We've all been there: Wake-up glad to have slept in till 10am on a Saturday only to realize it's Tuesday and you're late! Or, after waking up, showering, eating, and commuting to work you wake-up and realize you have over slept and are not only late but now have to do all that stuff for real! All this despite your alarm diligently blaring for the past half hour!
Why can't I hear my alarm? Do any of you have these problems too? If my Sis-in-Law is able to wake up without an alarm at 4-5am then why can't I hear my alarm at 7-8am?!?! My wife will tell you its cuz I'm such a deep sleeper, she has had to kick me sometimes to wake me up...
Here is the paradox: Bedtime is such a dirty word however, sleeping feels soooo good. Is this nature or nurture? Is this an effect of being told to go to bed as a child, being forced into a dark empty lonely room expected to lay quietly until sleep overtakes us? I've stayed up for hours on end, dorking around on the internet, writing something to get it out of my head, or even just stayed up to watch my fish swim around in their fish tank. I was tired, yet I still fought sleeping... On the flip side, I've gone on vacation (Disney Cruse) and basically slept, ate, and slept. Besides being one of the most expensive vacations I've ever been on this vacation taught me something important about myself, it taught me that I LOVE to sleep. Knowing I love to sleep enough to "squander" my vacation sleeping why then do I stay up until 2am just to sleep for a few hours, wake up, and face the grind five days a week? I've analyzed this time and time again, still, nothing solid.
Probably the most assured way to get a good night sleep is to exercise and burn up more than your daily intake of calories. Think about how good it feels to sleep after a hard days work, and more importantly, how much better you feel in the morning. It can be argued that this effect is caused by the contrast of pain to joy, in other words, you feel so beat before you fall asleep that almost any amount of recharge makes you feel better than you did before. Not sure if this is the real reason it works but shoot, who cares why as long as it works, right? Oh, and another side effect is you lose weight which is important if you're an American.
Probably the most assured way to get a good night sleep is to exercise and burn up more than your daily intake of calories. Think about how good it feels to sleep after a hard days work, and more importantly, how much better you feel in the morning. It can be argued that this effect is caused by the contrast of pain to joy, in other words, you feel so beat before you fall asleep that almost any amount of recharge makes you feel better than you did before. Not sure if this is the real reason it works but shoot, who cares why as long as it works, right? Oh, and another side effect is you lose weight which is important if you're an American.
I'm willing to bet there are a lot of people who, like my Sis-in-Law, can wake up before their alarm, do those people sleep a "full" night sleep of 8-10hrs? 8-10hrs being a "full nights sleep" has always seemed odd since I've read sleep cycles are approx 1.5hrs in length... If that's true then it should be 6hrs/7.5hrs/9hrs/10.5hrs not just 8-10hrs. I assume it is just a general rule, after all 8-10 has some multiples of 1.5. I've also seen a watch (Sleeptracker Wake Up Monitor
) and iOS (iPod/iPad/iPhone) apps designed to track one's sleep cycle and wake you up at the end of a cycle when you'll feel most rested.
) and iOS (iPod/iPad/iPhone) apps designed to track one's sleep cycle and wake you up at the end of a cycle when you'll feel most rested.What about drugs to get or stay asleep? Most people have a favorable reaction to Diphenhydramine (Benadryl
) as either an allergy medicine or a sleep aid. As with any sleep aid, you should only use it if you know how you will react to it and when you can devote a good 10hrs to sleep. If you don't get enough sleep while using a sleep drug you will have to fight the chemical induced sleepiness, and guess what, the drugs will win and you'll drive off a cliff or into an oncoming car.
) as either an allergy medicine or a sleep aid. As with any sleep aid, you should only use it if you know how you will react to it and when you can devote a good 10hrs to sleep. If you don't get enough sleep while using a sleep drug you will have to fight the chemical induced sleepiness, and guess what, the drugs will win and you'll drive off a cliff or into an oncoming car.So what if you don't get enough sleep... then what? Well the usual suspect Caffeine will become your new friend. Some people go for "energy" drinks which are a cornucopia of chemicals that can stress out your body, liver, and heart. Caffeine is a goto since it has been around for so long in coffee and green tea. Caffeine has been found to artificially prolong the life cycle of cells which could propagate the development or spread of cancer. Don't like coffee, caffeinated sodas, or other "ingestables" but still need your fix... "wake up" while you bathe with Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap
or Caffeinated Soap Peppermint Scent 4.5oz
letting the drug absorb into the skin... Think of it as two birds with one stone.
or Caffeinated Soap Peppermint Scent 4.5oz letting the drug absorb into the skin... Think of it as two birds with one stone.No matter how you slice it there is no replacement for good old fashioned sleep.
1 comment:
I have the same difficulty waking up. I've been known to set four alarm clocks, all in different places in my bedroom, when it gets really bad.
I do the staying up late thing too. The only thing I can come up with is that, much as I like sleep, I like free time to do something I want to do even more.
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