No More Tired Than Usual

Last week I had the privilege of being in Kampala, Uganda with the non-profit organization World Children’s Initiative (WCI).  WCI was working with the pediatric cardiology staff of the Uganda Heart Institute to enable them to be self-sufficient in their treatment of congenital heart disease.  I was there in a non-clinical capacity but it was still very rewarding work.  One thing I realized about being out of my normal routine on the other side of the world was the test it put on my health behaviors.  One of the main habits being compromised was adequate sleep.

I know many people have lives where control over how much sleep they get is not completely their own.  A lot of parents of children under 5 years of age (and many times even older) have not experienced more than 6 hours of consecutive rest in years.  Also, on-call physicians cannot dictate the number of times during the night a nurse or patient may awaken them for issues of varying importance.  We are all extremely busy with work and family and it is hard to fit everything into the day.  Despite that being the case, we need to prioritize getting enough rest when it is possible.

Data shows most adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.  However, it seems a lot of Americans do not abide by those recommendations.  The 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) showed that 35.3% of adults get less than 7 hours of sleep during a typical 24 hour period.  I know that I have prided myself in the past for my ability to “function” on little to no sleep.  That is definitely a beneficial skill if necessary.  The problem is sometimes we just get in the habit of not sleeping, so we don’t even when we can.

As I think about my own life I recognize that one large contributor to inadequate sleep over the years has been poor time management.  Despite every intention of getting to bed at a decent time it doesn’t quite work out.  Here are some things to consider about managing time and getting enough rest.

Make a schedule of things that need to be done during the day.  Instead of just making a list, I ascribe a particular amount of time to complete each task.  One thing it has made me realize is some activities take way longer to complete than I would have thought.  This is how it gets to be 10 pm before you know it and you still have 5 things to do before you go to bed.  Giving one’s self a time limit also curbs the dillydallying to which we all fall prey at times.

Become an enemy of live television programming.  TV is quite a time suck.  God has given us DVR to help deal with our hectic lives.  Saving up shows and watching them when you have free time just makes sense.  Never getting around to watching the shows stored up on the recorder is just more evidence the hours you would have spent in prime time would have been a waste.  Sports are among the few televised events whose enjoyment is improved by watching live.  Pretty much everything else can be recorded.

If there is an opportunity, sleep when you are sleepy.  This is one of the most important things I learned when I was working as an ob/gyn.  You might feel lame going to bed early but your body will thank you.  When given the choice of staying awake to inefficiently complete a non-urgent project or getting rest in order to be productive for the next day, pick sleep.  Life is filled with instances when all you want to do is sleep and that is not a viable option.  If you actually have a choice, do yourself a favor and take a nap.   

Recognize that being sleepy all the time is not okay.  Normalizing chronic fatigue makes it easy for people to ignore it as a problem.  Living with a perpetual sleep deficit distorts the perception of tiredness.  The 2009 BRFSS also reported 37.9% of adults fell asleep unintentionally during the day at least once in the previous month.  Most of those individuals probably did not think they were overly tired because they felt that way every day.  No matter how well you think you are coping without sleep, it is impossible for me to express how much better you will feel when adequately rested.

Sleep isn’t the most obvious component of healthy living but it does contribute to overall well-being.  In order to function at a decent level, humans need to be well-rested.  You are better able to tolerate the irritations of life without participating in negative habits when you are not sleep-deprived.  Similarly, you are better energized to exercise and to prepare healthy meals when you are well-rested.  Even if your life legitimately makes it impossible to get more than 7 hours of sleep per night, try to get as much rest as you can.  For those who have sleep issues or want to learn more about sleep and health let me direct you to the CDC page on sleep, http://www.cdc.gov/sleep/.  Have a restful week.