Whether you are a college student, parent, movie star, or full time employee, chances are: you need your sleep. We all know how important sleep is, we all know that sleep is an absolute necessity to function throughout your day, stay productive, renewed, physically healthy, and mentally stable. Chances also are, no matter how much you grasp this aspect, you have still had your fair share of sleepless nights due to stress or work or a project...or, heck, a screaming child will do the trick, too.
I have really pondered the aspect and necessity of sleep this week. Here's why:
1) I have a commitment to this website to write one article a week.
2) I have a job.
3) I am a full time student.
4) I have a family and a fiancé.
5) I have an editorial role that holds me responsible to keep edits updated.
6) I just adopted a beautiful, loving, ultra-energetic, loud, nine week old puppy in dire need of potty training.
In essence, I need sleep.
And I'm so sure that if you took three minutes of your time, you could make an extensive list of responsibilities and obligations, some that you love, some that you just tolerate, that hold you accountable and leave you fulfilled (hopefully), happy (maybe), and exhausted (definitely).
Even though our busiest priorities and obligations are what cause us to avidly need a good night's sleep, usually, they seem to be the very things that keep us from being able to fall asleep, sleep deeply, or stay asleep. Whether it is that exam you just flunked, that project at work or school that isn't going smoothly, that fight you just got into with your loved one, that puppy that pooped on your carpet twice that day, a job opportunity, every day emotional stress, or that existential crisis you seem to have as soon as you slide into your covers, sometimes it is hard to FALL asleep.
Below, is a list of a few simple, easy tactics that I, a very busy, nervous, hot-mess-at-least-three-days-a-week kinda gal use to protect my sleep, which may just enable me to cling to what seems like that week's last bit of sanity.
1. Schedule a time to deal with your issues.
Got a project? Schedule time to deal with it. Got a phone call? Schedule a time to make it. Got an angry fiancé because you just impulsively adopted a puppy (he loves her now, I swear...)? Well, don't deal with that one and cling fiercely to your dog (kidding...halfway).
On a serious note, almost all of the reasons why we are kept up at night boil down to some unresolved issue that we feel is not where it should be or as stable as we'd like it to be, and it freaks us out. By designating a time to deal with the problem, whether all at once, or periodically, you are enabling yourself to go to bed with your mind at ease with where you are at. Just like scheduling a doctors appointment to keep your health in check, schedule time to deal with your issues.
2. SHUT OFF ELECTRONICS.
This is hard for me, too. There is no better pastime than sliding into a nice, warm bed, and browsing Etsy on your phone for thirty minutes before you sleep. However, I can't tell you how many times thirty minutes has turned into three hours...and before you know it, you are up at four in the morning with bags under your eyes and an unshakeable sense of staleness.
Set a time for yourself. At 11:30 P.M., put down your phone, turn off Netflix. Put it down and leave it down. Turn it off and leave it off.
3. Keep a clean room.
After my busy day, the last thing that I want to do is clean the house. However, it is a known fact that people tend to feel calmness easier in an organized, unstuffed environment.
Making sure that your room is clean is the same thing as making sure your room is calm.
4) Journal!!! Read!!!
Seriously, these are some of the most underrated, under-discussed sleep aids. Whether you are doing devotions or reading a book of your choice, helping your mind focus on something other than your day...and literally force it to tune into something else, can really get your mind at ease enough to channel some sleep. Likewise for journaling. Along with tuning your mind in, so that you can tune the day's stress out, journalling also helps with working through your stress. When writing, you are thinking actively, you are facing something visibly, and because of that, you can get it off of your chest and put it to rest.
Bookies and writers...beware. You need to limit yourself to journalling and writing as well, or the stale, baggy eyes from bullet point two may still getcha.
So there you have it, folks. We need to have nights of good sleep, so that we can have good days with no sleep. There are going to be many sleepless nights as is; we don't need to be unnecessarily giving ourselves more.
So...
Eat, sleep, work, read, journal, run, lift, cry, fix, jump, file, study, nurse, diaper-change, kiss, hug, live, stretch, laugh, and SLEEP.
