Getting better sleep
I took several sick days last year, but I hadn’t been all that sick. When I looked back on why, it became obvious: I was sleep-deprived. I would have trouble sleeping, and then wake up late, feel exhausted, and call in. I would then sleep for another few hours and be okay. The cycle repeated on average every six weeks.
I’ve always had trouble getting to sleep. My solution has always been to just stay up until something exhausted me, and then try to sleep. It didn’t always work. Maybe this was something I could get away with in my 20s, but I can’t anymore. I love that Warren Zevon line, “that shit that used to work, well it won’t work now,” and it definitely applies with how I took care of my sleep.
I did a bunch of research last week and came up with a few things that I’m going to try:
- Yoga and meditation before bed. I’d been practicing yoga but not all the time and not every night.
- Going to bed earlier. This seems like incredibly simple common sense but so many things make it hard to just go to bed even a few minutes earlier than you’re used to.
- Not drinking alcohol before bed.
- Eat earlier in the night.
- Stay off phones/computers/TVs an hour or so before bed.
These all seem easy, but I’m 35 and I’ve never really gotten the hang of any of them. But, you know, new year new me and all that.