Rule 10

Rule 10 that I am in practice of to get into #goodhealth and #fitness, to maintain good health and fitness, and to continue to improve my #health and fitness is get the amount of #sleep one needs each night for their body and mind.

The amount of sleep you need may be different than the amount of sleep I need.

We are all different and so much plays into the amount of sleep a person needs including age demographic. We all know babies sleep a lot, well, teenagers require a lot of sleep too and most teenagers deprive themselves and then try to play catch up.

Catch up is not a game that works. I have learned this first hand. You cannot catch up on sleep, you can heal the body from sleep deprivation

You see, my disease which causes me to live in motion impacts sleep. Yes, you heard me correctly, my body takes on motion- all motion- car, boat, plane, walking, running, and even the motion of water hitting my body etc. I work to keep moving all day because when I am standing still, sitting still, and/ or laying down I feel the motion more compared to when I am moving- laying down being the worst time of day. The motion impacts sleep significantly and I have gone nights upon nights with literally zero sleep, nights with just 4 to 5 hours of sleep, and rarely sleep more than 3 hours in a row.

It was without a doubt wreaking havoc on my day, my workouts, and even eating.

Not to mention, havoc on thinking, vision, and even my skin.

Like, sleep is a necessity. And the right amount of sleep is a huge game changer in becoming healthy and fit.

How do we determine how much sleep we need?

It’s simple!

I will share with you how I originally determined how much sleep I needed back in the 90’s.

Go to sleep without setting an alarm for 7 days straight. Log when you went to sleep meaning lights out with no television, devices, or entertainment meaning eyes closed to fall asleep. Then log when you wake. You will notice that your body will settle in within a few days so at the end of 7 you will know how many hours of sleep your body needs each night to fall asleep easily and wake refreshed, alert, and ready for the day.

That is how many hours a night you currently need.

Anecdotal study? Maybe and it worked! I lived without an alarm for many many years. Was always refreshed, alert, and ready for a productive day!!

It was not until my oldest Daughter- now 30- got into elementary school that an alarm was once again needed, why? Because I did not adjust my time going to bed to account for the amount of sleep I needed to wake on my own refreshed, alert, and ready for the day.

I still need to this day 7 hours of solid sleep for that refreshed, alert, and ready for the day energy.

I do without a doubt based on what I shared above am walking around in a state of sleep deprivation. It without a doubt has negative impact on my day, my body, and my workouts… not to mention… my nutrition.

Most do not have a disease that impacts sleep and so many of us I know have a lifestyle or impact from lifestyle that hinders sleep.

We underestimate its value!!

Studies show that operating the body and brain on tired is worse than operating the body and brain drunk!!!

We cannot underestimate its value!!

Find your sleep number- not the mattress or feel free to find the mattress too as a good mattress is important to good sleep as are pillows- just also find your number of hours needed.

And, then, get into practice of scheduling your day so you can get your hours of sleep needed.

I am doing better thanks to Alex’s help as he introduced me to sleep music so he and I sleep with 8 hour sleep music on. I am happy to share our favorite if you would like it.

I take natural supplements (#GardenofLife Sleep is my favorite) that help calm the body and I take my prescriptions.

My sleep is a continuous work in progress because of my disease- for everyone without medical issues that impacts sleep you can create habit around protecting your sleep. Take advantage of that ability and know I am super jealous:). Alex is super jealous too because my sleep issues often become his sleep issues. AND its getting so much better.

For those with impacted sleep, keep striving for and pushing towards your sleep number.

Find what adjustments help and take power naps when needed throughout the day.

The closer we each get to our #sleepnumber the higher our quality of day and quality of life! Our bodies will thank us over and over again.

Sleep is not overrated, don’t cheat your efforts in the gym and nutrition by not making sleep a priority.