Sheep in Wolves Clothing

Lately I have noticed that there are a lot of friends on Facebook at three o'clock in the morning mentioning their inability to sleep. Sheep seem to have completely eluded so many. Restless nights lead to cranky mornings and unfocused days. Too many restless nights can lead to various health concerns. There are published studies on the need for sleep. I'm certainly no expert on the topic, but I have a few observations on this matter.

That's not how you're supposed
to do it

Restful sleep is one of the key components of a healthy lifestyle - along with good nutrition, good hydration, exercise and lowered stress levels. The thing is, being remiss in any of these affects the other. Lack of sleep can affect your food choices - oversleep once you finally fall asleep and grab a muffin? Or skip breakfast all together because you're running late? Miss taking your walk because you're too tired? Eat junk because you think you're hungry when you are merely poorly hydrated? Being tired, hungry, out of shape stressing you out? Yeah, yeah, yeah - the point already.

While I realize not everyone is prepared to commit in the way that I have, we each can take a look at our daily environment for ways that we can regain the balance. Think about the last time you worked in the yard all day; or swam and ran on the beach. I mean a really great, full day - when the kids were relatively good and stress was at a minimum. You were happy and relaxed. Did you get a restful sleep? Exercise and physical activity are great assets in the construct for finding those elusive sheep. Making sure you take your water bottle with you and that you consuming sufficient food to provide energy through the day will also allow your body to develop a cycle. Your body is a machine. It really wants to operate properly. I promise.

We are constantly inundated with stimuli. Right now, I am watching an episode of Magnum PI (yes, Magnum PI) on my iPad, while keeping up with the live stream of the Olympic games on my iPhone; all while typing this entry. And somehow my brain is able to process all three. We cannot stand to let our brains relax. You know you do it. You're on Facebook with the TV on and playing Words with Friends on your electronic device thinking - "why can't I ever get to sleep?" It's like purposely ramping children up right before bed and then expecting them to choose to settle down and rest. Consider turning off all electronic devices, including ereaders, approximately thirty minutes before your desired sleep time. It will seem really hard and like it's not working at first. But your brain will thank you.

Know why they call it counting sheep?
Can you imagine how boring it is to
count sheep? I mean, you could stand there
with your mouth hanging open with your
brain completely in neutral.
Ahhhhh....uhhhhh...zzzzzzzz

Here's my proposal for you. And this will not happen overnight (har har) with one attempt. Try for 3 straight weeks to address the health factors I mentioned above. They make some pretty cool water bottles now. Good nutrition choices are a little easier to maintain with things like protein shakes from Max Muscle (shameless plugging, I know). Avoiding stress is sometimes a little more difficult. But for three weeks, look at changing the way you approach to what stresses you out. Traffic? I find that George Clinton helps a lot. Maybe Kenny Chesney can make you think you are sitting on a beach with Corona in hand. Someone at work getting on your nerves? For three weeks, kill them with kindness. Family making you pull your hair out? Own it. Don't allow them to take your health from you. And of course, my favorite, exercise! Doesn't have to be an hour at the gym, but incorporate some sort of intentional physical activity each day. I say intentional because it speaks to your discipline and commitment. It can be something simple like a stroll around the block with your dog or vacuuming and sweeping the entire house.

I realize that there are other factors that contribute to sleeplessness. There are people who suffer from medical cases of insomnia. As we age (ugh), our sleep patterns are affected. Sometimes a glass of red wine before bed can help. Some have found melatonin and other herbal supplements help. Here's another shameless plug - Max Muscle makes two products that I stack together that have been found to be very effective. Max ZMA and QuadraCuts Nighttime. Please let me know if you're interested in giving it a try. The combination of zinc, magnesium, melatonin and valerian are a natural way to enjoy a deep, restorative, restful sleep.

So maybe I'm full of hooey. Maybe you're just destined to be cranky and tired all of the time. But do me a favor, give it a shot and let me know how many sheep you count. Maybe you've forgotten what a good night's sleep even feels like. Good thing somebody wrote this blog entry so I can read it and give it a try, too! I should make sure I'm practicing the preaching.

Here's to some peaceful dreams...

See ya in the gym!

P.S.
As an added bonus, here is a poem my Grandma Ruth used to recite to me while she rubbed my back. It always seemed to do the trick (until she woke me up with her ridiculous snoring, of course). See if you can get someone to recite it to you...back rubs optional :-)

When day and night are blending
At the twilight of days ending
May sleep, the balm of rest on you bestow
May your spirit leave and wander
With the angels over yonder
And be blest, where the sweetest blessings flow