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| this peaceful bedroom courtesy of cup of jo |
Wow! 21 days into the month and I've only posted once on my sleep goal! (Read here if you want the full post. Or, the short version: for the month of June I'm aiming to be in bed at 10:30 and up at 6:30).
I am loving this goal. I have not kept it every night (more on that later), but it really makes a difference when I do. A few surprises:
1. It is really difficult to get myself to bed every night by 10:30. As my friend Kelly said, the evening hours feel "sacred". Morning, for me, is a time to think about the day ahead, prep this and that so we can get out the door, etc and so forth. The evening is a time to relax. It is when I feel like I have punched out for the day and can read or watch my shows (Whaaaat? How did that link get in there?) without feeling like I should multitask and be productive. So it is hard to cut that time short to drag myself into bed.
2. My body operates significantly better on more sleep. Shocking, right? Do I need to elaborate on this? My fuse is longer with my kids. My eating is more likely to be in relation to my appetite and not my need for a energy boost every couple of hours. I feel more clear-headed, even first thing in the morning.
3. The time slips away from me! Often I look up at the clock and realize that it is already 10:15 and I am nowhere near being ready to shut down what I'm doing and go to bed. It feels like I just put the kids down for the evening- it can't be the end of "my time" already! After I wrote about my June goal, my friend Kim emailed me about her efforts to get better sleep. Among the other things that she does to get herself to bed on time- she sets an alarm on her phone. At 9:15 she gets a reminder that it is time to start winding down and moving toward bed. What a great idea. I love the idea of an alarm to remind me to start the transition.
So- this is one of those goals that might continue into another month. I like it that much.
More later on why I have not always gotten to bed on time!
admirable! i've been trying to do this lately too, and it really does make a big difference. it's hard enough for me to go to bed "on time" without kids, so i can't imagine how much harder it is with little ones :).
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are so happy with the outcome of this month's goal...keep reminding me. One of these days maybe I'll buy into it. Right now (9pm), I'm STILL waiting for my boys to settle down and go to sleep so I can enjoy some quiet time tonight. ;)
ReplyDeletekelly- persevere! you can do it!
ReplyDelete