Category: Challenge Four: Sleep

Challenge Four: Sleep

Update 2014 Goal Tree

by my13daychallenge

Tree

My theme for 2014 is Healthy, Happy and Whole. Here is my goal tree. I’m slowly filling it with leaves to represent all the good  activities I’m doing to work on my annual goals.

1. Do some kind of exercise every day,

2. Feed my soul with happy thoughts, prayer, scripture study and time with good friends.

3. Get more sleep.

4. Develop my talents at home and at work.

Number three is so hard! I’ve got 36 years of being a night owl. If you don’t believe me, go ask my Mom. I was a child who would dance around my room at night singing songs about how people could see me run, jump and skip.

 

Challenge Four: Sleep

What I’ve Learned from Sleeping

by my13daychallenge3 Comments on What I’ve Learned from Sleeping

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What I’ve Learned from Sleeping (My Fourth Challenge)

I’m coming to the end of challenge number four. I wish I could tell you that I am now getting a nice eight hours of sleep every night. I’m not, but I did learn a few things along the way.

1.     It is important to look at the big picture and the small picture.

When I started this challenge, I was getting about 6 hours a sleep on average each night.  After 13 days of concentrated effort to work on my sleep, I’m now getting 6.25 hours of sleep every night. That is right. After working like crazy to make myself go to bed by 10:30 p.m, I’ve only increased my sleeping  time by  an extra 15 minutes a night.   I thought it was a tiny amount until I realized that it adds up fast.

.25 hours of extra sleep      X     365 days   =  91.25 hours of extra sleep

By working on getting to bed by 10:30 p.m , I am giving my body  a 91 hour present.

2.     Encouragement to do your challenge can from funny places

One night about 10:20 pm,  I was on the computer. Suddenly, the computer screen gave me a message.  “I am your computer”, it read. “It is time to go to bed. The internet will be turning off at 10:30 p.m”.

Well, I was quite impressed that my computer knew I was doing this challenge, but I didn’t believe that it would actually happen. At 10:30, the computer did what it said it would do.  It turned the internet off.  I had a good laugh and the next day the Accountant showed me how to use the settings on our computer  network to turn the internet on and off.

There is still time to vote for my next challenge.

A)   Track  everything I eat and plan menus for the next 13 days

B)   Jump rope for 13 minutes every day for the next 13 days

C)   Write 13 positive affirmations about myself every day

D) Clean my house  (I read a study that said people with clean houses are healthier.)

Vote now by leaving a comment.

Challenge Four: Sleep, Musings

The Turtle and the Hare

by my13daychallenge3 Comments on The Turtle and the Hare

Have you heard the Aesop’s tale about the Turtle and the Hare (rabbit).

The Hare and Turtle are in a race.  The Hare sprints off and the Turtle goes slow, because that is what Turtles do. After running for a bit, the Hare realizes that the Turtle will take all day. The Hare, who always has her list with her, starts getting things done.  First, she stops at the store to do some grocery shopping.  Then, it is off to visit the orphans and tutor children at her local elementary school.  The Hare’s boss down at the Animal Factory calls her. The fish are swimming in circles again and need to be organized.  The Hare manages to cram 12 hours of fish organizational work  into an 8 hour shift.  The Turtle is still no where in sight.  The Hare decides it is time for some TLC. She takes a nap. The Hare only gets 15 minutes of shut eye, before she is woken up by a pesky news reporter who asks  how she feels now that the Turtle is about to cross the finish line. The Hare sprints to  catch up, but the Turtle’s little foot crosses the finish line before her.   “Slow and steady wins the race”, the other animals cheer. The Turtle is the hero for the day and gets the big promotion at the Animal Factory.  The Hare goes home and eats chocolate. The fish go back to swimming in circles.  The End.

I’m eight days into my go to bed by 10:30 p.m. challenge.  I’m still working on it and I am making some progress. Challenges would be a lot easier if that is all I did.

Challenge Four: Sleep, Research

Sleep =Larger Bank Account

by my13daychallenge

Bed picture

Good news. I’ve discovered how to get rich.  You can get rich too.  According to this article in Money magazine sleep deprivation cost money. I’m working on getting more sleep so as I get more sleep the money will start rolling in to me. The Accountant told me that my train of thought did not follow the classic logic pattern for using  if and then statements.  I prefer my reasoning.  Sleep =Larger Bank Account

I’m reading a book called The Promise of Sleep. The author talks about what to do when you can’t sleep. Instead of laying in bed for an hour staring at the clock, you get 20 minutes. If after 20 minutes you can’t sleep, you get up and do something boring like washing dishes or scrubbing walls.  This might be a good thing as I will have sparkly walls and a clean kitchen. In all seriousness, I have noticed that since starting my routine of being in bed by 10:30, I have gotten more sleep than I used to. I’m not up to 8 hours a night yet, but I am getting closer.

Challenge Four: Sleep

Time Travel

by my13daychallenge

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I did great on my first night running through my little let’s get ready to sleep routine. I did some stretching, brushed my teeth, thought happy thoughts etc. I  did great  until I actually was in my bed.  You see someone forgot to tell my brain that it was suppose to stop thinking of stuff. So, it was more like 11:30 p.m when I finally fell asleep. I did however come up with an interesting idea for how to build a time machine.  Apparently, time travel is more exciting than sleeping. If any one wants the details, let me know.

So today,  I went to the library to find a book on what to when you can’t fall asleep. Can you believe it? They are all checked out with other patrons.  Thank goodness you can buy a sleep book at the book store. I have a new strategy to calm my little mind when trying to sleep. If it works, I’ll write about it tomorrow. If not, I will tell you what my mind created instead of going to sleep. Happy Dreams!

Quote for the Day

“I think I can, I think I can.”
~ The Little Engine That Could

Challenge Four: Sleep

My 4th Challenge: An Introduction

by my13daychallenge1 Comment on My 4th Challenge: An Introduction

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I am a night owl. I could stay up all night and sleep all day.   This would be fine if I didn’t have a  job  that requires me to smile at 8:00 a.m. What is my challenge? My goal is to be in bed by 10:30 every night.  Now, some of you may think that this challenge sounds easier than drinking spinach juice or climbing stairs. It is actually hard for me, because I have a lifetime of staring at the ceiling stressing about the ticking clock.

The Practical Reason

I asked the Accountant if he knew of any benefits of sleeping. He  said, “Four out of every five scientists agree that there are no known benefits to having a good night sleep.”  I laughed and then I went to Google and researched what sleep does for the body. I’m impressed. Sleep is amazing. It is like a super drug that does your body good. In the next few days, I will share some of my research.

The Philosophy Reason

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know? “–Ernest Hemingway.

Mr. Hemingway wrote a lot of books so who knows may be I will get a book written after this challenge. The quote made me laugh, but in all reality a good night sleep does make you feel better about the world.