that our modern life has made us so divorced from the natural sense of rhythm that is part of a normal human life. We think about what has to get done, instead of thinking what is best to do for ourselves. We are so rush-rush and so oriented on completing tasks that we forget sometimes that the tasks might be done more slowly and more completely with more sleep. We act as if there is no other choice than being stressed all the time.

The reality is that the more we are stressed, the more we NEED sleep, though the less we seem to take it. If you can't give permission to yourself, then here I am, giving you permission. Sleep in one day this week. Or two. Or take a nap instead of doing that one last thing. Your body--and your mind--will work better.