January 13, 2008
It’s 5:40am and I’m getting a lot of good solid programming done. Do I (a) keep going in my productive, awake, but possibly drone state until I can go no longer and possibly skipping a night of sleep or (b) sleep now, later than I should have, kill my productivity, and promise to get up and running quickly when I re-awaken in the morning (by which I mean the time that I wake from sleep)?
I’m going to go to sleep (after I finish this blog entry) because I want to be cautious about the possible side effects of skipping even one night of sleep. In fact, after reading I may be causing more damage than I think by maintaining a volatile sleep schedule.
I’ve recently become more and more self-conscious about my mental health and progressively adjusting my lifestyle and decisions to help my body and mind stay as fit and problem-free as possible. There are so many other things in this life that can and will stand as external, unavoidable speed bumps causing me to lose time, concentration, and emotional stability that it only makes sense to work hard preserving my body as best as I personally can.
I say this as a person who does not live anywhere near an optimal lifestyle in terms of health. I do not do drugs or over consume foods with large quantities of unhealthy ingredients nor do I exercise really at all. I don’t consider myself an unhealthy person, but rather an “average” person that has a lot to improve upon.
I’ve never done well jumping into new responsibilities or habits without a considerable transition period. I find it difficult to go cold turkey or make sudden changes in my life so I take it easy and change slowly, but in the right direction.
Here’s to a (post new years) resolution to every day make at least a some amount of progress towards a better physical, mental, and emotional health.
1 comment •
tags: emotional health health lifestyle mental health physical health Productivity resolution sleep
September 30, 2007
Every so often I wake up earlier than planned and I feel absolutely wonderful for a few minutes. That is, until I fall back asleep for another hour or two and wake up to feel like I had barely gotten any sleep at all. What happened? I was just feeling so great. Wouldn’t more sleep help me more than hurt me?! It doesn’t seem right!
Does this happen to you?
Are human sleep patterns too difficult to pinpoint, document and optimize? I know I’m not the first one to have this type of experience on a regular basis and it seems like there should be some miracle reference for how to optimize sleep. If there is, please let me know and help me wonder why this isn’t something that’s taught to us as school children or provided to us by employers and academic organizations.
Maybe it’s the snooze button’s fault.
Update from chat conversation with Daniel Nicolas:
Daniel Nicolas: and so to lay down rules for when people have to go to bed - you’re naturally going to be against it
Daniel Nicolas: i mean, i’m ready for bed ~ between 10am and 2am
Zach Hale: it’s not WHEN to sleep
Zach Hale: it’s how to gte the most out of sleep
Zach Hale: just general guidelines
Zach Hale: there’s nothing wrong with that i dont think
Daniel Nicolas: yeah so what should be taught is
Daniel Nicolas: the importance of sleep
Zach Hale: yes.
Daniel Nicolas: the idea that every body is different, thus you need to find out for yourself what your body actually needs
Daniel Nicolas: the science behind sleep - the REM cycles, etc
Daniel Nicolas: and then after all that a “Reality check” where you apply all this knowledge to life - if you have to work two shifts and you don’t get to sleep until 1am every night,… well you can’t just sleep through the natural cycle — so basically teaching people how to schedule their sleeping so they can get enough sleep, be happier, get more stuff done
Zach Hale: exactly
Zach Hale: it’s the science and how to use it to your advantage
Zach Hale: thats what needs to be more widely known
Daniel Nicolas: and this should be taught and reviewed in class at the beginning of every semester, from 1st grade through 8th grade, and then have specific required classes in high school every year
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tags: life sleep