GAs I sailed through Sydney, I learned that the city prided itself on its ‘first right culture’ long before the state government put it at the center of its tourism campaign. It’s hard to miss the golden light that illuminates the Lycra-clad masses as they return from a run in Centennial Park or surfing the waves at Bondi long before the working day begins. One wonderful morning, I woke up with them and went to a 6am Pilates class, followed by a swim in the ocean. The beauty of the morning, combined with the wonderful feeling of having accomplished so much before my alarm usually went off, got me hooked.
There was just one problem. You can’t go to bed early to save your life.
As a child, I would get out of bed, pretend to be interested in overseas tennis tournaments, and join my mother in watching them on TV until late. As a teenager, I would stay up past my bedtime to watch interviews on YouTube, and in college I stayed up more nights than I can remember. In recent years, influenced by a culture that has become increasingly concerned about sleep hygiene, I’ve been doing my best to curb what feels like bad habits born of a lack of self-control.
In my mind, accepting this challenge of getting better sleep was synonymous with becoming a morning person, something I had never been able to do before. So when Dr. Moira Junge, Chief Executive of the Sleep Health Foundation and Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at Monash University, told me that this was not the result of laziness on my part, but rather a product of genetics, I was somewhat relieved. did. “Just like our eye color and hair color, we are naturally inclined to be night owls or morning owls. But work and family commitments make it hard to stay true to our chronotype. Not many people can afford to live,” Junge says.
Junge’s advice is to embrace your chronotype, sleep as late as possible within the constraints of your job, and avoid waking up for a 6:30 a.m. yoga class if you feel tired throughout the week. It is said that it is a thing. When it comes to what time I go to bed, Junge also wants to help me modify certain beliefs I have about sleep. Even if my melatonin (a hormone produced by the brain on dark nights as part of the process that makes us want to sleep) doesn’t come out until close to midnight, “I would characterize[being awake in the middle of the night]as naughty.” Stop wearing them,” Junge says. She only wants me to be in bed for as long as I can realistically sleep. Junge says that although sleep is deeply personal, much of modern culture’s anxiety about what ideal sleep looks like can make us rigid and actually have the opposite effect. It is said that it is distracting in some way.
1st week
I act according to my plan. I try to be in bed by 11pm and leave the curtains open so I can wake up to natural light. Most of the week is characterized by the familiar pattern of feeling tired all day long, looking forward to an early night, and then getting a second wind around 9 p.m. I persist, but by Saturday afternoon I’m completely lethargic. I managed to muster up the energy to go out to dinner with a friend, but I don’t feel like I’m at my best.
2nd week
I am enlightened by talking to Junge. The easiest advice to implement right away is to take “strategic naps” (scheduled naps of no more than 30 minutes) on days when you have to wake up early or feel like you’re not getting enough sleep. . I’ve been particularly busy on the weekends and ended up staying out pretty late on Friday and Saturday nights, which was made worse by losing an hour of sleep due to daylight saving time. Nevertheless, I ended up feeling much better than last week because I took a nap this weekend and didn’t try too hard even though I was tired.
3rd week
The changes that are starting to happen to me feel so miraculous. Instead of worrying about not being able to sleep or not being in bed at 11pm, I choose to read until I realize I’m starting to yawn. Turn off the lights and instead of tossing and turning in bed, nod off and drift off to sleep smoothly. In fact, becoming consciously aware of your body’s sleep signals is a change that can only be compared to learning to listen to your hunger cues and eat accordingly.
Week 4
Despite last week’s success, this week we have a little more work to do and face some familiar problems. Despite my relaxing routine of reading with tea and chocolate and scrolling through my phone if I feel like it, I still find myself alone in the darkness of my room. I realize my head is still buzzing. I follow Junge’s advice that you shouldn’t lie in bed for more than 30 minutes, whatever the reason, and if you’re still awake or irritable, you should get out of bed and relax a little more. I decided to write down some tasks that I had to do the next day and try some mindfulness exercises.
Week 5
My sleep definitely feels more consistent than ever. Because I don’t oscillate between pushing myself to get up early in the morning and trying to catch up with other people’s sleep. Instead, I consistently go to bed between 11 and 12 when I feel tired, and stay up as late as my work schedule allows. I’m working a late shift this week, so I don’t have to set an alarm and can wake up a little after 8am.
Week 6
One night, instead of reading a book, I relax by talking to my sister, who called me from overseas. Fortunately, Junge argues that the idea that you need to put your phone away two hours before bed is itself a “myth” and that the problem with phones and blue light is overblown. I don’t stress too much about technology interfering with my sleep. Although it’s not a good idea to use your phone in bed, Junge says it’s OK to use your phone before bed at night if you use it in a relaxed manner and your lights are set to night mode.
Week 7
With an international election taking place this week (it’s early November), my daily work schedule will once again prove insufficient. I try to sleep, but my mind is still alert, so I get up and read some more. At times like this, I don’t even look at my cell phone or what time it is. I’m starting to become less concerned about how many hours of sleep I get.
Week 8
As my sleep became more consistent, I noticed that I had more energy during the day and endured far fewer days of feeling tired and dazed. Junge emphasizes that “good sleep begets better sleep.” Ironically, a lack of sleep will disrupt your sleep that night. So I feel like the results of the past few weeks have been cumulative.
Week 9…End
Probably for the first time in my life, I have consistent sleep habits. I feel empowered because I now know more about what good sleep means and no longer feel guilty about staying up late. This routine definitely makes me sleep in more than I used to, but the 66 days went by easier than I expected because part of my job was also to let go of the anxiety of trying to achieve perfect sleep.
