January 04, 2014
#CrushYourKryptonite: Sleep Deprivation & A Tight Schedule
What is your biggest obstacle to health? What is your Kryptonite? I have many more than one, but my #1 challenge is a combination with a crappy outcome.
lack of time + chronic sleep deprivation = poor diet choices + skipped workouts + increased stress
Some say that the definition of crazy is expecting a different result from the same method. I must be crazy, because most mornings I vow to go to bed early, but each evening I end up going to bed late. My workday mornings always begin the same way: I curse my alarm, oversleep because I accidentally turn the alarm off, & my husband tells me I should go to bed earlier. Workday evenings end the same way, too: I stay up too late preparing for the next day & vow to go to bed earlier tomorrow. I'm sure than when my friends see how tired I look, they assume my baby is keeping me up all night, but he is not.
The truth is, I have very little personal time each day. I wake up late, rush through the morning, drive an hour to my busy 10 hr/day job, & drive an hour home. By the time baby is asleep, we've had dinner, & I'm done prepping for the next day, I have about 30 min -1 hour available before I cut into the 8 hours of sleep I ought to get. What to do? Pay bills? Catch up with friends & family on Facebook? Read? Workout? Blog? Study for my upcoming monster exam? Go to bed? 99% of the time, I do not choose sleep. I go to bed 1-3 hours later than I ought to...rinse & repeat.
This sleep-deprived schedule is not serving me well; I'm chronically tired, which I know is awful for my health, & it adds to my stress (which is already way past maxed-out). So what should I do?
I hate to admit it, but listen to my husband.
Solution: Get up earlier in the day & go to bed at a reasonable hour. This might sound easy, but I assure you that it will be really tough for me. I am NOT a morning person. Did I mention that I cuss at my alarm daily? However, morning is the time of day I could be most productive, if I give it a try. I'm asking my husband to "help" me get up by a certain time, & will be laying out workout clothes and equipment at night. Waking up & getting my workout out of the way early ought to free up time so that I can go to bed earlier. Those two things could decrease my stress, increase my health, & help curb bad dietary choices (which I'm way more likely to commit when tired & stressed).
Here are a few things that help me make the most of my time:
- Batch cook some meals on days off (hard boil eggs, prep salad, make & freeze: rice, quinoa, oatmeal, soups, make healthy crock-pot meals, baby's food)
- Workout on lunch break at work (this used to be my #1 solution to time constraints, but lately it hasn't worked for me)
- Delegate household responsibilities
- Cut down on time spent making grocery lists by using a pre-printed one with the items you buy all the time. Clip the list to the fridge & highlight things as you run out. Mine is organized based on aisles in our grocery store, & has a Target section. (Yes, I'm a nerd.)
- Walk or run with the baby (if you have one) to run errands if possible. I'm always amazed at how much stuff I can fit in the jogging stroller's storage compartment.
- Shop online