my journey to becoming a runner

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sleeping? Check!

I read a lot of articles in health magazines (generally directed at busy working moms) that say getting eight hours of sleep each night is one of (if not the) best thing to do for weight loss and weight maintenance. People go as far as to ask: if I have to give up my workout or my sleep, which should I choose? And the answer is usually the workout. So I have always been really proud of myself for my ability to get eight hours of sleep. I love that I can fall asleep right away every night. I love that my body wakes me up after eight hours. I love that I am refreshed and never have to take a nap, unless of course it is for enjoyment (which is reason enough!) But lately I haven't been sleeping well. And it's not because I am stressed out at work, and it's not because I am too hot or cold. It's because I have started to watch way too much tv. I don't have time to watch regular television, like other people, between the hours of 7 and 9pm. So I have begun watching shows online. Shows I never really loved before. Shows I might have watched if I had nothing better to do. But now I am watching every episode, completely. Sometimes all in one night. It's something I can start at 10:30pm (when all the good shows are over) and stop at 12:30 or 1:30 or one time this week 2:30. I have a problem. I need to stop. I need to sleep. It all ends here!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am jealous of anyone who naturally wakes up after 8 hours. The only way I would possibly do that would be if I went to bed at like 4am and then woke up at noon. And even then, I doubt it would work. If you know how to make that happen for me, please tell me the secret. I thought it would happen as I became an adult, but I generally go to bed between midnight and 1am, but I don't ever want to wake up. I just want to sleep until about 10 or 11, regardless of when I went to bed.

Karrie said...

You don't WANT to wake up because you have to go to work. It's easier on weekend, when getting up means getting to do fun stuff. However, Jennifer, your problem is the HOURS that you spend in semi-sleep hitting the snooze button. I have eliminated the snooze from my life. And the buzzer. I like to wake up gradually with a little music or someone talking to me. Of course it works best if you go to bed and wake up the same time every day. AND let the sun shine in.