Zzzzzz

Among my hunt for things to improve in my life right now, sleep was pretty high on the list. I was sick of sitting at my desk feeling like a zombie unable to focus because all I wanted to do was crawl under my desk and nap. I know what it feels like to be physically beat down by training but this is not that. This is the combo of general training fatigue, nothing too bad, but doing all the training on not enough sleep. I’ve always said I require about 9 hours of sleep every night and I get nowhere near that. Maybe once a week I get that. I’m not suggesting I move my whole life around to get 9 hours because I probably don’t reallllly need that much but I want to make it a priority to get close to 8 hours. Sleep plays such a huge part in training. Recovery is just as important if not more important than the hard work. Your body repairs all that damage and builds muscles while you are sleeping.

In an attempt to actually enjoy “off season” a bit I’m trying to have an actual real social life appropriate for my age which apparently means going out downtown around the time I normally go to bed. I don’t agree with these times but I don’t make the rules for what time rest of the world wants to go out (crazy I know). Right now I’m making the conscious decision to stay out late maybe once or twice a week knowing it will throw my sleep schedule off. Luckily with it being the winter there’s not a huge need to wake up early on weekends to beat the heat for long rides and runs. However my body seems unable to sleep in anymore so staying out late just means less sleep. 

During weekdays I can do a decent job getting into bed early but then I just lay there awake. This can range from 20 minutes to hours. There were a few months this year when everything was going on with my mom that it got so bad a doctor actually prescribed me sleeping pills to use when needed which I used 2-3 times a week. Luckily my sleeping has improved significantly since and I haven’t touching those pills in months. Still I’m on the hunt to find various things I can do to be like those people I’m so jealous of that hit the pillow and are asleep 2 minutes later. Seriously… very jealous.

Perusing the internet (because the internet has all the answers) I looked at the quick fixes. I know the room temperature plays a big part because I struggle in the summer. Despite it being winter which should mean better sleep, something was off. Realized I never added an extra blanket …duh. Quick fix one done! Read a shower before bed can help which I already do a lot since I do a second training most nights. Researched if exercising right before bed hurts sleep and that data seems kind of mixed but most people report it doesn’t hurt their sleep. I realized when I’m alone in the house I have the radio on a lot so instead of calming myself before crawling into bed I’m keeping myself pumped up with music. I'm fully aware that having a husband and dog in bed with me hurts being able to fall and stay asleep. I can't bring myself to kick my dog out though. Or my husband I guess. 

All these are small changes that are certainly important but don’t have the biggest impact. The two main reasons I cannot fall asleep: electronics and my mind going a million miles an hour.

Unfortunately I find watching TV filled my head with useless stuff to think about instead of actual real life stuff. That actually helps me because there isn’t some situation to work though or checklist to make or work thing to stress about. It's just random thoughts of fiction people and fiction stories floating through my head that I have an easier time letting go of to fall asleep. Finding an alternative to silencing my mind is still a work in progress since TV is not the solution.

My family will always talk about TV shows and ask do you watch this one or that one and typically my response is no I don’t have time to watch any more TV shows (I have a set few I’ve watched for years). They look at me like I’m crazy since I don’t have kids how could I not have time for lots of TV. Training is like a part time job, it takes up a lot of my free time. This leaves a little time to watch TV before bed or on weekends… or while eating but we’ll disregard that bad habit right now.

I also feel the need to do a last round check of all my apps on my phone right before I go to bed. But why? Do I really need to check Facebook one more time? Do I really need to check if I got any new emails? No. I don’t. All those things can wait until the morning.

This is leading to a new routine before bed. Actually it starts before bed time. As soon as I have time after work I prep my breakfast, gym bag, etc for the next day so I’m not running around the house like a crazy woman when I should be in bed. The real change is cutting off electronics before bed. A minimum of 30 minutes before but ideally an hour or more. Instead I’m crawling into bed to read a book or the huge stacks of free magazines I have from expired airline miles. As much as I like watching TV, this feels so much more productive. TV really is kinda a waste of time…. who knew?!

And you know what? I can already feel the effects from these changes. I am falling asleep faster and I am getting more sleep and that feels great. I don’t feel like a zombie at work and I have more energy for training. Now I need to really make these habits I do every day and make sure I don’t revert back to my old ways.

Now I urge all of you to look at your sleeping habits and see what you can change to get more zzzzz’s...