It's not bed-time yet!!
For my magazine writing class, I wrote a service article about sleepiness. For it, I interviewed a doctor from a local sleep clinic.
During the interview I learned that the idea that you can short yourself on sleep all week and catch up by sleeping in on weekends is crap. If you're significantly sleep deprived, it can take up to a month of getting more sleep each night to feel completely better. You've really got to just put the pillow time in and 'pay back the sleep debt.' It's very simple to know if you're in debt. If you're tired through the day, you're not getting enough sleep. If you're not getting enough sleep you're in debt. The longer, the bigger the debt.
I've been sleepy through the day for at least the last six months.
So, I've been trying to get more sleep the last couple nights. Tuesday night I was in bed by 11 p.m. I woke up once at 2:30 a.m. and got up for a bit before going back to bed.
During the day I had all sorts of excess energy and didn't know what to do with it. I was sitting in layout class practically ready to explode in all directions at once.
"If this is how I feel after only a single night of good rest, I'm afraid of what I'll be like after a month," I said.
"Me too," said Shannon.
Last night I was in bed by 10:30 p.m. and woke up briefly twice through the night. But for the first time since moving here, I woke up easily at 6 a.m.
Now, at 8:30 p.m. I'm exhausted. I'm going to do the dishes, make my lunch and maybe I'll be asleep by 10 p.m.
During the interview I learned that the idea that you can short yourself on sleep all week and catch up by sleeping in on weekends is crap. If you're significantly sleep deprived, it can take up to a month of getting more sleep each night to feel completely better. You've really got to just put the pillow time in and 'pay back the sleep debt.' It's very simple to know if you're in debt. If you're tired through the day, you're not getting enough sleep. If you're not getting enough sleep you're in debt. The longer, the bigger the debt.
I've been sleepy through the day for at least the last six months.
So, I've been trying to get more sleep the last couple nights. Tuesday night I was in bed by 11 p.m. I woke up once at 2:30 a.m. and got up for a bit before going back to bed.
During the day I had all sorts of excess energy and didn't know what to do with it. I was sitting in layout class practically ready to explode in all directions at once.
"If this is how I feel after only a single night of good rest, I'm afraid of what I'll be like after a month," I said.
"Me too," said Shannon.
Last night I was in bed by 10:30 p.m. and woke up briefly twice through the night. But for the first time since moving here, I woke up easily at 6 a.m.
Now, at 8:30 p.m. I'm exhausted. I'm going to do the dishes, make my lunch and maybe I'll be asleep by 10 p.m.
