Sleep:
A Forgotten Component of Fitness.
By BJ Johnson
Sleep is a major component of fitness. The one we are most likely to push aside
and forget, kind of like water.
When we don't get enough sleep, however, it makes us more vulnerable to illness,
accidents, irritability, conflict, and depression. We have less energy and even
think less clearly when we constantly get less sleep than we need. Making up for
this by sleeping in or napping over the week-end only partially solves the
problem.
We all know this. But the fact remains that a good night's sleep is a hard thing
to find. It can be compared to the end of the rainbow or winning the lottery for
some of us.
Why Don't We Sleep?
When it comes to time or sleep, time seems to win. Americans have ample reasons
to cheat at sleep. We are a time-starved, do-more society!
We cheat sleep to give us more time, of course. Time to do more at work, time to
do more for others, time to have more fun, or just a little time to be alone, a
valuable commodity when you have a family.
Sometimes we cheat sleep so we can lay awake and worry for an hour or two in the
middle of the night.
Try a Trade-Out.
Try setting up a trade system with yourself to get the sleep you need. Begin by
making a list of everything you do from the time you leave work until you
finally crawl into bed and turn off the lights.
Now do this for morning. Keep the same list for everything you do from the time
you wake up until you close the car door to go to work.
Keep your list every night and every morning for at least two weeks. Don't think
about it, just do it.
You should have an idea of how you spend your time now. This will enable you to
shift some of that time into sleep time.
The first week eliminate one or maybe two activities from your night list. Trade
them for time at night by moving them until tomorrow or the weekend or
eliminating them altogether. By excluding one or two activities, you might gain
15 to 30 minutes more sleep.
Now do the same thing for your morning list. Hopefully you have gained at least
30 minutes, maybe even 45 minutes, sleep.
In the next couple of weeks, try to eliminate one or two more things from your
morning and night routine.
If morning is your downfall, shift some of your morning routines to the night
before or put something off until your break at lunch.
If late afternoon and night are your downfall, do the same. Try to run an errand
or two during lunch, then delegate some necessities for the morning hours.
You will probably try harder for those sleep trades once you see how much better
you feel with even 30 minutes more sleep.
Try Visualization
If you are the type to lie in bed worrying or planning the next day's
activities, learn to relax. Start by visualizing one of your favorite places.
Mine is a stretch of sand with waves rolling in and dolphins playing in the
surf. I'm the only person there. I smell the salt air, feel the sand between my
toes, and lazily watch the dolphins swim in and out of the waves. If a shark
(distraction or worry) swims in, I visualize the dolphins chasing it off.
Eventually I drift off.
If you wake up during the night feeling anxious and worried, visualize writing
your worries on a piece of paper and sticking them in a drawer. You can even see
yourself opening the drawer in the morning and solving all your problems if that
helps.
If visualization doesn't work, actually write your problems on a piece of paper,
then stash them away in your bedside table.
If ideas and solutions rather than worries and problems are the culprits
stealing your sleep, wake up long enough to write them on a piece of paper or
record them in a hand-held recorder. Then turn over and go back to sleep,
knowing your ideas are safe until morning.
Learn to Do Less
Accept the limits of your energy. You can only produce so much.
Give up your perfectionism; it makes you boring anyway.
Establish boundaries with friends, relatives, co-workers, and bosses.
Learn to say "no."
Give yourself the same slack you allow others.
Go to sleep!