Getting Enough Sleep & Practicing What I Preach
I will probably be the first to tell you how important sleep is for your overall health. I will preach upon preach that sleep is good for you physically, but holistically as well. Not only does a good night’s rest help your body to rest and rebuild after a long day and/or exercise, it also allows your brain to rest and create the new cells it needs. And if we’re honest, a good night’s sleep means we are less moody and anxious the next day, are nicer to people, and for those who practice spiritual practices, makes us more alert in prayer and meditation.
So right there, we see how important sleep is to our overall holistic health – physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. This isn’t something new to any of us. We all know in our minds that sleep is good for us, but find it extremely hard to actually do. In our society, there’s a huge disconnect between the fact that we know we should sleep and actually sleeping.
And of this disconnect, I am guilty. Sleep is one area that it is the hardest for me to practice what I preach because honestly, I struggle to stay asleep when things are busy and believe that sleep is something that I deserve to do when it still feels like there is so much to do.
Allowing Myself to Stay Asleep
Most of my friends know I have a hard time staying asleep at night. Because I’m up and about doing multiple things a day, I have no trouble falling asleep at night. It’s waking up at night and thinking about how I can be using that time to work that’s my problem. Time = productivity to me, so if I’m sleeping away, how can I be productive?
I didn’t always struggle to stay asleep. I feel in the last few months, since starting up Made Well, enrolling in the Elite Blog Academy, and taking on Essential Oils (amongst a full time accounting job, volunteering with various Church ministries, and being married), I’ve struggled the most. I’ve been so concerned with getting Made Well to a point where it is self-sustaining and I can do Health Coaching full time, that I’ve done everything I can to get it there. By no means, is that bad because any entrepreneurial task takes a lot of work upfront. Plus, I have enjoyed every bit of it – I love being creative with Made Well and find so much joy and satisfaction in it.
Yet, the problem with all that work and tasks is when I tell myself that working is more productive than sleeping. I sometimes find myself up at 4am in the morning, when I don’t need to get up until 5:30/6am thinking, studying, writing a blog post, etc.
And in the end, it always catches up with me and I get narcissistic, tired, and ungrateful.
The saddest part to me is when people continually see me as tired or say that I’m always tired. There are some things outside of my control where certain seasons of life will be busier than others. However, the last thing I want to do is come off as tired constantly. The last thing I want people to think is that going without sleep is okay.
Telling Myself That I Deserve to Sleep
A few times this past couple weeks, I was fed up with my weird sleeping habits and made the decision to just not work a few evenings, hang out/talk with family and friends, and then go to bed early.
Now, when you’re body is a bit sleep deprived, once you give it sleep, you feel even more tired than before which is exactly how I felt the first day I gave no work in the evening and sleep a try.
However, that second day, oh that second day – it was glorious. I probably only slept like 7.5 hours but that was the most glorious 7.5 hours of my life. Before bed, I lathered some Lavender Essential Oils on my temples, neck and chest, curled into bed, and slept. I did wake up a few times, but told myself “No, you are going back to sleep. You need sleep and deserve sleep. Now sleep.”
And sleep I did.
Tips to Sleep More
If you are like me and struggle to either 1) allow yourself to sleep in and stay asleep or 2) just find it hard to get to bed early, here are a few tips I’ve tried to help me sleep more and encourage you to try as well:
1. Make a list of everything on your mind before bed, and put it aside: Honestly, we just think too much. It seems like right when we go to bed we think of everything we should have done or need to do. Grab a piece of paper or use your phone, type out all your thoughts and what you need to do that next day and then go to sleep. You’ve written it down and will do it, just trust in that.
2. Use essential oils to calm your mind and relax You: This is a new bed time routine to me, but has truly been working. At night in my bedroom, I’ve been diffusing various oils that have been known to promote relaxation and peace such as Lavender and Frankincense. If you are interested in trying this, complete the contact form on my Essential Oils Page here and we can talk about how you get some oils to help calm you and sleep more soundly.
3. Go to bed at least 30 minutes before you actually want to fall asleep: Give yourself time to fall asleep. Sometimes I go to bed and just expect to go right to sleep, but it then takes 30 minutes to 45 minutes before I actually sleep. That means I go to bed even later than I’m already going. Now, I’m doing my best to try to unwind and get into bed at least 15-30 mins before bed!
4. Make Sleep Dates: Yes, sleep dates. Schedule at least one night a week where you purposely go to bed early and one day on the weekend where you take a nap. If you are like me, you may fight this recommendation but this one here may be the most powerful and effective one for you when it comes to sleep.
5. Tell Yourself You Deserve Sleep: Simply, you need to sleep and I need to sleep. We can’t keep going on saying that “Sleep is for the less busy or for those people in that stage of life.” That’s rubbish – you know it and I know it. It’s just an excuse for us to glorify our busyness and keeps us going in this never ending cycle of tiredness. Tell yourself sleep is for you, that you need it and deserve it. Once you start telling yourself this, trust me, you will start to sleep longer and better.
Now, be sure to practice some of my tips above and comment on this post how they went! Also share some of your own struggles/tips around sleep!
Okay, it’s late and I could keep typing, but that would defeat the point of this post entirely. It’s time for me to shut off the computer, shut off my brain, and shut off the world so I can get some sleep and practice what I preach.
Goodnight my friends and I wish you a long, well-deserved night of sleep.
