Night Owl -OvO-

I am such a Night Owl. & It is such a horrible habit…I go to sleep late and wake up early. I don’t get my beauty sleep and I don’t get to have naps througout the day. It is time to do something because it’s just stressing out my body, especially my face. I am sleep deprived and need to get on a schedule.

· Over the years I’ve realized that when I get sleep, of course, I’m less cranky and irritated througout the day. And to be in a really good mood I need about 10 hours of sleep. lol If I don’t get my 10, my energy level for life just dwindles downwards from the moment I wake. With my schedule being school + work all the time, 10 hours of sleep is asking for too much. So I guess I have to settle with whatever I can. I actually started to research things online to help me. Yes I am desperate because I don’t want these ugly dark circles and bags under my eyes. I feel the need to educate myself on sleep and possibly, I might find something to help correct my horrible night owl habits. lol However, I’m really focused because I really need to get my sleep on. :)

1. FIXING MY SLEEP SCHEDULE
→ I’m focused on getting into bed before 12AM. Reason being is because I get home around 10 or 11 PM from work or school. Sometimes I get into bed by 1, sometimes by 2, sometimes by 3! And I’m just doing things…cleaning, homework, playing with my dog, surfing the net, watching movies, etc. I really just need to drop everything (unimportant) and get into bed at a certain time to really discipline myself.

→ I need to wake up at the same time everyday. Because my schedule changes every 4 months (due to school) I probably have to change my sleep schedule often but for now I need to wake up at 6 AM and 8 AM every other day. I use the alarm on my phone but sometimes I accidentally touch the “disarm” button and I end up sleeping a little over my time. I gotta stop pressing the “SNOOZE” button; it’s a habit!

2. SLEEP CYLCE & MELATONIN?
→ I’m following along with this article: How to Sleep Better and I found something interesting…melatonin.I didn’t know that the effects of seeing natural light throughout the day affected your sleep cycle. It’s very interesting stuff so I really suggest you read the article, however, I’m going to keep it brief in my little paragraph here. :) — When I read the article, I realized that our restaurant is very dark. I should probably take some time to go outside during my break time to enjoy the sun. Same thing for school. Being in school all day long is so tiring. I get tired so easily and staring at a TV / laptop all night, I read, isn’t good for your sleep cycle either. I need to keep off the net at night so I can fall asleep.

3. ANXIETY & STRESS
→ I remember when I was younger (and not married) I once asked my brother how he fell asleep so fast. And I told him that I had troubles sleeping because my mind just couldn’t fall asleep. lol He told me that I need to let everything in your mind go and just relax. & Of course, it never worked because my mind always seemed to be stimulated before bed. — It’s still the same thing now…I can’t sleep because there’s so much on my mind. School, $$$, Work, makeup, past, present, future, etc. HAHAHA I can’t sleep. I always end up drowned in my thoughts before I sleep and usually I wake up wondering how the heck I fell asleep. :P

4. EATING & DRINKING
→ I was going to write a seperate blog about this because it’s also something I’m trying to work on. Nonetheless, I don’t make the greatest choices when it comes to eating and drinking but I’m hoping to get it under control for 2012 as well. :) Definitely going to avoid eating / drinking late and avoid drinking coffee / energy drinks.

« conclusions » All in all, I am sleep deprived! Really gotta get myself together. Sleeping isn’t supposed to be hard. lol I’m happy I’m trying and I know, who cares but I’m writing blogs like everyone else about my New Year’s resolutions to remind me of my goals for the year. Any tips for sleeping? Let me know.

ZzZzZzZz,

— NINA