I sleep like a toddler.

Shocking! Im not here!

These days it seems the most common question I receive is about sleep.

I get lots of what do you eat?! or will you share your workout routine? queries—but more than anything Im asked what time I plop my misfit-self in bed, how you can become an early riser & if I get enough rest (according to that test I *do*–you?!).

I completely understand.

Given the time of day I comment on blogs, commence tweeting & yammer on Facebook it makes sense you’re more intrigued with my bedtime than my biceps.

I ADORE you for it.

You may regret asking after this long snooze-sparking post*—yet, sleep, in my opinion, is the cornerstone to success in all facets of life.

Ive always been a lark.

Im energized by the promise of what the day might hold & the irrepressible feeling today! could! be! the! one!

If youre happily an owl—dont change!

While we can shift ourselves slightly either way—given my natural inclination & that of the Tornado, Im not certain we should try!

yes. yes I do.

Im asleep by 10p & awake at 4 am.

I get up, snag ME-TIME (meditate/work) & squeeze a PLAYout in with the Tornado all before it’s time to walk to school.

I also never set an alarm.

My *firm* belief is if Im not awake & ready to go-go-go! then Im not meant to be awake. I must need more rest.

Im always awake & eager to wrangle my day by 4a.

(Lest it sound as though Im bragging you should see me at 9p. It’s ugly. Im over my day & already longing for a new one.  you’ll have that)

Personal proclivities aside–be you OWL or LARK–I believe we all need to treat ourselves like TODDLERS with regards to sleep.

this one taught me ALL about slumber…

Three tips for sleeping creating a toddler-like sleep routine:

Set a routine and stick to it! This simple concept changed my life. As a freelance writer my days are unpredictable. It’s the nature of the job. Keeping my transition from awake to asleep *routine* helps immensely with turning off my work-brain. The more predictable my sleep schedule—the more easily I slip into slumber.  I know this is a challenge with busy lives–yet the benefits of nightly rituals (from tea to journaling) are immeasurable.Leave on a light to scare away monsters! I was plagued by the Cr*p Did I Forget To Do That?! monster & the Shoot I Need To Remember to XXX boogie-woman. My grown-up nightlight? A notebook. I always have pen & paper by my bed.  If I start fretting/mental list-making I grab it, do a braindump so I can *SLEEP* & handle my list in the morning. This tactic works wonders in banishing nighttime fret-fears so my mind rest.Dont wait to unwind! We’d never summon a toddler from a game of freeze tag, plop her in bed and expect her to fall immediately asleep! We recognize the need for transition time. We adult-types forget that same fact about ourselves. Whatever time you go to sleep, ‘start the process’ early.  Provide your mind a chance to s-l-o-w-l-y shed the day’s thoughts/worries & ready itself for rest. Studies say we ‘should’ unplug from screens long before bed time. MizFit says explore different options/find what works best to relax you. From Kindle to Chamomile discover what helps *your* mind unwind.Here is where, were we not chatting about TODDLERS I’d add a rant about caffeine consumption after noon & keeping the bed for, uh, *BED STUFF* and not web surfing. Please to remind yourself of the benefits of these two notions.

(*looks around to see if anyone is still awake & reading*)

I know.

More than you wanted to know about my thoughts on sleep—yet three steps which have tremendously helped me increase my slumber.

Now I turn to you.

Whats your NUMBER ONE tip for falling, staying or making more time for sleep?Do you believe we can shift from OWL to LARK?

*which I guess would make this a winwin, huh?

View the original article here

Am I sleep deprived?

sweet sweet crack of dawn writing.

To know me at all is to know Im a lark.

I never, ever set an alarm (while I am, indeed, Kramer I also believe if I dont wake up Im not meant to be up.  I always wake up.). 

Given all that—if faced with the choice between SCHVITZ or SLEEP–Id*still* probably choose reading sleep.

Ive been a lifelong bad sleeper (light sleeper. no napper.  Ive received the child I deserve.) and yet I rarely walk around Oakland feeling sleep deprived.

Im early to bed.  Early to rise.  And feel pretty damn good all day doing it.

Ive realized the times I find myself saying “Im so exhausted!” stem more from emotional exhaustion or allergies than true, to the core, sleepiness.

sleep isnt at the top of my list.

Still.

The other day as I labored through cardio I do not love I was distracted by The KATIE show.

The focus of the show was SLEEP (how to get more etc) & the most interesting segment offered a quick way to assess if the sleep youre getting is enough for *you.*

A swift way to evaluate if youre living a sleep deprived life based wholly on ability to LOOK and REACT.

I seized the excuse to cut short that morning’s thirty minute routine finished my workout, grabbed a ruler, & prepared to evaluate my reaction time.

Do I need more of this?!

