UNITED STATES—I have been dealing with a major issue in the past few weeks that is beyond having a damper on my ability to function to my fullest potential. I think sleep is perhaps the most important thing in this country, but I for reasons I cannot fathom I have the biggest difficulty getting quality sleep on a daily basis. I have not felt like I have earned quality sleep in months, it feels like when I am exhausted, and trust me America, it feels like that daily when you’re juggling more than one job, education, family health crisis and personal matters, your body just wishes you could have a turn off switch.
That is what I wish my brain had, an off switch, so I can just rest. It seems like every time I get ready to fall asleep it is like clockwork that someone decides to call or text my phone. Just the other day, I had gotten home after an incredibly exhausting day at work. I laid on the couch in my man cave, and within seconds I was sleep. The problem was right after falling asleep someone was texting or calling my phone and my sleep was disrupted.
I was up and I couldn’t go back to sleep. To say I was annoyed was an understatement, it truly was frustrating because I wanted and desperately needed sleep, the message or text I got was not even an emergency, which was more frustrating. Somebody told me just turn off your phone, but that has always been a worry of mine out of fear of missing an important phone call or message, especially with my father being quite ill at the moment. However, a lot of the time, the emergencies never unfold or happen at all, so would turning my phone off really hurt me? Probably not, and I’m starting to think I might need to consider doing this more.
Sleep is the one thing that fuels me the most. I can find ways to operate with minimal sleep, but even then it is not wise or healthy for the body. Why? You are going to reach a point where you will burn out or get exhausted, and as a result you have to be prepared for that crash because when it does happen it is going to be monumental as the body slowly, but surely begins to shut down. I do sleep with a white noise device because the notion of complete silence leaves me unnerved.
I cannot sleep with any penetrating light into my bedroom. That includes ensuring the small lights from any devices including the TV, cable box or any other electronic equipment is completely blocked. You might think that light is not going to cause an issue, but if you’re struggling to sleep at night, it will indeed cause an issue people, it will indeed. The last big issue for me has been sunlight entering the room when the sun starts to rise in the morning. The summer months are difficult the sun rises so early and my Circadian Rhythm has made it clear I want you up by 5:45 a.m./6 a.m. on most days.
For me once I’m up, it is very difficult to go back to sleep. I think the other day was the first time in perhaps a year that I sleep past 9 a.m. Yes, that almost never happens to me and it had to be a direct result of me desperately refueling my body that was just running on empty. It is like the day starts at 6 a.m. most days and it doesn’t end until 10 or 11 p.m. DO THE MATH PEOPLE, there is barely any free time for me to have to myself.
Simply put, I have to take control of things and just start telling people no and find a way to ignore the phone and just do my best to sleep. If I don’t, the crash is coming, and it will not be pretty.
