How sleeping less than 10+ hours gave purpose to my life.
There is nothing I love in this world more than sleeping. It was only after becoming a mother that my sleep cycles were disrupted. Before that, no matter how hectic or busy my schedule was I made sure to sleep ten hours, or more in some cases. My husband would often call me a sloth. Because even after sleeping so much, I’d wake up tired and cranky. Clearly, I’m not a morning person.
After becoming a mother, my sleep schedule shifted. Obviously, so. My life took a 360 turn and here I was — waking up odd hours of the night to feed my little one only to be awakened again in the early hours of the morning. It’s been 1.5 years since I’ve slept 10 hours straight. And honestly, it probably is the best thing that’s happened to me. Here’s why:
Getting the recommended amount of sleep according to your age is essential. Too much sleep is just as disadvantageous as too little sleep. So, while I try to get 6–7 hours of sleep a night, it doesn’t always work out this way. Sometimes I get less, depending on how many times a night my baby wakes up. If I begin feeling fatigued during a day, a squeeze in a nap while baby naps or try to get to bed earlier than the night before.
Sleeping less than 10 hours a night has allowed me to be more productive during the day. No shit. If you’re sleeping less and waking up earlier, naturally you’re bound to get more things done. So, no surprises here. I feel amazing when I wake up early and get on with my day. Everything feels so much nicer and it’s fulfilling to know you’ve done something productive.
I’ve begun to take care of my mental health more. In the past, whenever I felt stressed out or anxious my remedy was sleep. I’d snuggle in my blanket and sleep for hours. Instead of actually figuring out the stress triggers or making an informed decision to battle mental health issues, I found it easier to sleep. Now, I journal or take a walk when I feel stressed or overwhelmed. I try to relax by shutting off my electronics and enjoying my surroundings. If you begin to think of sleep as an escape to your problems, you’ll never really figure out what the problems are and solve them.
I figured that I was sleeping too much because there was a lack of physical activity in my life. I was always fatigued. When I got my blood tests done, I was told my levels of iron are low so I began taking iron supplements. I also began to incorporate walking and core exercises to combat my excessive amount of sleep. It worked. I was sleeping 6–8 hours and feeling good throughout the day.
When you have something to look forward to the next day, you begin to give less priority to sleep. I’m not saying sleep isn’t important. But, sometimes we want to sleep because there’s nothing else to do. Or we don’t want to do anything. When your life begins to revolve around a purpose or goal, you understand that time is of the essence. And if you spend most of your time sleeping, how will you ever achieve whatever you set out to do? Also, I’m slowly learning that perhaps, sleep is for the weak ;).
If you’re always sleeping, chances are there are underlying problems you need to get solved. Start out with visiting your doctor. It might be that your iron levels are low. Or that your diet needs a quick fix. But remember, the journey to sleeping less is not always related to being more productive. For someone like me, sleeping less has definitely allowed me to be productive in my everyday life in terms of my career and looking after my family.
There’s a Russian proverb that has been impactful for me
“ The more you know, the less you will sleep.”
This speaks volumes. The more you need to get done, the more goals and aspirations you have, the more purposeful your life is — the less time you’ll want to waste in bed!