Wellness Wednesdays are meant to be posts specifically about finding better ways to improve health and wellness (y'know, what this entire blog is supposed to be about). So, for starters, I'm going to give myself a Weekly Wellness Challenge and keep you posted on my progress (or lack thereof) in order to serve as tips on the topic. Please join me in these challenges and share you tips in the comments! As I learn more, I hope to make these post more, how should we say, scientifically reliable and helpful. But, for now, personal testimony!
This week, I'm working on getting 6 - 8 hours of sleep for the majority of the week. To be clear, the "majority of the week" means at least 4 out of 7 days in the week. I have heard that most adults should get about 6 - 8 hours of sleep per day. But, I'm thinking the amount of sleep one should get varies depending on what's going on in your life and body at that time. That being said, I'm going to follow the one-size-fits-all 6 - 8 hours suggestion just to start. I feel that over time, I'll find the number that works best. The body speaks, you just have to learn how to listen.
I've written about sleep before, so I'm sure I don't need to remind you guys that:
- sleep helps decrease your irritability, and thus probably reduces anxiety
- sleep is your body's time to recharge and rebuild
- sleep allows your brain to do it's magically mysterious wonders
Believe it or not, I have already gotten 7 hours of sleep twice this week! And, that's quite the accomplishment for me. The main thing that I have done differently is not going to sleep to any show on my computer. Now, obviously we've all heard that it's best to power down the computer and cell phone in order to ease into sleep. This is a concept that I understand and respect, but I'm just being honest and realistic here. I went to college during a period where going on YouTube or Hulu or Facebook all the time, any time, became second nature. What can I say, I'm a product of my generation! So, it's going to take baby steps to get to where experts say I should be, but I'm fine with that.
As I was saying, what seems to be working well is allowing myself to watch at least one show, and then turning on Pandora to lull me to sleep (yeah, I know, still not "powering off" anything, but I told you it's going to take baby steps!). So, my wellness tips for sleeping: test out different routines that help you ease into sleep and that wake you up peacefully. Maybe it's not so much quantity as quality of sleep. Or, most likely, it's a combination of the two: 7 hours of pleasant sleeps will always trump 4 hours of restless "sleep". That's all I've got for now. Good luck and good health!
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