So, with my allergies in full bloom during the heat wave this past week, sleeping was not always easy. I had a couple nights were I did not sleep well and only got about 5 to 6 hours of sleep.
But the past few nights I’ve slept very well and allowed myself to sleep in a little, so I’ve been getting 10 or 11 hours of sleep.
Here’s the conundrum. The days after I didn’t sleep well, I was physically tired but able to work well and actually got lots done. The past couple of days after I’ve gotten more sleep, I seem to still feel tired and also a little light headed or fuzzy-headed which has made it much more difficult to work.
Now, I know that some say that if you get too much sleep that can be bad for you. Here are my two reasons why I am not so sure that may be the case for me.
1) I did a sleep test quite some time ago where you go to bed at the same time for three nights in a row and don’t set an alarm, just get up when you wake up. The first two nights are simply to get any excess sleep you may need out of your system, the third night, however long you sleep is the amount of sleep you need. That third night I slept for about 8 hours and 40 minutes.
2) After a couple of nights of not getting much sleep at all, I figure I should get some extra sleep to help catch up (and extra over the roughly 9 hours I need is about what I was getting.
I’ve always known that I need more sleep than most people. One summer I had to get up early for work (around 6 am – Yes I know that is not early for some of you, but I was a teen so it was for me) and for a while I was staying out with friends until about midnight – so only getting about 6 hours of sleep per night.
I did this for about two weeks before I completely crashed. There have been other times since then that have been similar.
I will admit that when it comes to sleep there is a lot I don’t know. I know that it is best if you are going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time every day. This I have not been doing (again my allergies were getting in the way), so perhaps that’s why I am so out of sync.
Now that the heat wave has passed perhaps I’ll try to get myself into a good rhythm again.
But I will throw this out to you (in my attempt to get a little self help of my own). What have you found works for you? What do you know about sleep and all it’s mysteries?
And until the next time, keep laughing and make sure you’re getting enough sleep.