OK OK, not quite as exotic sounding as Sleepless in Seattle (am I showing my age?!) but, here I am, in a hotel room near Stansted which I’m sharing with my two kids and, when he gets back from the party we were attending earlier, my husband too.
And here’s the thing. I’ve had a really busy week, I’m absolutely shattered and the kids have clearly missed the memo that Mummy would REALLY love an early night. After all, if I can’t be at the party, then perhaps I can treat myself with some extra sleep?!
Yes, as The Snoring Lady (and passionate sleep fanatic) I’m one of those precious few who openly recognise and extol the virtues of sleep. Hey, maybe I should get a T shirt with an appropriate slogan… but what would it say? “Keep calm I’ve had 8 hours?”
The irony is that I know how important sleep is, yet, just like everyone else, I often will stay up later than my body wants as I ‘just’ want to watch that film or do that little extra piece of work. And I should know better! But I still do it… just like I don’t always eat my 5 a day and sometimes eat too much chocolate or cheese! Do we have a self-destruct button? Are we hard-wired to challenge our bodies to do more? Do we think we’re still young and that it won’t catch up with us?! [Hang on, am I suggesting I’m old at 44?! Gulp!]
Maybe my T shirt should say “Still sleep deprived. Must try harder” or “Panic. I’m surviving on 5 hours.” Or “I’ve only had 5 hours sleep… gaaaaah!” What do you think?!
We all value the various parts of our lives differently. Some people love their cars, their pets, their job. Without getting too touchy-feely, I think we need to be ready to love ourselves a little more, or there simply won’t be an ‘ourself’ at all. There are lots of stats and figures about how sleep deprivation increases our risks of cancer, neurological disorders, stroke. My goodness, I write papers about it all the time. I know this. But yes, I fall into the category of believing it won’t happen to me… it’s foolish, but I’m being brutally honest.
And if we think about it, how many of us ACTUALLY think that something bad will really happen to us? That we’ll be the 1 in however many that gets the cancer, or has a horrible car accident, but someone must have it happening to them, or there wouldn’t be that statistic (unless the Office of National Statistics are all a bunch of jokers of course!!). If you’re that 1 in 10, then it happens to you 100%. A surgeon once told me that when discussing the risks of infection in keyhole surgery! It got me thinking, and has clearly stayed with me.
So, how many of us are sleep deprived? How many of us are propped up on caffeine and/or sugars to get through the day? And how many of us are sleepless in wherever… either because we’ve intentionally stayed up to watch that film or extra box set episode, or those of us who work late into the evening, or whose kids are being naughty monkeys, or indeed the parents of babies that still haven’t found their parent-friendly-sleep-routine yet. (I remember those days.. hang on in there, it gets better)…
If you think you might fall into one of these categories, (or another) where you feel tired in the day, please don’t ignore it. If your sleepiness is self-inflicted, remember that you can probably pause that film and come back another day, and the extra episode will be there tomorrow, and so will the work for that matter… And for those of you with naughty kids [hoping my kids get this memo at least!], they will sleep well tomorrow, and the babies will sort themselves out eventually… they will, honestly!
However, if you’re sleepy and you don’t know why, please don’t ignore it. It could be a symptom of something more serious, so it would be sensible to talk about it with your GP (or PCP if you’re not in the UK!) They’ll be able to ask you questions and check you over and make sure you’re OK.
In the time it’s taken me to write this, my kids have FINALLY gone to sleep. Hallelujah. It’s 21:36 so not too late, but I would benefit from an early night. So for once I’m going to take my own advice and get to bed… night night folks. Sleep well. […and if you’re not, please get advice from your GP]
The Snoring Lady
#sleepdeprived #sleepless
And here’s the thing. I’ve had a really busy week, I’m absolutely shattered and the kids have clearly missed the memo that Mummy would REALLY love an early night. After all, if I can’t be at the party, then perhaps I can treat myself with some extra sleep?!
Yes, as The Snoring Lady (and passionate sleep fanatic) I’m one of those precious few who openly recognise and extol the virtues of sleep. Hey, maybe I should get a T shirt with an appropriate slogan… but what would it say? “Keep calm I’ve had 8 hours?”
The irony is that I know how important sleep is, yet, just like everyone else, I often will stay up later than my body wants as I ‘just’ want to watch that film or do that little extra piece of work. And I should know better! But I still do it… just like I don’t always eat my 5 a day and sometimes eat too much chocolate or cheese! Do we have a self-destruct button? Are we hard-wired to challenge our bodies to do more? Do we think we’re still young and that it won’t catch up with us?! [Hang on, am I suggesting I’m old at 44?! Gulp!]
Maybe my T shirt should say “Still sleep deprived. Must try harder” or “Panic. I’m surviving on 5 hours.” Or “I’ve only had 5 hours sleep… gaaaaah!” What do you think?!
We all value the various parts of our lives differently. Some people love their cars, their pets, their job. Without getting too touchy-feely, I think we need to be ready to love ourselves a little more, or there simply won’t be an ‘ourself’ at all. There are lots of stats and figures about how sleep deprivation increases our risks of cancer, neurological disorders, stroke. My goodness, I write papers about it all the time. I know this. But yes, I fall into the category of believing it won’t happen to me… it’s foolish, but I’m being brutally honest.
And if we think about it, how many of us ACTUALLY think that something bad will really happen to us? That we’ll be the 1 in however many that gets the cancer, or has a horrible car accident, but someone must have it happening to them, or there wouldn’t be that statistic (unless the Office of National Statistics are all a bunch of jokers of course!!). If you’re that 1 in 10, then it happens to you 100%. A surgeon once told me that when discussing the risks of infection in keyhole surgery! It got me thinking, and has clearly stayed with me.
So, how many of us are sleep deprived? How many of us are propped up on caffeine and/or sugars to get through the day? And how many of us are sleepless in wherever… either because we’ve intentionally stayed up to watch that film or extra box set episode, or those of us who work late into the evening, or whose kids are being naughty monkeys, or indeed the parents of babies that still haven’t found their parent-friendly-sleep-routine yet. (I remember those days.. hang on in there, it gets better)…
If you think you might fall into one of these categories, (or another) where you feel tired in the day, please don’t ignore it. If your sleepiness is self-inflicted, remember that you can probably pause that film and come back another day, and the extra episode will be there tomorrow, and so will the work for that matter… And for those of you with naughty kids [hoping my kids get this memo at least!], they will sleep well tomorrow, and the babies will sort themselves out eventually… they will, honestly!
However, if you’re sleepy and you don’t know why, please don’t ignore it. It could be a symptom of something more serious, so it would be sensible to talk about it with your GP (or PCP if you’re not in the UK!) They’ll be able to ask you questions and check you over and make sure you’re OK.
In the time it’s taken me to write this, my kids have FINALLY gone to sleep. Hallelujah. It’s 21:36 so not too late, but I would benefit from an early night. So for once I’m going to take my own advice and get to bed… night night folks. Sleep well. […and if you’re not, please get advice from your GP]
The Snoring Lady
#sleepdeprived #sleepless
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