(Day 18) Sleep off Stress
This is going to be super short (because I gotta catch my zzzzz’s and take a dose of my own advice) but did you know lack of sleep can make you more stressed?
I know what you’re thinking. You’re like, “the reason I’m not sleeping is BECAUSE of the stress in my life and lack of time to sleep.” Am I right?
- You don’t have enough hours in a day so your up late at night or early morning trying to get stuff done.
- You can’t fall asleep because you have too much on your mind.
- You are restless when you sleep because you have too much going on in your head.
Not sleeping only adds more stress to your body and in turn reduces your ability to function well, which adds more stress to your life. Do you see the vicious cycle?
But you’ve got to find a way then to get a handle on your stress. Apply the techniques I’ve discussed over the past 17 days. Discover the root of your stress. Eat healthier. Write out your to-do’s on sticky notes. Cut the guilt and hire help if you have too! Go back and see the line up of de-stressing tips I’ve already shared about!
According to WebMD we should get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. I’m assuming this means a solid nights sleep (sorry to you mama’s out there being woken up all night long by your kiddos! I can relate!) Sometimes, this just isn’t possible. Or maybe we need to cut back or prune our life a bit in order to overcome stress instead of be overcome by it? Just a thought.
If you can’t get full nights sleep, I’d highly recommend becoming a nap-taker.
I’m a big fan of naps. I’m not sure why my four-year old toddlers want to fight it. I never really appreciated naps though until I became a sleep-deprived mom. Now I regret every nap I didn’t take as a child (sorry mom!)
However, I don’t always get the chance of taking them. You too? But oh when I do, I feel like a new person!
Power-naps of 30 minutes are suggested and even implemented by super successful people like Michael Hyatt along with a whole host of other major influencers in this world like Albert Einstein and Ronald Reagan just to name a few.
Naps also relieve stress by allowing your brain and body to shut down temporarily in order to reset itself from the demands placed against you.
It leads to better performance and higher cognitive functioning to go ahead and keep tackling the demands placed upon you. Which is why I feel a burst of energy and focus after taking one around 2 pm when I can.
So try to squeeze one in when you can. Listen to calming music or lay there praying until you fall asleep (something I do often and helps to falling asleep faster!) If you can’t squeeze them in, figure out a way to make time in your schedule to catch up on some much needed rest when you can to reset and reduce the stress in your life.
And speaking of, I’m heading to bed myself to catch some much needed extra sleep I’ve been lacking during this crazy busy season. Adios!
