There are sometimes I can’t remember what I did earlier in the day, let alone that “one time at band camp.” Just kidding, I’ve never been to band camp, but honestly, if I had- I might not be able to tell you anything about it anyways. Why? Because I honest to goodness don’t remember. I’ve got some explaining to do and I plan to do it over a few blog posts.
I’ve not been taking very good care of myself in the last few years. Not putting myself first has wrecked me in more ways than I can say. This post is one of a few more coming in the next few weeks. Because yes, you need sleepy and I’m going to tell you why it’s important to get enough sleep.
Memory
Yes, one of the things my lack of sleep has affected is my memory. I’ve been going to see a counselor for about three months now (I need to see when my first appointment was) and she recently gave me her diagnosis. One of them was that I wasn’t sleeping enough and that will affect memory.
Here’s a scary thing that’s happened to me a few times- I’ve forgotten my friend’s names! I know what you are thinking, “Candy are they really your friends if you don’t know their names?!” It wasn’t that I didn’t know their name, it’s that during the conversation I couldn’t connect their name from my brain to my mouth. Really scary friends, really. I know I shouldn’t laugh about it because it was so scary, but it is what it is right? It’s going to get better, I know it will.
Mood
Ok, this is more for you than it is for me because I’m almost always in a great mood. Yeah, it’s true. Ask all of my friends. I might not want to wake up from my 4-hour slumber (yes, that’s what I had been averaging), but dammit I’m going to be in a good mood and I’m going to have a great day.
But for those of us that aren’t me, your mood will be affected by the lack of sleep. If you wanna be the best that you can be, you gotta get more sleep. Don’t be a grumpy bumpy, because honestly all that does is dampen your day and the day of the people you come across.
Track Your Sleep
Wondering how I know how much sleep I get? I use my handy-dandyFitBit Charge 3. It’s currently on sale for $124.99, yes that’s my Amazon affiliate link so if you purchase via the link I’ll get a small portion. Thanks! But back to tracking. You’ll notice the numbers are also given a score, while the numbers are in the 70’s you can touch the date and get additional information on your sleep.
I was able to see and learn about the different sleep stages and what they mean. How long I was in each sleep stage. Pretty incredible, it’s actually the first thing I look at because I’m nuts. It could be worse, it could have been social media right? I used to first check my email, and now I check Fitbit to see how many hours I slept.
The Battle Continues
I’m still in the early getting to where I need to be in terms of sleep. I’ve slept six hours a few nights last week and more during the weekend. Each night will be a challenge for myself and I’m taking the baby steps to get there. This year is all about being patient and I’m doing my best to get the sleep I need to take care of me. The goal is 7-8 hours a night. I can do this!
Question:
How are you taking care of you?
You got this!
Candy
Here’s my disclaimer that I’m not a professional so you can’t believe everything I say, so just get to bed at a decent hour fried. 🙂
