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Sleeping In
I am a huge proponent of waking up early, but over time I’ve realized two things. 1) I am really bad at waking up early - I am notorious for snoozing my alarm in my sleep for sometimes upwards of an hour (this is a skill I’m not sure I’m actually proud of). And 2) Sometimes you just need to sleep in.
The key word for me in the previous sentence is “sometimes.” I don’t want you to hear that I’m advocating for sleeping in all the time - because I am definitely not. I think it is important to wake up at a decent hour to get your day started. However, sometimes your schedule can get thrown off and you find yourself going to bed much later than you ever intended. For me, as a student, it is not uncommon for a project to take way longer than I thought it would and find myself awake hours past when I intended on going to bed. But there are almost infinite other reasons why one’s sleep schedule could get thrown off.
In the past I’ve tried to ignore any of these changes to my normal sleep schedule but it rarely ended well. After one night, or sometimes several nights in a row, of going to bed later than I expect to, and still trying to wake up at the same time, I can really feel my body being worn down. So recently, instead of always trying to stick to my goal sleep schedule and setting my alarm way earlier than I should, I’ve started trying to set more reasonable alarms for myself.
I understand that you don’t always have the flexibility to set later alarms due to early morning obligations, but when you do, take advantage! I have never really prioritized my sleep and I honestly think it has impacted my mental health. Also, when I say sleep in, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sleep till noon or later. Maybe for you sleeping in means setting your alarm for 7 instead of 6:30 or 8 instead of 7. Although those differences seem minor, I think they can have a big impact.
So that is my challenge to you this week: sleep in! I think having an adequate amount of sleep is so incredibly important. This is something that I have always been bad at but have recently been trying to be better about (as you can probably tell by the time at which you are receiving this email).
Stay Motivated,
-Dan
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