Here’s the exercise:

Snag a plastic ruler & a partner.Have partner hold ruler at top while you LOOSELY hold with thumb/index finger at bottom.Ask partner to surprise you/release ruler while you attempt to GRAB with thumb/index fingers as quickly as possible.Record the number “grabbed” and compare to norms below.

40 mm EXCELLENT.

80 mm GOOD.

100 mm AVERAGE.

140 mm SLOW.

180 mm GO TO BED! GO TO BED!

Here’s also where I reveal Ive been afraid to do the assessment. 

Yet.

I feel good. 

I dont feel sluggish.

I may be Ben(jamina) Franklin but I firmly believe it works for me.

Here’s also where I reveal Id be sad if the ruler indicated Im sleepy—because I feel pretty damn great!

As a result Im dragging you in *with* me.

Wanna grab a Tornado partner, a ruler & join me in the sleep deprivation assessment?

Pinky swear I will hit you up with my number-results in the comments below.

Let’s do this thing…

View the original article here

I sleep like a toddler.

(Decaf or regular I ALWAYS start my morning with the skull & crossbones mug!)

 These days it seems the most common question I receive is about sleep.

I get lots of what do you eat?! or can you share your workout routine queries—but more than anything you seem intrigued by what time I plop my misfit self in bed, how you can become an early riser & if Im an insomniac.

I completely understand.

Given the semicrazystillNIGHTIMEformany time of day I comment on your blogs, commence tweeting and yammer away on Facebook  it makes sense youre more obsessed with my bedtime than my biceps.

And I ADORE you for it.

You may regret asking after this long snooze-inducing post*—but I adore you for it as sleep, in my opinion, is the cornerstone to success in all facets of life.

Ive always been a lark.

I love the promise of what the day might hold & the irrepressible feeling today!could!be!the!one!**

In addition, while I believe we can shift ourselves slightly either way, Id say if youre happily an owl dont change!

Right now (brace your collective selves) asleep by 10p & awake at 4ISH am works for our family.

I snag ME-TIME & squeeze in a PLAYout with the Tornado all before the bus comes.

I also never set an alarm.

My belief is if Im not awake & ready to gogogo! with my day then Im not meant to be.  I must need more rest.

Im always awake & eager to wrangle my day around 4a.

(Lest it sound as though Im bragging you should see me at 8p. It’s ugly.  Im over the day & often a tad grumpy nothing super!duper!exciting! transpired.  Youll have that.)

All that aside–whether youre an owl or a lark–Im a firm believer we should treat ourselves as we would a Toddler when it comes to sleep.

In response to your questions Im way too over-excited want to share three tips which took me years to discover and have helped me fight insomnia/sleep struggles.

Set a routine and stick to it.  This simple concept changed my life.  As a freelance writer my days often take a turn for the unpredictable.  It’s the nature of the job.  Keeping my transition from awake to asleep fairly routine helps immensely with ‘turning my brain off’ at night.   The more predictable the routine—the more *chill* I am at the end.  I know this can be a challenge in our busy lives, but I urge you to make a concerted effort to find at least few nightly rituals.Leave a light on to scare away monsters.  I was plagued by the Oh Crap Did I Forget To Do That?! monster & the Shoot I Need To Remember to… boogiewoman.  My grown-up nightlight?  A notebook.  I always have pen & paper by the bed.  That way if I start fretting or mental list making I can grab it & get the thoughts out of my head so I can deal with them in the morning.  Ive found this tactic works wonders in banishing nighttime fretfears so I can rest.Dont wait to unwind.  We’d never call a toddler inside from a rambunctious game of freeze tag,  immediately plop her in bed and expect her to fall asleep.  We’d recognize the need for some transition time.  For some reason we adult types frequently forget that same fact about ourselves.   Whatever time you go to sleep, ‘start the process’ (as we nerdily call it up in herre) early.  Give your mind a chance to s-l-o-w-l-y shed the day’s thoughts/focus & ready for rest.  Studies say we ‘should’ unplug from screens long before bed time.  MizFit says  explore different options/find what works best to relax you.  From Kindle to Chamomile search for what helps *your* mind unwind.Here is where Id also add, were we not talking toddlers, a yammer about caffeine consumption after noon and keeping the bed for, uh, *BED STUFF* and not emailing or ‘net surfing.  Please to remind yourself of the benefits of these two ideas. Thank you so much.

 (*looks around to see if anyone is still awake/reading*)

 I know.

More than you wanted to know about my thoughts on sleep (hmm or perhaps not seeing as you asked?) yet three steps which have tremendously helped me increase my slumber.

Now I turn to you.

Whats your NUMBER ONE tip when it comes to falling, staying or making more time for sleep?

The bleary-eyed masses await your wisdom.

*which I guess would make this all a winwin, huh?

**what would being the one look life? I have no idea. Ren Man asks me that same question. Daily.

View the original article here