Not partying, but working.
And if you are like 70% of the American population, you arent getting enough sleep either.
For most of us, we know that a bad nights sleep makes us feelblahthe next day.
Photo:DedMityay / Getty Images
Its easy for a bad nights sleep to snowball into a sleepless lifestyle.
We may know we need more sleep, but thehowis challenging.
I pulled from experts across the fields of functional medicine, psychology and neuroscience.
What I found was that my entire perspective on sleep desperately needed to be reframed.
My goal is to get at least eight hours of sleep every night for two weeks.
One issue becomes glaringly obvious:my phone.
As night falls and I become sleepy, I actually fight to stay awake.
Why was I actively avoiding sleep?
You might be familiar with revenge procrastination, which gained prominence during the pandemic.
Thankfully, I had the opportunity to speak with Prather.
CBTI focuses on stimulus control and classical conditioningtraining the body to respond to environmental factors.
Ideally, the bed is an environmental trigger for sleep.
However for some, the bed is a trigger for angst and worry.
On the topic of revenge procrastination, Prather pointed to issues of control and a sense of autonomy.
He suggested journaling, looking at daytime routines and focusing on a wind-down routine.
If all of those things are addressed, it may be time to talk to a professional.
Walker has done remarkable research on what happens in our bodies while we sleep.
Though the scrolling hasnt completely stopped, its getting noticeably shorter.
While holiday shopping, I come acrossBetter Sleep, Better Youand purchase it.
The authors also provide guidelines for a 21-day reset.
I challenge myself to get sunlightbeforelooking at my phone and introduce more gut-healing foods to my meals.
I am noticeably more alert at work.
Fully rested, I complete the presentation bright-eyed and successfully!
I can do that has been my motto for as long as I can remember.
I feel empowered and excited to continue to experiment.
This is the end of the two-week trial but also the beginning of a journey.
The experts all had some advice in common.
Lipman F, Parikh N.Better Sleep, Better You.
New York, NY: Little, Brown Spark; 2021.
Wegorzewska, M.,Neurons help flush waste out of brain during sleep WashU Medicine.WashU Medicine.
